Prayagraj: Over five crore pilgrims, including saints, sages, devotees and Kalpvasis took the holy dip in the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mystic Saraswati during Maha Kumbh on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya here on Wednesday.
An official spokesman said that more than 5.04 devotees, including over 10 lakh Kalpvasis, took bath in the Sangam and other banks on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya. "So far 19.94 crore devotees have taken the holy dip since Maha Kumbh started on January 13," they said.
It may be mentioned that more than 10 crore people are expected to take holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amvasya. Flower petals were showered on the devotees taking bath, welcoming them to Maha Kumbh.
The Amrit Snan by 13 Akharas, which was cancelled initially due to stampede, also resumed in the afternoon with Naga Sadhus taking the charge. The Amrit Snan of the Akharas was delayed due to excessive crowd and unpleasant situations like stampede in the fair area.
President of All India Akhada Parishad and Haridwar-based Mansa Devi Temple Trust Mahant Ravindra Puri said, "Our effort will be that all the Akharas take bath. We will keep the number of our people low."
Mahanirvani Akhara takes bath first on Mauni Amavasya festival. This time the programme of Amrit Snan of all the Akharas was preponed by an hour. Mahanirvani and Atal had to leave the camp at 4 o'clock and vacate the ghat at 5.40 pm.
Even today, both the Akharas had left for Amrit Snan but returned to their camp on the request of the administration. He said that his deity and some Mahamandaleshwars went ahead. The deities do not return after going out for the bath, they will be provided security and allowed to take the bath.
Official sources said that Mauni Amavasya is the biggest bathing festival of the month of Magha. The sequence of bathing has been going on continuously since midnight.
Former Acharya of Vedic Research Institute and Ritual Training Centre Dr Atmaram Gautam said that a rare coincidence of Amrit Yoga is being formed on Mauni Amavasya. By bathing silently in the holy time, devotees get the desired result.
The Amavasya date of Krishna Paksha will be from 7:10 pm on January 28 to 6:27 pm on January 29. Sun, Moon and Mercury will transit in Capricorn. Jupiter will be in Taurus, due to which Amrit Yoga will be formed. Shravan Nakshatra started from 8:40 am, which is very beneficial.
The most important in Maha Kumbh is Mauni Amavasya, in which devotees take bath in Triveni to get Amrit. This time on the same bathing festival, Jupiter is transiting in Taurus sign and it is very rare that Amrit Yoga is formed. It is necessary to remain silent while bathing. Gautam said that on this occasion, tarpan and pinddaan are also done for the ancestors.
