Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XIX. Allahabad—Sacred Places—Kumbh Mela—Pilgrimages—Bathing in the Ganges—Fakirs and Penitents—Sacred Rites—Superstitions
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208, Story of an Emigrant.
Jumna and the Ganges meet and mingle. It is claimed that
this invisible river is very abundant, especially in the month
of Mairh, from the middle of January to the middle of Feb-
P ’ ^ *
ruarv, but the most favorable period in this respect is under
the astroinical cycle Vuga, which occurs every twelfth year
in the month of Magh, and is called "Kumbh." This
occurred in 1882, which was therefore a very important year
for the Hindoos.
To bathe in the Ganges always means a spiritual
purification. and to bathe there where the three rivers meet at
Allahabad in the month of Magh is a very sacred rite. Every
good Hindoo endeavors, if possible, to bathe at this place at
least once during his lifetime; but to bathe there during the
Kumbh Mela, or the twelfth year’s cycle, is the most sacred
act a Hindoo can perform, and such a bath is said to atone
for the greatest sins both of the bather and his nearest
relatives, be they living or dead. Out of the immense population
of India, one hundred and ninety millions profess the above
faith. Being a very religious people in their way, and
testifying to their faith by their works, it is 110 great wonder that
Allahabad in the course of four weeks was visited by nearly
two million pilgrims, who came there only for the purpose
of bathing in the sacred river. Partly from curiosity and
partly in order to obtain reliable information, I also made a
short pilgrimage to this place.
I said that nearly two million people visited Allahabad
during the Kumbh Mela, which I attended. Theycame from
all parts of India, men and women, young and old, but [-es-]>ccially-] {+es-
]>ccially+} the old, of all classes from the beggar to the prince,
of .-ill castes from the despised coolie to the haughty
Brahmin. They came 011 crowded railroad trains, or on elephants,
camels, horses, asses, in ox-carts and in boats on the rivers,
but most of them on foot along roads and pathways, across
fields and meadows, the living ones carrying the ashes of
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