Triveni Sangam: The Conflux of Three Sacred Rivers
Triveni Sangam is the "confluence" of three major rivers; The Ganges, the Yamuna and the Saraswati River in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. The world's largest human gathering is held at the confluence of three sacred rivers, out of them Saraswati River is believed to be mythical. Sangama is derived from the Sanskrit word which means confluence. In Hindu tradition the point this confluence is believed a sacred place for Hindus. To take dip at confluence point is said to flush all of one's sins away and one can free from the cycle of rebirth thereby achieving Moksha.
After every 12 years, masses of people come to this spiritual festival organized in India, the “Maha Kumbh Mela”, held at the Triveni Sangam. It’s one of the largest gatherings of humankind on Earth in recent festival over a three-month period, approximately 100 million people attended the 2013 festival. The gathering in this festively is
so big, so that it’s superficially can be grasped from the outer space. It’s
believed to be 2,000 years old ritual. But that’s not the only amazing thing
about Sangam.
The “Triveni Sangam”, where the
festival held, but is the gathering place of three most sacred rivers of India
viz., The Yamuna, The Saraswati, and The Ganga (also termed as Ganges). These are
the highly respected sacred rivers in India. The two rivers (Yamuna and Ganga) have
different shades which maintain their visible identity. The Ganges is
clear brownish, while that of the Yamuna is greenish and it makes
them fascinating to sight.
However river Saraswati the third one
is a mythical river according to records it was dried up many ages ago. Yet, to
this day Triveni Sangam is believed to be the meeting place of three rivers. It
is still believed that the Saraswati River flows beneath the surface.
The meeting place
of these sacred rivers is a very peaceful place that renovates into an “instantaneous
city” when the time of “Maha Kumbh Mela” arrives into town and the periods of
the celebrating Kumbh Mela is based on astrology, which diktats when the water
of these sacred rivers will turn into nectar. There is this belief according to
which it is believed that this nectar can turn mortals into immortals. Legend states
that droplets of immortal nectar were fell at the Triveni Sangam during the
mythological battle that fought between Demons and Gods. This is the reason why
the place of confluence “Triveni Sangam” is considered to be so holy and the
Maha Kumbh Mela is organized here.
According to atlasobscura.com, the “city” that was created in 2013 at Triveni Sangam involved 14 temporary hospitals which were staffed with 243 doctors, and are more than 40,000 toilets alone. Where, for the security of their 50,000 officers were plotted & for all this approximately 650,000 jobs were created during the Mela.
The said place is of religious
importance and is the site of, immersion of ashes of some national leaders,
including Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. These portrayals of the confluence
of these rivers are present in some spiritual documents of Hindu mythology viz.,
the Rigveda, And the Puranas.
There are some more Triveni Sangams
at different sites in the country viz.,
·
Bhagamandala
(Kudala in Kannada)
A pilgrimage place in Kodagu district
of Karnataka state situated on upstream of the river Kaveri where
the river Kaveri joins by two other tributaries, “The Kannike and The mythical
Sujyoti river”.
·
Erode
(Kooduthurai)
It is a Sangam in Erode where 3 rivers confluence viz.,
The Cauvery, The Bhavani and The Amudha. All of these, The River Amudha is
invisible and is supposed to flow underground and join the other two rivers
from below. This is where he famous Sangameswarar is located.
·
Tirumakudalu
Narasipura (Tirumakudalu
Narasipura)
It is commonly known as T.
Narasipura and is a panchayat town of Mysore district,
Karnataka, Indian. It is the
confluence of the Kaveri, Kabini and Spatika Sarovara or Gupta
Gamini (a mythical spring).
·
Moovattupuzha
(Moovattupuzha)
It is meeting point of Kali river (Kaliyar),
Thodupuzha river (Thodupuzhayar) and Kothamangalam river (Kothayar) and it then
becomes Moovattupuzha river situated in Kerala.
·
Munnar
(Munnar means three rivers)
Here occurs the joining of Mudhirapuzha,
Nallathanni and Kundaly rivers in Malayalam and Tamil.
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