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Magh Mela-2024: Seers, Saints arrive, camps take shape in tent city area
The 54-day religious fair will feature six main bathing festivals, starting with Makar Sankranti on January 15 and concluding with the Maha Shivaratri bathing on March 8.
With hardly two weeks left for the start of the annual religious fair, Magh Mela-2024, on the sandy banks of Sangam, camps of prominent seers and saints, dandi swamis, kalpawasis, and scores of religious, social and spiritual organisations have begun taking shape in the area earmarked for the tent city.
The 54-day religious fair will feature six main bathing festivals, starting with Makar Sankranti on January 15 and concluding with the Maha Shivaratri bathing on March 8. This year, the month-long kalpwas—month-long austerity during which thousands would camp on the banks of Sangam in tents, devoting their time to simple living, performing prayers and rituals, besides reading religious scriptures—will start from Paush Purnima (January 25) and will continue until Maghi Purnima which falls on February 24.
Around 4,000 camps, including Dandi Bada, Acharya Bada and other religious and spiritual organisations from different states, are being set up in the mela area.
Seers and saints, including the patron of Akhil Bharatiya Dandi Sanyasi Parishad, Jagatguru Swami Maheshashram Maharaj; the national president of Akhil Bharatiya Dandi Sanyasi Parishad, Peethadhishwar Swami Brahmashram Maharaj; the national president of Akhil Bharatiya Dandi Pravandhan Samiti, Peethadhishwar Swami Vimaldev; and saints from Acharya Bada, along with prominent saints and seers from Khak Chowk, are all set to camp at the annual religious fair. Other prominent saints from Kinnar Akhara, Niranjani, and Juna Akhara will also be camping in the mela area.
Meanwhile, the national president of Akhil Bharatiya Dandi Sanyasi Parishad, Peethadhishwar Swami Brahmashram Maharaj, informed that many religious and spiritual activities, including yajna, special puja, anna kshetra, ram katha, ‘Krishna Leela,’ and a cultural fest, will be performed on the campus of Dandi Swami camp throughout the mela period. He also added that, apart from religious and spiritual activities, a voter awareness campaign will also be undertaken among visitors in the mela campus.
Main Bathing Fests Magh Mela-2024
January 15: Makar Sankranti
January 25: Paush Purnima
February 9: Mauni Amavasya
February 14: Basant Panchami
February 24: Maghi Purnima
March 8: Maha Shivaratri
