E-Paper
Month-long Kalpavas concludes at Sangam, over 5 lakh kalpavasis depart from Magh Mela
The Maghi Purnima bathing festival concluded a month-long Kalpavas at Sangam, attracting over 500,000 devotees who embraced spiritual rituals.
: With the conclusion of the fifth bathing festival of Maghi Purnima, the month‑long Kalpavas at the Sangam banks also came to an end.
More than five lakh Kalpavasis, who had been residing temporarily along the Triveni for nearly a month, departed after completing their spiritual stay.
Over the past month, the Kalpavasis immersed themselves in a daily routine of chanting, penance, charity, and spiritual discipline in the Magh Mela area. Their Kalpavas, which began with the Paush Purnima bathing festival, formally concluded with the Maghi Purnima snan.
After taking the ritual bath, performing charitable acts, and receiving the blessings of Maa Ganga, they returned to their homes carrying the spiritual energy of the mela.
Under the guidance of teerth purohits, the devotees completed the traditional rituals of ‘daan’ and ‘havan’ before leaving.
Madhavanand Sharma, pilgrimage priest of the Durgashakti Kalpavasi Camp in Prayagwal Nagar and national secretary of the All India Teerth Purohit Mahasabha, said that following the grand and divine Mahakumbh, the number of Kalpavasis increased significantly across all camps this year.
For the first time, the administration set up Prayagwal Nagar in the Magh Mela area, providing improved facilities for Kalpavasis. He added that districts which earlier saw very low participation also recorded a rise in the number of people observing Kalpavas.
Among them was 95‑year‑old Anguri Dubey from Etawah, who has been observing Kalpavas for five consecutive years. She shared that earlier very few from Etawah and nearby districts participated, but this time five people accompanied her. She praised the arrangements of cleanliness, water, and electricity at the camps.
While Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh are held in four cities, Prayagraj, Ujjain, Nashik, and Haridwar, the tradition of Kalpavas is unique to Prayagraj. This year’s Magh Mela, organised immediately after the Mahakumbh, made the experience even more special as many first time devotees took the vow of Kalpavas inspired by the Kumbh.
The experience of Kalpavasis across various sectors of the fairground was also richer this year. Krishna Kant Shukla, a retired deputy Jailer from Pratapgarh, completed 12 years of Kalpavas and took a vow to observe it for another 12 years. He said the government’s arrangements were excellent, and for the first time, members of the younger generation from his family joined him in the spiritual commitment.
Teerth Purohit JP Mishra noted that each purohit camp in the Mela area witnessed one‑and‑a‑half times more Kalpavasis than previous years. He also highlighted the growing enthusiasm among young devotees for religious traditions.
