Kumba Mela

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Kumbh hides in Sun’s shadow

pioneer.com

Anupma Khanna | Haridwar

Solar eclipse keeps doors of shrines shut, idols covered 12 hours before with devotees fearing release of negative forces



It was a memorable juxtaposition at the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar on Friday as the festival came to a visible lull during the millennium’s longest annular eclipse only to witness its resurgence into a spectacular urn of piety and zest in the second half of the day. The rare phenomenon of the auspicious Mauni Amavasya (new moon day) coinciding with the Surya grahan (Solar Eclipse) was regarded as a propitious occurrence; with devotees performing pertinent rituals and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and his wife, Kusumkanta, taking a dip in the Ganges in the wee hours of Friday, before the Sun hid behind the new Moon.



Also, in keeping with tradition, doors of various shrines dotting the river, including those of Goddess Ganga, Lord Vishnu and Shiva at Har-ki-Pauri were shut with the idols covered in Muslin cloth when twelve hours before the onset of the celestial spectacle, the phase of ‘sootak’ i.e. the release of negative forces commenced and the mesmerising morning-prayer at Har-ki-Pauri was shelved. In Hinduism, it is believed to be an inauspicious period when the atmosphere becomes polluted and the devout ordinarily abstain from rituals. The solar eclipse lasted in Haridwar from 11:58 am to 3:12 pm.



As a natural consequence, as against the fervour with which this largest religious gathering on Earth had begun on Thursday, until the post-eclipse cleansing the ambience was quiet and the ghats (river bank) deserted; with the reverberating sounds of temple bells, conch shells and hymns replaced only by the gurgle of the Ganges, the intermittent public announcements and voices of the thinned strength of pilgrims who chose to bathe in the river despite the eclipse. These primarily included outstation visitors under time constraints to return and the others not believing in the persisting ominous interpretations of eclipses.



Then there were those who meditated and observed havans on the bank to negate the ‘evil energies’.



Albeit refuted by scientists, solar eclipses continue to have negative religious and astrological connotations among Hindus. “Surya grahan (Solar eclipse) engulfs the world in a strong dark energy that activates the vile. However, in what is divine, the special planetary alignment endows the already powerful waters of the Ganges with healing omnipotence. And each one who bathes in the river after the grahan will cleanse germs and malevolent vibes from the body, regardless of his socio-economic class or ethnicity,” discoursed Mukesh Kothari, a priest at Har-ki-Pauri in a conversation with The Pioneer.



And so it was the undivided, unshakeable faith of the millions who swarmed the Ganges for a dip during the post-eclipse auspicious Brahma Muhurta hour - young and old, affluent and impoverished, natives and foreigners. In a remarkable reinvigoration of the spiritual aura that had infused the fair a day before on Makar Sankranti, thousands of ascetic holy men who had spent the morning praying joined in the bathing around 4 pm.



Soon after, the temples opened their doors after cleansing the sanctums with Ganga jal (water from the Ganges) and uncovered the deities’ idols.



Amidst tight security, over 500 policemen patrolled the area and detained suspects.



If priests are to be believed, the last time a solar eclipse coincided with the Kumbh was way back in 1914.



[color="#FF0000"]“I closed my business for a week to be a part of the Kumbh. It is my first time and the experience is simply entrancing and beyond words. All I can say is that this place is feeling divinity on Earth and can make even the strongest atheist have a change of heart. I am very lucky to be here” beamed Ravi Kapoor from Delhi.[/color]



For the multitude of pilgrims, the happening was an extraordinary time for wishes and deliverance as they prayed for myriad desires, be it riches, peace or good spouses.