Mahakumbh

Nagar, 14 January (H.S.): The glory of Sanatani faith was vocalized at the

Sangam on Tuesday with the echo of Panchakshari Mantra, melodious bhajan swar

lahari, chants of Har Har Gange and Har Har Mahadev, with the Avadhuti glory of

the Akharas and Naga Sannyasis on the first Amrit (elixir) Snan of Mahakumbh.

Amidst

the excitement and enthusiasm, the colour of renunciation of the Bairagi Akharas

and the attraction of the Naga Sannyasis were giving a different feeling of

supernatural spirituality. This is the scene of the ghats of Sangam, where the

first Amrit Snan of Maha Kumbh started at 6.15 am on Tuesday.

According

to government figures, till 6 pm, 3.5 crore devotees had taken a holy dip in the Sangam.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath shared information in this regard

on social media platform X. The Army has also been kept on standby to handle

the situation. The saints of all the 13 Akharas took part in the holy snan.

For the first

time in Mahakumbh, the word Amrit Snan was used instead of Shahi Snan. The

Akharas had proposed changing the name. The first Akhara to take a holy dip in

the Sangam was Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani Akhara. Shri Shambhu

Panchayati Atal Akhara took Amrit Snan along with Mahanirvani Akhara.

Mahanirvani Akhara left the camp at 5.15 and reached Sangam Ghat at the

scheduled time of 6.15 am. They took nectar dip under the leadership of

Acharya Ravindra Puri Ji Maharaj and Shri Mahant Yamuna Puri Ji Maharaj of Shri

Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani Akhara. Along with these, Shri Shambhu Panchayati

Atal Akhara also took the royal bath under the leadership of Acharya Satyam

Giri Maharaj and Mahant Balram Bharti Giri.

The Amrit Snan of the Akharas,

which started at 6.15 in the morning, continued till 4.30 in the evening.

At

the second place in Amrit Snan, the saints and sages of Shri Taponidhi

Panchayati Shri Niranjani Akhara and Shri Panchayati Akhara Anand took the holy

bath.

At the third spot, three Sanyasi Akhara, Shri Panchdasnam Juna, Shri

Panch Dashnam Avahan Akhara and Shri Panchagni Akhara took bath. Among the

three Bairagi Akharas, first of all the Mahants and saints of All India Shri

Panch Nirmohi Ani Akhara, All India Shri Panch Digambar Ani Akhara, All India

Shri Panch Nirvani Ani Akhara took the nectar bath. Among the three Udasin

Akharas, Shri Panchayati, New Udasin Akhara, followed by the saints of Shri

Panchayati Akhara, New Udasin Nirvana took the nectar bath.

In the end, the

Mahants and saints of Shri Panchayati Nirmal Akhara took bath in nectar. All

the 13 Akharas were given separate 30-40 minutes time for bathing.

Three lakh

people took bath every hour at the Sangam Nose. On the day of the first Amrit

Snan, lakhs of devotees, apart from the Sadhu Mahants who follow Shaiva and

Vaishnav sects, gathered at the holy Sangam to take a dip, but the crowd of

devotees at the ghats was more than expected. Devotees came to Mahakumbh to be

a part of the virtue, exceeding the expectations of the fair administration.

Most of the people preferred bathing at Sangam Nose only. Crowd started

gathering at Sangam Nose since late night.

Crowd of devotees on

all the routes leading to Sangam, 8-10 km long

Media from all over the

world and devotees from more than 50 countries were present at the Sangam.

Tight

security arrangements: Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Prashant Kumar

said that on Tuesday is the second bath of Maha Kumbh. The bath of Makar Sankranti

is the bath of nectar. By 1 pm, more than 1.75 crore people had taken bath.

Proper police arrangements have been made on

important roads. Rail traffic is also being monitored. Along with this, the

system of ghats has also been strengthened. Through latest technology, we are

monitoring crowd control since late night. Crowd control was done through

thermal imaging at night, traffic and vehicles etc. were being monitored during

the day through visuals from tethered drones and CCTV cameras.

Lost and found announcements were made throughout the day to ensure the safety and convenience

of lakhs of devotees. For this, ten state-of-the-art digital lost and found

centers have been established in the Maha Kumbh Mela area.

On the day of the

first Amrit Snan, Lost & Found was announced through loudspeakers throughout

the day. A total of 308 people were reunited with their families on the day of

the first Amrit Snan in the centers run by the voluntary organizations Hemwati

Nandan Bahuguna Samiti and Bharat Seva Dal in the fair area

. There a total of

six baths are to be held during the Maha Kumbh. Three baths will be held; out

of which three will be Amrit snans, which are specially performed by

the Akharas. The first Amrit Snan took place on the day of Makar Sankranti, the

second on Mauni Amavasya on 29 January and the third on Vasant Panchami on 3

February.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi