OVER A HUNDRED MILLION SURVIVORS OF ALIEN CREATION ASSEMBLE FOR A MESSAGE, A SIGN THEIR ALIEN CREATORS HAVE NEVER FAILED TO DROP THEM A MESSAGE, DESPITE THAT THE VEDIC ALIENS ARE OVER 200-LIGHT YEARS AWAY, THEIR MESSAGE, SIGNS, AND RADIO BURSTS ARE STILL RECEIVED HERE IN PERIODS OF 12-YEARS, 432HZ. STAY TUNED.

Kumbh Mela
	UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
	Pilgrims at the Haridwar Kumbh Mela in 2010
Country	India
Domains	Religious pilgrimage, rituals, social practices and festive events
Criteria	None
Reference	01258
Region	Asia and the Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2017 (12th session)
List	Representative
	; Held alternately among Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashikand Ujjain every three years.

Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela (/ˌkʊm ˈmeɪlə/ or /ˌkʊm məˈlɑː/) is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. Traditionally, four fairs are widely recognized as the Kumbh Melas: the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha, and Ujjain Simhastha. These four fairs are held periodically at one of the following places by rotation: Prayagraj (known until 2018 as Allahabad), Haridwar, Nashik district (Nashik and Trimbak), and Ujjain. The main festival site is located on the banks of a river: the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar; the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Prayagraj; the Godavari at Nashik; and the Shipra at Ujjain. Bathing in these rivers is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.^[1]

At any given place, the Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years. There is a difference of around 3 years between the Kumbh Melas at Haridwar and Nashik; the fairs at Nashik and Ujjain are celebrated in the same year or one year apart. The exact date is determined, following the Vikram Samvat calendar and the principles of Jyotisha, according to a combination of zodiac positions of the Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon. At Nashik and Ujjain, the Mela may be held while a planet is in Leo (Simha in Hindu astrology); in this case, it is also known as Simhastha. At Haridwar and Prayagraj, a Maha ("Great") Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years, with an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela six years later.^[2] The priests at other places consider their local fairs to be Kumbh Melas; for example, the Mahamaham festival at Kumbakonam, held every 12 years, is described as a Kumbh Mela.^[3] Other places where fairs have been called Kumbh Mela include Kurukshetra^[4]^[5] and Sonepat.^[6]

The exact age of the festival is uncertain. According to medieval Hinduism, Lord Vishnu spilled drops of Amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela. The name "Kumbh Mela" literally means "kumbha fair". It is known as "Kumbh" in Hindi (due to schwa deletion); in Sanskrit and some other Indian languages; it is more often known by its original name "Kumbha".^[7]

The festival is the largest peaceful gathering in the world, and considered as the "world's largest congregation of religious pilgrims".^[8] There is no precise method of ascertaining the number of pilgrims, and the estimates of the number of pilgrims bathing on the most auspicious day may vary. An estimated 120 million people visited Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013 in Prayagraj over a two-month period,^[9] including over 30 million on a single day, on 10 February 2013 (the day of Mauni Amavasya).^[10]^[11] It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.^[12]