The third ‘Amrit Snan’ began at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 on Monday on the holy occasion of Basant Panchami, the first sacred bathing ritual following the tragic stampede on the previous significant bathing day that resulted in the deaths of at least 30 individuals.
Stricter arrangements and protocols are established to guarantee an ‘incident-free’ ‘Amrit Snan’, as mela officials and akharas determine the order in which spiritual sects will enter the water at Sangam Nose, the site of last week’s deadly crowd crush.
To mark the third ‘Amrit Snan’ of the Mela, several sadhus from different ‘akharas’ participated in the sacred bath at dawn. By 4 am, 16.58 lakh worshippers had experienced the sacred bath, with the Uttar Pradesh administration anticipating 5 crore devotees on just Monday.
The Hindu festival of Basant Panchami occurs on the initial day of spring and takes place on the fifth day of Magha month. It begins the Holi preparations in India and honors the goddess Saraswati.
A tragic stampede occured during the previous ‘Amrit Snan’ on Mauni Amavasya, that resulted in 30 deaths and left 60 others injured. In light of the tragedy, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has been personally inspecting preparations since Saturday.
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The UP government has strengthened security, medical provisions, and crowd control strategies to prevent a recurrence of such an incident.
The Maha Kumbh Mela, occurring every 12 years, commenced on January 13, 2025, and concludes on February 26. The other significant ‘snan’ dates during the Maha Kumbh are February 12 (Maghi Purnima) and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri).
