Massive Turnout for Third Amrit Snan at Maha Kumbh on Basant Panchami
The third grand Amrit Snan of the Maha Kumbh, coinciding with Basant Panchami, drew millions of devotees to the sacred Triveni Sangam for a spiritual dip on Monday.
In the early hours, sadhus, including the revered Naga ascetics from various akharas, made their ceremonial journey to the ghats. By 6 a.m., the first akharas, including Juna Akhara, had completed their rituals. The festive atmosphere was further enhanced by rose petals showered from a helicopter.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Information Department, by 8 a.m., over 62.25 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip, pushing the total number of pilgrims since January 13 to over 34.97 crore. This marked the final Amrit Snan of Maha Kumbh 2025 on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated the seers and devotees, closely monitoring the event from Lucknow. On microblogging platform X, he stated:
यह सनातन संस्कृति का वंदन है,
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) February 3, 2025
भारत की एकता व आस्था का अभिनंदन है,
श्रद्धा का अभिवादन है,
महाकुम्भ का आह्वान है…
हर-हर गंगे! pic.twitter.com/dIMsLFgBlB
DIG Maha Kumbh, Vaibhav Krishna, assured that crowd control measures were in place and rituals had been completed smoothly. “Mahanirvani, Niranjani, and Juna Akharas have successfully performed their rituals, and others will complete theirs smoothly,” he said.
Additional Mela Officer Vivek Chaturvedi highlighted that all akharas were participating as planned, with robust security measures in place. By 4 a.m., over 16.58 lakh pilgrims had already taken the dip, with authorities expecting up to five crore devotees throughout Basant Panchami.
Following the tragic stampede during the January 29 Amrit Snan, authorities implemented enhanced safety measures, distributing crowds across various ghats to prevent overcrowding.
This year’s Amrit Snan holds special significance due to the rare “Triveni Yog” celestial alignment, occurring once every 144 years. Akharas took turns for ritual dips in a pre-arranged sequence, with the Sanyasi sect leading, followed by the Bairagi and Udaseen sects.
South American Sadhvi Mahamandaleshwar Shri Devi Maa expressed her gratitude:
“Receiving Goddess Ganga’s divine blessings through this holy dip is a sacred opportunity to elevate consciousness and transition into higher awareness.”
Swami Vishnu Maharaj of Shambhu Panch Agni Akhada reflected on the spiritual energy:
“The atmosphere here is deeply spiritual with prayer and austerity, and the arrangements for pilgrims are excellent.”
Thanks to reinforced security measures, the Amrit Snan continues smoothly, ensuring a safe and serene experience for all pilgrims.