Devotees gather to offer prayers during the third 'Shahi Snan' of the Kumbh Mela 2021. (Image for representation)
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Hindu seers have demanded that only ‘sanatani’ (one who follows the Sanatan Dharma) officials be deployed at the 2025 ‘Mahakumbh’, a major Hindu pilgrimage on the banks of the ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers) at Prayagraj.
The demand was made by the All India Akhara Parishad (AIAP), an apex body of the seers which represents the 13 ‘Akharas’ on Saturday. The ‘Akharas’ were formed by Adi Shankaracharya in the eighth century to unite the sages and seers and protect the ‘sanatan’ way of life.
‘’We want the deployment of only sanatani officers in the Kumbh Mela.....no non-sanatani officer should be allowed in the Mela area,’’ AIAP general secretary and patron of ‘Juna Akhara’ Mahant Hari Giri said after a meeting of the Parishad.
He also said that entry should be allowed inside the Mela area only after checking the identity cards of the people to ensure that only ‘sanatani’ people could enter it.
The AIAP has also demanded a ban on ‘non-sanatani’ food stalls in the Kumbh Mela. It said that the sale of liquor and meat should also be banned in the nearby areas.
The AIAP had earlier proposed a change in the usage of terms like ‘Shahi Snan’ (royal bath), which was an Urdu word to ‘Rajasi snan’. ‘’These terms have been in use since the Mughal period....they need to be changed now’’, he added.
The ‘Shahi Snan’ is a major event in the Kumbh during which thousands of sages and seers form different ‘akharas’ take bath in the Sangam waters.
The Mahant said that a meeting of the AIAP would be held after the Diwali festival and a proposal in this regard would be adopted there and sent to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Kumbh will be beginning at Prayagraj from January 14 and conclude on February 26. Millions of devotees from different parts of the country as well as abroad were expected to descend at the Sangam to take the holy dip.