Kumbh Mela ad Allahabad

ITA: Kumbh Mela è un pellegrinaggio Hindu di massa nel quale si riuniscono per farsi il bagno in un fiume sacro. E' il piu' grande raduno religioso del mondo. Si svolge ogni tre anni in uno dei quattro posti a rotazione: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik e Ujjain. La Maha Kumbh Mela ("Grande" Kumbh Mela) si celebra ad Allahabad dopo 4 Purna Kumbh Mela (e di conseguenza dopo 12 anni). I fiumi sacri in questi quattro posti sono: Ganges (Ganga) a Haridwar, il Saraswati ad Allahabad, il Godawari a Nasik e la Shipra a Ujjain. Nei primi 45 giorni del gennaio 2007, più di 16 milioni di Hindu parteciparono alla Ardh Kumbh Mela a Prayag. Alla Maha Kumbh Mela del 2001, parteciparono circa 60 milioni di persone, rendendo il rito il più grande raduno mai svolto nel mondo. EN: Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus in India gather to bathe in a sacred river. It is the world's largest religious gathering. It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain. Thus the Kumbh Mela is held at each of these four places every twelfth year. Ardh ("Half") Kumbh Mela is held at only two places, Haridwar and Allahabad, every sixth year. The rivers at these four places are: the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar, the confluence (Sangam) of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati at Allahabad, the Godawari at Nasik, and the Shipra at Ujjain. Kumbh means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Hindi. The pilgrimage is held for about one and a half months at each of these four places where it is believed in Hinduism that drops of nectar fell from the Kumbh carried by gods after the sea was churned. The festival is billed as the "world

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