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Naga sadhus proceed towards the Sangam for the first Amrit Snan of Maha Kumbh 2025 on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti and will be taking a holy dip shortly at the Triveni Sangam -- a sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and ''mystical'' Saraswati river.
The vibrant sight of Akharas, Ash smeared sadhus from their abode in the Himalayas, can be seen shuffling toward the sacred confluence of the Sangam. Ahead of this, the Sadhus of Mahanirvani Panchayati Akhada, Anand Akhada took a holy dip. Meanwhile, Swami Chidambaranand, Mahamandaleshwar of Mahanirvan Akhara says, "We experience a grandeur of Indian civilisation. Crores of people are seeing the pride of our culture. There is joy and excitement everywhere. People have forgotten about the cold and have been waiting since 2 am for a sight of the saints." "There are unbelievable scenes here. Those who create a caste divide and blame our religion should come here and see that in the crowd of crores, there are no Brahmins or Shudras, only Hindus and Hindu culture..." Another saint, Kumar Swami Ji Maharaj from Anand Akhara said, "Nothing is bigger than this (Mahakumbh). Those who are able to come here are extremely fortunate... Wherever we see people are fighting among themselves. Here it''s peaceful. Merely being present here and watching everything unfold, brings joy and peace... Our saints and shastras have always wanted for peace in the world. I bow down to our great seers and our religious texts, I bow down to our earth and Lord Shiva for giving us this day. Everyone should come here..." Sadhus of the 13 Akhadas of the Sanatan Dharma will be taking a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam one by one. The 13 akhadas are divided into three groups -- Sanyasi (Shaivite), Bairagi (Vaishnav) and Udaseen. The Shaivite akhadas include Shree Panch Dashnam Juna Akhada, Shree Panchayati Akhada Niranjani, Shree Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhada, Shree Panchayati Akhada Mahanirvani,Shree Shambhu Panchagni Akhada, Shree Panchdashnam Aavahan Akhada and Taponidhi Shri Anand Akhada Panchayti. Notably, DGP Uttar Pradesh Prashant Kumar informed the total number of devotes who had taken dip in the Sangam has crossed the 10 million mark. Speaking to ANI Prashant Kumar said, "It''s the first Amrit Snan of Maha Kumbh 2025, for now four Akharas have taken a holy dip and the third lot Juna, Awahan and Agani Akharas and they will be taking holy dip shortly. By 7 AM 98 lakhs 20 thousand people have taken bath and by now the numbers might have crossed one crore mark." Maha Kumbh is one of the largest and most significant religious congregation in the world, held every 12 years at one of four locations in India. The Maha Kumbh-2025, which is Poorna Kumbh will take place till February 26, 2025. Key ''snan'' dates include January 14 (Makar Sankranti - First Shahi Snan), January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri). (ANI)
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