Upendra Bharati | HENB | Tribeni | Feb 13, 2022:: As a remarkable holy event, a Kumbhasnan (holy bath in the confluence of sacred rivers) was held again in Triveni, the holy shrine of Bengali in the district of Hoogly.
Tribeni in West Bengal is a very important and sacred place for Bengali Hindus for social and religious grounds. The importance of this small town in the spiritual sphere is highly acknowledged as visited by the many saints, sages and monks years after years. In ancient times, sages used to come to Tribeni for spiritual practices and attainment of liberation. After 703 years, Kumbhasnan is held again at Tribeni Sangam, the confluence of two other tributaries of Ganges, river Jamuna and Saraswati. 703 years ago, Jafar Khan Ghazi converted the Vishnu temple at Tribeni into a mosque. From that time Kumbhasnan and Mela were closed due to Islamic attacks. After 1319 AD, Kumbhasnan is held again in 2022 in Tribeni very enthusiastically. It is pertinent to mention that Tribeni is ‘Mukta Beni’ (free flow) and Prayag is ‘Gupta Beni’ (secret flow).
The programme schedule were officially announced at the Tribeni confluence site on Tuesday, February 8. It is seen that Naga monks and saints of different sects from different akhras of India participated in this Tribeni Kumbh (at Saptarishi Ghat) on February 12 and 13 (Saturday and Sunday).
According to the organizers, research papers from Oxford University and other historians have shown that the Aquarius bath in Tribeni has been discontinued since the beginning of the Islamic rule in the later days of the Sen kings in the advent of the attacks of Jafar Khan Gazi. To bring back the lost glory of Bengal, the organizers of Tribeni Kumbha are determined to revive the cultural heritage of Tribeni. With that resolution, a struggle for Dharmik renaissance in Bengal started 1 year ago among the like-minded Hindu Organisations in Bengal.
Huge number of saints, sages and monks from different Dashnami Akhadas gathered at Tribeni on Saturday 12th February. The Matua sects of Sri Harichan-Guruchand Thakur and many Baul groups and other Hindu religious bodies from Bengal also participated in this Tribeni Kumbha.
The inauguration of the programme was started with the blowing of conch shells Starting on Sunday 13th February at 3-32 am. Aditya Hridoy Stotram was recited Introduction at 8 am.
The Mahapunyasnan started from 8-56 in the morning of Feb 13 and and continued till 12-41 minutes in the afternoon. Viswa-Shanti Yagna (Fire Sacrifice rituals for World Peace) was also done in this great holy congregation.
In the evening Ganga Aarti and Mahaprasad distribution programmes are fixed and Bhajan Kirtan progarrmes are fixed to perform in all Ashrams whole night.
A huge number of pilgrims attended the event following special instructions for all the devotees who come to attain virtue in the holy bath. All the pilgrims who came to Kumbhasnan kept their illustrated identity card with them. Covid19 Protocols were maintained everywhere. Restrictions were also observed in the case of holy bathing in the morning.
This spectacular re-staring of Tribeni Kumba after 703 years will be a landmark for the Dharmik Renaissance in Bengal, as opined by many senior saints and monks attended in the event.
Source: https://hinduexistence.org