Kumbh Mela & Shiva’s Army
Kumbh Mela and Shiva’s Army (the Ascetics of Juna Akhara):
The Kumbh Mela is a many centuries old Hindu pilgrimage festival, occurring over the course of four separate twelve-year cycles, in four different cities, Prayag (Allahabad), Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar. It is also considered the largest gathering of humanity in history, often reaching numbers beyond 30 million in attendance over the course of a series of bathing dates, determined by planetary alignment, whereas it is believed upon dipping in one of India’s holy rivers one can wash away lifetimes of karma and eliminate several birth/rebirth cycles. Pilgrims (both Indian and foreign,) journalists and generations of guru lineages (worshiping the many incarnations of Hindu gods) come out of the woodworks to gather here. It is at this festival that the devoted meet their gurus, and those most serious followers take initiation into the order to become sanyasis (monks).
There are six orders of ascetics worshiping the Destroyer / Creator Hindu god Shiva. Although established in approximately 1106 AD after two other Akharas (Ananda and Niranjani respectively), Juna Akhara considers itself the “oldest regiment” as indicated by their name, as well as the largest in numbers. Their deity Dattatreya is often pictured as a three-faced mythological combination of the Hindu gods Brahma, Shaiva and Vishnu. (Male) nagas in the order are often naked and ash covered wearing their hair in long “dread locks” as an indication of how long they it has been since their initiation, upon where they shaved their head. The concept of “Shiva’s Army” of militant naga sanyasi (naked renouncers) warriors dates back to about seventh century AD, although it became more noticed in response to the aggressive invasions of the Muslim armies around 1200 AD.
Although significantly outnumbered and overshadowed (in the public eye) by these nagas, there are also women within Shiva’s Army. Typically widowed, divorced, never married or orphaned, many of these women have significantly compelling stories about why they have chosen this life path as opposed falling into to the more typical women’s roles in traditional arranged marriages or the more modern “Westernized” roles in the pursuit of careers. Many have limited literacy skills, while others (with whom I have recently connected) have MAs and PHDs and thus (initially surprisingly to me) are still pursuing their careers, ie. running schools or continuing to practice medicine.
