Was Kumbha Mela an exclusive Buddhist religious gathering

 

Over a few years there has been an allegation that the Kumbha Mela that we know of today is an exclusive Buddhist festival, which has been taken over by the Bramhins.

Now let us try to see if the allegations are really true or are baseless:

According to Hindu theology, the origin of Kumbha Mela is found in one of the most popular medieval puranas, the Bhagavata Purana. The Samudra manthan episode (Churning of the ocean of milk), is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana.

The account goes that the Devas had lost their strength by the curse of Durvasa Muni, and to regain it, they approached Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. They directed all the demigods to Lord Vishnu and after praying to Lord Vishnu, he instructed them to churn the ocean of milk Ksheera Sagara (primordial ocean of milk) to receive amrita (the nectar of immortality). This required them to make a temporary agreement with their arch enemies, the Asuras, to work together with a promise of sharing the wealth equally thereafter. However, when the Kumbha (urn) containing the amrita appeared, a fight ensued. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human years) the Devas and Asuras fought in the sky for the pot of amrita. It is believed that during the battle, Lord Vishnu (incarnated as Mohini-Mürti) flew away with the Kumbha of elixir spilling drops of amrita at four places: Allahabad (Prayag), Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.

The first written evidence of the Kumbha Mela can be found in the accounts of Chinese monk Xuanzang (formerly romanised as Hsuan Tsang) who visited India in 629-645 CE, during the reign of King Harshavardhana.

Let’s see what Hsuan Tsang mentions in his texts, did he explicitly mentions Kumbha Mela as a Buddhist Festival. For it we will be taking references from the Hsuang Tsang’s Journey to India published by the National Book Trust, India.

The first question that may arise among people is that whether Hinduism as a religion existed at that point of time.

For that, let us see Chapter VI – A Pilgrims Reward from the book Hsuang Tsang’s Journey to India, in page number 43 there is a incident where Hsuang Tsang was attacked on his way by bandits. Here Hsuang Tsang mentions that one of the captives informed him that the bandits were worshippers of Goddess Durga. In Page number 46 and 47 of the same chapter, he mentions visiting several Deva temples while visiting Kapilavastu, and in his visit to Varanasi he mentions that there are hundred or so Deva temples and most of the people were devotees of Shiva. Some used to shave of their hair while others used to tie it into a top knot. In page number 48 he mentions, while visiting Magadha he saw tens of Deva temples, and the adherents of various sects were very numerous.

In Chapter VII – A Seat of Learning, page 49, he mentions that were about thousand Bramhin families in the Bodhgaya who were descendants of the original rishis, and they were not subject to the King and were highly revered by the people.

In page 53 he mentions that while studying in Nalanda he minutely examined and understood the  Buddhist texts and also went through the sacred books of the Bramhanas.

In page 55 he describes his visit to Assam on the request of Bhaskar Varman, here he mentions that the people of Assam were honest and of short stature. He also mentioned that the people of kamrupa worshipped Devas and were not the followers of Buddhism. He also mentioned that although King Kumar Bhaskar Varman of Kamrupa was not a Buddhist himself yet he treated all accomplished Shramanas with respect.

In page 57, the monk describes that the King Harsha Vardhan held an assembly of monks and Bramhans from all over India.

It is very clear from the above references that the Bramhins and Hinduism existed during the reign of King Harsha Vardhan, and the Bramhin were held in very high regard during that period.

Now let us try to see if Hsuang Tsang ever explicitly mentioned that the Kumbha Mela was a Buddhist gathering:

In the Chapter VIII – The Great Alms Giving, Hsuang Tsang mentions that Emperor Harsha distributed his wealth among the public once every five years; his treasury was then replenished by his vassals. He describes such a ritual at a site located at the confluence of two rivers, in the kingdom of Prayaga.

He also mentions that many hundreds take a bath at the confluence of two rivers, to wash away their sins.

Here in Page 59, the King Harsha asks the monk to stay a little longer to witness the great religious convocation where the King invites the Bramhanas and Shramanas to attend the religious gathering.

In Page 60, Hsuang Tsang mentions that in the first day of the religious gathering the King installed the image of the Buddha inside one of the thatched buildings on the field of charity. Then precious articles and clothing of first quality, exquisite meats were offered. And similarly on the second day the image of Aditya Deva (the Sun God) is installed, and precious clothing and articles are offered like the previous day. On the third day, the image of Isvara Deva (Shiva) was installed and gifts were offered like the other two days.

No where in the entire book Hsuang Tsang’s Journey to India, was mentioned that the Kumbha Mela was an exclusive religious gathering of the Buddhists.

It appears from the records of Chinese traveler Hsuang Tsang that the emperor of Kannauj had a strong liking for Buddhism, but it is also found that from his records that he never discarded Vedic Religion.

Let us look at what other scholars have written regarding Harsha Vardhans religion and his family:

In the book “Advanced History of India” RC Mazumder in Chapter XI, page 149 writes that the Harshas Dynasty claimed descent from illustrious Pushyabhuti, a devotee of Lord Shiva.

In Page 151 of the Chapter XI, the author writes that from the records of Chinese traveler Hsuang Tsang it appears that although the Emperor Harsha showed a strong predilection for Buddhism, he never actually discarded Shaivism.

Jawaharlal Nehru in his book “Glimpses of World History” writes

 

“…HIUEN TSANG gives us a description of the great KUMBH MELA at PRAYAG. When you see this mela again, think of Hiuen Tsang’s visit to it 1300 years ago, and remember that even then it was an old mela coming right down from the Vedic times. Compared to this ancient one, of hoary lineage, our city of Allahabad is but of yesterday. It was founded by Akbar less than 400 years ago. Far older was Prayag, but older still is that attraction which, for thousands of years, has drawn millions, year after year, to the meeting-place of the Ganga and the Jumna.

 

Hiuen Tsang tells us how Harsha, though a Buddhist, went to this typical Hindu festival. On his behalf an imperial decree invited all the poor and needy of the “Five Indies” to come and be his guests at the mela. It was a brave invitation, even for an emperor. Needless to say, many came; and 100,000 are said to have fed daily as Harsha’s guests! At this mela, every five years, Harsha used to distribute all the surplus of his treasury: gold, jewellery, silk-indeed everything he had. He even gave away his crown and rich clothing and took from his sister Rajashri a common garment which had already been worn.

 

As a pious Buddhist, Harsha stopped the killing of animals for food. This was probably not objected to much by the Brahmans, as they had taken more and more to vegetarianism since Buddha’s coming.

 

There is a little tit-bit of information in Hiuen’s book which might interest you. He tells us that when a person fell ill in India he immediately fasted for seven days. Most people recovered during this fast. But if the illness continued, then they took medicine. Illness could not have been popular in those days, nor would doctors be much in demand!

 

A striking feature of India in those days was the great deference and respect shown by rulers and military men to learned and cultured people. In India and in China a deliberate attempt was made, and with great success, to give the place of honour to learning and culture, and not to brute force or riches.”

 

From the Hsuang Tsang’s Journey to India, RC Mazumder’s “Advanced History of India” and Jawaharlal Nehru’s “Glimpses of World History”. It is clear that neither the Kumbha Mela was an exclusive event of the Buddhists, nor the Emperor Harsha renounced vedic religion or the vedic gods.

 

I hope this blog was informative. Thank You for reading. Please do share your valuable feedbacks.

 

Jai Shree Ram