LUCKNOW: The stage is all set for Kumbh and Sangam city seems to be soaked in spirituality, the winds of which are sweeping the confluence of holy Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. While the city is all decked up to welcome the devotees, saints and seers, various akharas (monastic order) have started thronging Prayagraj meandering through the roads to the mela site in processions celebrating their ‘Peshwai’ ahead of Kumbh-2019.
The Kumbh Mela will commence on Janaury 14 and first Mahasnan will be observed on
Mahasankranti, Janaury 15, 2019. The mela would conclude with the fifth and last Mahasnan of Mahashivratri on March 4, 2019. Peshwai of an Akhara is an amalgamation of opulence, tradition, rituals and spiritual glory in the form of a procession through which Akharas register their presence by setting up their camp on mela premises for the entire mela period. Even the local residents of Sangam city welcome these processions by showering petals on the seers and seeking their blessings during Peshwai.
Clad in saffron and bodies smeared with ash all over, the saints of different akharas organise these processions. Shri Shambhu Dashmaan Aavahan Akhara was the latest order to enter the Mela site on
Thursday. It was the third of the 13 akharas in the country to take part in Kumbh-2019. Shri Dashnaam Aavahan Akhara’s Peshwai was a visual delight. Carrying a Dharam Dhwaj (20x20 ft) with image of their
deity and mounted on a 11-meter high pole, the Peshwai of Shri Shambhu Dashnaam Aavahan Akhara commenced with orchestra band, disc jockeys, elephants, horses, camels, hundreds of seers, Mahamandelshwars, Mandelshwars, Mahnats and Naga babas strolling through the roads till Mela ground on Thursday.
On December 25, Shri Panch Dashnaam Juna Akhara and Agni Akhara had arrived in Prayagraj with a processsion of Peshwai to get settled on the premises of mela site at the place allotted to them. In all, 13 akharas will set up their camps during the Kumbh in Prayagraj. Juna Akhara was the first monastic order to enter the mela site early this month.
Shri Shambhu Dashnaam Aavahan Akhara’s Peshwai commenced with invoking Lord Dattatrya, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu amid rendition of shlokas and mantras. Lord Dattatreya is believed to be the Lord of Akahras. "Before establishing out camp for the next month and a half, we seek blessing of Lord Dattatrya," said an office bearer of the Akhara.
Meanwhile, for the first time, Juna Akhara has decided to set up a separate camp – Juna Dashnaami Sanyasini Akhara -- for women seers. On the day of Makarsankranti, a separate Dharm Dhawj would be
mounted in front of this camp and arrangements for separate seat for akhara head, place for worship and bedrooms have been made for sanyasinis.