Dainik Hindustan
BHOPAL, INDIA, February 8, 2004: The saints of the Saiva and Vaishnava sampradayas have agreed upon the three Shahi Snan, main bathing days, of the upcoming Kumbha Mela in Ujjain, ending an uncertainty which was causing problems for the Madhya Pradesh government, who are responsible for the Mela arrangements. There are 13 akahars, monastic orders, among the sampradayas. Seven belong to the Dasanami Saiva Sampradaya, three to the Vaishnava Sampradaya and three to Udasin Sampradaya. They hadn’t been unanimous in decided the bathing dates for the mela for the last eight decades, according to this article translated from the Hindi. In a telephone call to Hinduism Today’s New Delhi correspondent, Shri Sudhi Pujari, a disciple of Shri Mahant Gyan Das Ji of Nirvani Akhara, reported the dates are April 5, April 22 and May 4. According to Shri Pujari, the decision was taken in a meeting presided by Shri Mahant Gyan Das Ji who was recently elected the president of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, a national body which represents all the thirteen Akharas.