As many as 2.5 crore people participated in the third ‘Amrit Snan’ on the occasion of Basant Panchami at the holy confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati in the Mahakumbh 2025. The Akharas could also resume their grand processions which were curtailed, following the stampede caused in the last Amrit Snan on Mauni Amavasya. By evening 4:00 pm only, 2 crore devotees took the sacred dip.
After the stampede caused on January 29 on Mauni Amavasya at the Triveni Sangam, the Uttar Pradesh administration as commanded by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath adopted a ‘zero error’ approach leaving no chance for any small issue also.
Heightened security and strict crowd control measures were taken by the administration and other officials deployed in the Mela area. According to them, Chief minister Yogi Adityanath was monitoring the situation since 3:30 am in the morning. The DGI Vaibhav Mishra told that in the light of the January 29 stampede, additional force was deployed at all pressure points for crowd management. He said in the evening, “Our crowd management has been good today, which is visible. No untoward incident has been reported from anywhere yet. Additional deployment has been made at the pressure points. The Amrit Snan has been progressing smoothly as per order.”
The officials also said that this time the devotees exhibited a civic sense and self-awareness. Unlike the Mauni Amavasya snan this time, the crowd didn’t flock over to Triveni Sangam building pressure on the ghat, instead they headed over to other places to part in the holy ritual.
At the break of dawn 4:00 am, all seers and saints from various akharas moved to the ‘Akhara path’ including the Naga Sadhus smeared in ash, slowly heading towards the sangam to participate in the Amrit Snan. The procession was led by Panchayati Akhara Mahnirvani, then Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhara, Taponidhi Panchayati Niranjani Akhara, Panchayati Akhara Anand, Panchdashnam Juna Akhara, Panchdashnam Avahan Akhara, and Panchgani Akhara, followed by others at their scheduled times. By 3:00 pm almost all the 13 akharas had taken the holy dip and returned to their camps. The helicopters also showered rose petals from the sky at various sites as the saints and devotees took their bath.
On Monday, Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk reached Lucknow where CM Yogi Adityanath received him. The King will visit Mahkumbh today on February 3.
Since the beginning of the Mahakumbh since January 13, 2025 the event has recorded 34.97 crore visitors till now. And even more and more devotees are registering their attendance as the spiritual gathering progresses ahead. The ‘Triveni Yog’, a rare celestial alignment which occurs in 144 years is taking place this year, which makes the 2025 Mahakumbh especially auspicious.
The Basant Panchami snan was the last of the three Amrit Snans. Two other special events will be on Maghi Purnima (February 12) and Mahashivratri (February 26), before the Mahakumbh finally ends.