New Delhi, March 21 A coffee table book by photographer Rajesh Kumar Singh and author Vincent Van Ross captures the many dimensions of the Kumbh festival through a collection of images and archives relating to the Poorna Kumbh, Ardh Kumbh, as well as the Mahakumbh.
"The Essence of Kumbh" explores the spiritual grandeur, cultural richness, and historic significance of the 2025 Prayagraj Mahakumbh, offering a glimpse into the world's largest spiritual gathering.
"In putting together this coffee table book titled 'The Essence of Kumbh', we sifted through thousands of enduring images of the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela and shortlisted about 300 images. After that, we selected the images that finally made it into this book."
"You will find in this book some of the choicest images of the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela since 2001 – captured exclusively by the renowned photographer Rajesh Kumar Singh. We have also delved into important rituals associated with Kumbh Melas," Ross writes in the book's introduction.
Along with colored photographs, spanning the large swathes of land covered with devotees, the book explores the mythology and cultural aspect of the Kumbh mela.
The over 250-page book, in its initial chapters, explores the mythology of the Kumbh festival with the story of "Samudramanthan" that appears in Hindu scriptures, including the "Padma Purana", "Vishnu Purana", and "Bhagavata Purana".
According to the story, the divine physician of god Dhanavantri appears with a pot of nectar, "Amrit Kalash", out of the Samudramanthan. As Devas and Asuras struggled for the possession of the "Kumbh", drops of the nectar spilled over on earth.
The four locations where the nectar fell became sacred sites for the Kumbh mela, according to the story.
The book also includes pictures and accounts of travelers going back to the 7th century who witnessed the Kumbh mela.
It includes a mention of Chinese traveler and Buddhist monk Heun Tsang, who visited India between 630 and 645 CE, the Magh Mela in Prayag during the 16th to 18th centuries under the Mughal rule, and a Persian chronicle "Tabaqat-i-Akbari" that talks about the congregation of a large number of Hindus at the Triveni Sangam in the 1590s.
It also mentions that the officiating magistrate of Allahabad reported revenue of Rs 39,505 from the sale of train tickets in 1870. The revenue from other sources on the main bathing day amounted to Rs 41,824.
The Joint Magistrate's report of the 1882 Kumbh Mela, believed to be the first comprehensive report of the event, notes that pilgrims arrived from all parts of India – "from Kashmir to Madras and from Kandahar to Calcutta".
"The maximum number of pilgrims from other parts of India came from Benares and Mirzapur in the east, Kanpur in the west, and Jabalpur in the south of Allahabad," it said.
According to records, an estimated 10 lakh pilgrims took a holy dip on the main bathing day of Mauni Amavashya. And, at least one lakh Kalpvasis camped in the Mela for the whole month of Magh.
Other chapters describe the holy dip tradition, religious discourses and bhajan during the Kumbh, along with the photographs of the Shankaracharyas and their followers, spiritual leaders from across the country, devotees taking a dip into the Sangam, and processions of naga sadhus into Prayagraj.
One of the chapters explores at length the tradition of "Shahi Snan", which constitutes the most sacred and significant activity of the festival on Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya, and Basant Panchmi.
Naga sadhus preparation for the Shahi Snan includes smearing the holy ash and applying sandalwood paste on their bodies, along with putting on the thick metallic anklet called "kada", the finger ring, panch kesh, marigold garlands, ear rings, chimta or tongs, damru, and kamandal.
Photographs by Singh show ashen sadhus plunging into the sacred waters of Sangam with their tridents and swords, devotees including women and children paying their respect to the passing sadhus, and the pind daan ceremony that "frees the sadhus from their worldly bounds".