Mahakumbh 2025: Over 1 crore take dip in Sangam on Day 1; first ‘Amrit Snan’ today as millions gather on Makar Sankranti
A day after over 1 crore people took a dip in the sacred Sangam, a record number of devotees are expected to take part in the first ‘Amrit Snan’ of the Mahakumbh Mela 2025 on Tuesday, January 14, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj. Seers and Naga Sadhus arrived for the holy dip at Sangam early in the morning.
The first Amrit Snan of Mahakumbh is special in many ways. It takes place a day after the first major ‘snan’, which took place on Monday in the Sangam area on the occasion of Paush Poornima. The first Amrit Snan holds significance because the ‘Akharas’ will be participating in it.
Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) president Mahant Ravindra Puri told news agency PTI that the first Amrit Snan of this Mahakumbh was scheduled to begin at 5.30am on Tuesday.
Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival which marks the transition of the Sun from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere.
The MahaKumbh 2025, the world’s largest religious gathering, has officially begun in Prayagraj, marking the start of a grand 45-day spiritual event. The MahaKumbh 2025 is being organised over a sprawling 10,000-acre area.
Thousands of devotees have already flocked to the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mystical Saraswati river at Triveni Sangam to take part in the holy bath.
Top updates on Mahakumbh Mela 2025:
On Makar Sankranti (January 14), Shri Panchayati Akhara Mahanirvani and Shri Shambhu Panchayati Atal Akhara will be the first ones to take Amrit Snan. The two Akharas would depart from the camp at 5.15 am and reach the ghat at 6.15 am. They have been given 40 minutes for bathing. They will depart from the ghat for the camp at 6.55am and reach the camp at 7.55am.
Mahant Ravindra Puri said the common terms such as ‘shahi snan’ and ‘peshwai’ associated with the Kumbh have been changed to ‘Amrit Snan’ and ‘Chhavni Pravesh’ respectively, PTI reported.
Ashutosh Varshney of the Prayagraj-based Ram Naam Bank (an NGO), this Amrit Snaan will be the first such snaan after the grand ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Lord Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.
Deputy inspector general of Police (DIG) Vaibhav Krishna said told news agency ANI that the Sangam would be divided into two parts – one for the holy dip of the Akharas and the other side for the devotees.
“Nine police teams will take all 13 akhadas to take holy dip, one after another – and it will continue till evening. Teams of police and CAPFs are there,” the DIG said.
Several pilgrims who took a dip on the occasion of Paush Poornima are staying back in Prayagraj to take another dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.
The Uttar Pradesh government has arranged 0.15 million toilets, 15,000 sanitation workers, 2,500 Ganga Seva Doots (volunteers), and 0.15 million tents in the Mela area, ANI reported.
The state government has set up 69,000 LED lights, including solar hybrid street lighting, 2,750 crowd-monitoring cameras, and 24×7 Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) monitoring.
Additionally, there will be 10 digital lost-and-found centres, 25,000 workers on the ground, and parking facilities covering 1,800 hectares.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has established a floating police chowki to assist devotees as the 45-day-long Mahakumbh. Over 10,000 personnel, including local police and paramilitary forces, have been deployed for the event’s security.