Triveni sangamam

The Triveni Sangamam is about 12 km from the nearest railway station. It is believed that a bath in the Sangamam will wash away all the sins and will clear the way to heaven. Devout Hindus from all over India come to this sacred pilgrimage point to offer prayers and take a dip in the holy waters. This is one of the holy places where the sacred Kumbha Mela is held every twelve years. Allahabad is also called Tirtha-Raja (Prayag Raj), king of all holy places. It is said that Lord Rama visited Allahabad when he was in exile.

This is where the three rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Yamuna looks more colorful (green) because it is deeper. Ganga was muddy. One could see a definite distinction - like a line drawn between the two rivers. Saraswathi flowing beneath the earth is perhaps the only unpolluted river (well, you can't see it - so you really don't know!!!!). It meets the other two rivers from the base. The Sangaman is a sacred place for the Hindus. The Ganga is about 4 ft deep, while Yamuna is 40 ft deep near the point of nexus. The river Yamuna ends at this point and Ganga continues after this until it meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal.

We took a boat where there were many other passengers and we had our own guide/priest to take us to the right spot for us to bathe. But while sitting on the boat itself, we were asked to drench ourselves with water from Ganga. There was a small ceremony performed. My husband was asked to trim the ends of my long hair. I was given a paste of turmeric and I applied it on my face, hands, legs (the portions of my body not covered by my saree). As we approached the Sangamam point where it is not deep, we got off the boat very carefully and holding hands, took three dips in the Triveni area. (Suddenly, at this point, like a flash, I remembered my first trip with my parents. I remembered my father braiding my mother's hair after their dip and holding me by the arms and giving me a dip in the river from the boat itself. He did the same thing to my sister. Also, we saw huge turtles and with human parts in their mouths- everything was so vivid and scary. Yamuna was fierce and flooded that day). Anyway, this time, it was a different experience for me. This was the first visit for Nirmala and Rao. We were given two small garlands and Rao and I exchanged the gardlands (it was like a wedding according to the priest). Rao braided my hair (he did not know how to), we offered flowers etc. to the river and offered our prayers. I have to add that during this whole time, it never even occured to my mind that we were bathing in a so called most polluted river. Also, after all these dips, being in wet clothes for a long period, we did not fall sick. Actually, I felt much better. A relief was felt!! Strange, isn't it?

We were told that the sand from Rameswaram in the South should be brought and mixed here to complete the journey. I don't know in olden days, how people walked from Kaasi to Rameswaram and Rameswaram to Kaasi!!! Many never returned home. They must have made that trip after fulfilling all their worldly (material) responsibilities. The dip in Triveni sangamam is supposed to ward off all your sins. I may have emptied a larger bag this time!!!!!

Since I have taken too long to write this blog, I don't want to go into sthala puranas, describing the past, present and the future of these places. There are plenty of sites that one can search on the internet. After returning to our hotel, I purchased some photo albums and books (since we could not take any camera with us onto the boat) and cotton towels and small brass items for the pooja room.

The next post is about our adventure on the train to Calcutta.