00:00It is wonderful, the power of faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old
00:06and weak, and the young and the frail, enter without hesitation or complain upon such
00:13incredible journeys, and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love,
00:19or it is done in fear. I do not know which it is," wrote Mark Twain when he visited the Kumbh Mela
00:26in 1895. But in India, which is entrenched in patriarchy, even Kumbh Mela, which many
00:33see as a great leveller, is a manifestation of male domination of Hindu power. From bare-bodied
00:40sadhus to those who embrace complete nakedness, it is the men who take centre stage, leading
00:47religious processions and rituals. On the first Shahi Snan Day, before 3.5 crore devotees could
00:54take the sacred dip, the Naga sadhus were the first to march to the banks of the Triveni Sangham.
01:01With swords, trishuls, damroos and bows in hand, they displayed Hindu male power,
01:08their bodies smeared in ashes, chanting Har Har Mahadev.
01:13The next Shahi Snan is set to take place on 29th January, during Amavasya.
01:19Known for their celibacy and sattvic diet, consisting of freshly prepared, lightly cooked
01:25or raw foods, Naga sadhus strictly avoid processed foods and fried items. They embody a stark
01:33masculine presence, wearing no clothes and carrying weapons. Out of this, Naga sadhus
01:39are the first to march to the banks of the Triveni Sangham.
01:42Out of the 13 originally recognised Hindu monastic orders, only seven Akhadas include
01:48Naga sadhus. These are the Juna Akhada, Niranjani Akhada, Mahanirvani Akhada, Atal Akhada, Agni
01:57Akhada, Anand Akhada and Avaha Akhada. The Akhadas are divided into three main categories.
02:04Shaiva Akhadas, devoted to Shiva, Vaishnava Akhadas, devoted to Vishnu and Udasin Akhadas,
02:12tracing their roots to a sect founded by the son of Sikhism's first guru. All the 13
02:18originally recognised Akhadas continue to be led by men.
02:22The Aghoris, also Shaivist sadhus, do not participate in the Shahi Snan, as they believe
02:29such rituals drain their spiritual energy. Instead, they performed Masan Holi at the
02:35Kumbh, where they adorned themselves with skull garlands and threw ashes instead of colours.
02:41This sect, embodying a raw form of masculine energy, meditates in cremation grounds,
02:48covers their bodies with ash, uses human skulls as utensils and is known to consume flesh from
02:55human corpses. Unlike the Naga sadhus, Aghoris are not part of any Akhadas. The term Akhada
03:03itself is derived from the Sanskrit word Akhand, meaning inseparable, and traditionally referred
03:10to wrestling grounds used to test the physical strength of men. According to the Hindu Jana
03:16Jagruti Samiti, the rise of Jain, Buddhist and Muslim sects posed a challenge to Hindu dharma.
03:25In response, armed groups called Akhadas were formed. These groups combined spiritual practices
03:32with physical combat training to repel foreign invasions.
03:37The Akhadas, now seen as custodians of the Kumbh Mela, carry a legacy rooted in violence and war.
03:45While the Kumbh is celebrated as a space for spirituality and devotion, its origins are
03:51deeply entwined with these battles. It is believed that Naga ascetics defeated Aurangzeb's
03:58army in Haridwar in 1666, repelled Ahmed Shah Abdali in Mathura in 1757, liberated villages
04:08under Rajendra Giri in Jhansi from 1751 to 1753, laid the groundwork for the 1857 rebellion in
04:17Haridwar in 1855, and defended Hindus at the Sindh border.
04:22In 2016, the patriarchy of the Akhadas was challenged when Trikal Bhavanta, a female Hindu
04:30leader, staged a burial protest. Her all-woman Pari Akhada was denied permission to bathe in
04:37the holy waters. Then, in 2019 came the addition of the Kinnar Akhada, comprising trans and
04:45intersex people and hijras. Chanting Har Har Mahadev, members of the Kinnar Akhada made their
04:52way to the Sangam for the Shahi Snan this year. At the centre of the procession, Acharya Mahamandaleshwar
04:59Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi walked under an umbrella flanked by other Mahamandaleshwars of the Akhada.
05:07The Kinnar Akhada captivated everyone as they approached the riverbank wielding swords and
05:13thresholds. Draped in colourful sarees adorned with rudraksh malas, their foreheads were marked
05:20with the Tripundra Tilak, along with large bindis and tilaks for Hari. They presented a distinct and
05:27striking sight, a contrast to the other Akhadas. Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi, who formed the Kinnar
05:33Akhada in 2015, was the first transgender person to represent Asia Pacific at the UN in 2008.
05:42She is an activist, an actress, a Bharatanatyam dancer and a choreographer. She explained her
05:49inspiration came from the 2014 Supreme Court ruling that recognised transgender people as
05:56a third gender entitled to the rights and protections of India's constitution. Tripathi said,
06:03I was not at all religious, but after the court verdict, I had a space already in my religion,
06:10so why should I see another religion than the one I was born into? What was mine,
06:15had to be mine. We decided to reclaim it. In 2016, they participated in the Ujjain Simastha Kumbh.
06:24In 2019, they gained recognition from Juna Akhada and performed the Shahi Snan with them.
06:31Later in 2021, they took part in the Ardh Kumbh in Haridwar. Unlike other Akhadas,
06:37which are only open to Hindu men, the Kinnar Akhada welcomes all genders and sexualities.
06:43However, their recognition was not without resistance. In 2018, Narendra Giri, the
06:50president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada, Padeshid, opposed the inclusion of the Kinnar Akhada
06:56as the 14th member of the body. Tripathi countered, they don't know that a Kinnar is
07:02equivalent to a Devata and the Kinnar Akhada was officially recognised a year later.
07:08By identifying themselves with mythological celestial beings and invoking Hindu scriptures,
07:14the Kinnar Akhada has challenged the male-dominated, change-resistant, patriarchal
07:20world of the Akhadas. As efforts like these attempt to carve out a more inclusive space,
07:26the question remains, can Kumbh Mela evolve into more than an exhibition of masculine energy
07:32through ascetic orders or will it continue to remain a symbol of patriarchy, despite these
07:39efforts for change?
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