Amrita in the context of "Kshira Sagara"

Kumbh Mela (Sanskrit: Kumbha Mēlā, pronounced [kʊˈmbʱᵊ melaː]; lit. 'festival of the Sacred Pitcher') is a Hindu pilgrimage, celebrated every four or twelve years, correlated with the partial or full revolution of Jupiter. These are held at four locations–Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain, with varying time intervals. As per the Puranas, these sites are considered to have received the drops of the divine nectar (amrita) during the Samudra Manthana (churning of the ocean of milk). The Kumbh Mela lasts between one and three months, with the Amavasya day attracting the largest crowds. The festival attracts millions of people, with the largest gathering recorded at Prayag. About 660 million attended the Kumbh Mela in 2025, and 200 million in 2019, making it one of the largest peaceful gatherings in the world. It has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Kumbh Mela is observed cycle at each site approximately once every 12 years based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and the relative positions of the Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon. As per Hindu astrology, specific alignments of the Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon only occur at the four Kumbh locations in a 12-year cycle. The Prayag and Haridwar festivals are held with a six year gap in between, and feature a Maha (major) and Ardha (half) Kumbh Melas. The Kumbh Melas at Ujjain and Nashik are observed in the same year or one year apart, typically about three years after the Prayag Kumbh Mela. The festival is held at the confluence of major rivers, and people take a ritual dip in the waters, believed to be a means of prāyaścitta (atonement) for the past mistakes, and cleansing of their sins. Various fairs, educational events, religious discourses, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment are also conducted during the festivities.

Ujjain Simhastha is a Hindu religious mela held every 12 years in the Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh, India. The name is also transliterated as Sinhastha or Singhastha. In Hindi, the fair is also called Simhasth or Sinhasth (due to schwa deletion). The name derives from the fact that it is held when the Jupiter is in Leo (Simha in Hindu astrology).

It is one of the four fairs traditionally recognized as Kumbha Melas, and is also known as Ujjain Kumbh Mela. According to Hindu mythology, Garuda dropped drops of amrita (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places, including Ujjain, are identified as the present-day sites of the Kumbh Mela."Kumbh" in its literal English translation means "Pot", which emerged from "Samudra Manthan"(Churning of the Ocean) between Gods and Demons. The term ‘Mela‘ signifies’Fair‘.

The Samudra Manthana (Sanskrit: समुद्रमन्थन, lit. 'churning of the ocean') is a major episode in Hinduism that is elaborated in the Vishnu Purana, a major text of Hinduism. The Samudra Manthana explains the origin of the elixir of eternal life, amrita.

Melasti is a Hindu Balinese purification ceremony and ritual, which, according to the Balinese calendar, is held several days prior to the Nyepi holy day. It is observed by Hindus in Indonesia, especially in Bali. Melasti was meant as the ritual to cleanse the world from all the filth of sin and bad karma through the symbolic act of acquiring the Tirta Amerta, "the water of life".

The Melasti ceremony is held on the edge of the beach to purify oneself of all the bad things in the past and throw them into the ocean. In Hindu belief, water sources such as lakes and seawater, are considered the source of life (Tirta Amrita). In addition to performing prayers, during the Melasti ceremony, all sacred objects which belong to a temple, such as pralingga or pratima of Lord Ida Sanghyang Widi Wasa, and all of the sacred equipment, are cleaned and purified.

Babhruvahana (Sanskrit: बभ्रुवाहन, romanized: Babhruvāhana) is a character in the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BCE - 400 CE). He is the son of the Pandava prince Arjuna and Chitrangada, the princess of Manalura (also known as Manipura), and later becomes the king of his maternal kingdom. Though Babhruvahana doesn't participate in the Kurukshetra War, he plays a central role in the Ashvamedha of the Pandavas, where he is forced into a conflict with his father, Arjuna, and ultimately kills him, only for Arjuna to be revived later.

Babhruvahana's story gains popularity in the 12th-century Jaiminiya Ashvamedhika, which expands his role—including waging a war against the Nāgas (snakes) in the underworld to retrieve an elixir and a divine gem to revive Arjuna, whom he beheaded in this version. Numerous literary works, plays and movies have been based on his story.