Haridwar in the context of "Bhabar"

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.

Lopamudra, also known as Kaveri, Kaushitaki and Varaprada, was a philosopher according to ancient Vedic Indian literature. She was the wife of the sage Agastya who is believed to have lived in the Rigveda period (1950 BC-1100 BC) as many hymns have been attributed as her contribution to this Veda. She was not only the consort of Agastya but a Rishiki in her own right, as she was the well known Rishiki who visualized the "Hadi Panchadasi" mantra of the Srikul Shakta tradition of Hinduism. She was one of the prominent Brahmavadinis.

There are three versions of Lopamudra's legend; one is in the Rigveda Hymns; the second is in the epic Mahabharata (Vanaparva: Tirtha-yatra Parva), where there is an elaborate version with a mention that Agastya Rishi did penance at Gangadwara (Haridwar), with the help of his wife, Lopamudra (the princess of Vidarbha). According to this legend, Lopamudra was created by sage Agastya with the most graceful parts of animals such as eyes of the deer etc. The third version is Giridhara Ramayana.

In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas (sacred places) has special significance for earning the punya (spiritual merit) needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing the darśana (viewing of deity), the parikrama (circumambulation), the yajna (sacrificial fire offering), the Dhyana (spiritual contemplation), the puja (worship), the prarthana (prayer, which could be in the form of mantra - sacred chants, bhajan - prayer singing, or kirtan - collective musical prayer performance), the dakshina (alms and donation for worthy cause), the seva (selfless service towards community, devotees or temple), the bhandara (running volunteer community kitchen for pilgrims), etc. These sacred places are usually located on the banks of sacred waters, such as sacred rivers or their tributaries (among the rigvedic rivers of sapta sindhu the trio ganges-yamuna-saraswati are considered most sacred), the kundas (pond or lake, among these the Lake Manasarovar is considered most scared), the ghats (water bodies with stairs such as Ghats in Varanasi), or the stepwells (among these the rani ki vav in the form of inverted temple is considered most spectacular), or the temple tanks.

In India there are 7 Sapta Puri holy cities, 4 Dhams (Char Dham) and 12 Jyotirlings devoted to the Lord Shiva, 51 Shakti Pithas devoted to the feminine manifestation of the god, the eight swayambhu Vishnu temples (Badrinath, Naimisharanya, Saligram Muktinath, Srimushnam, Tiruchirappalli, Tirupati, Nanguneri, Pushkar) and the important Lord Rama circuit (Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Hampi and Rameswaram) and Lord Krishna circuit (Braj, Kurukshetra and Dwarka).

Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, also called Kartarpur Sahib, is a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Kartarpur, Shakargarh Tehsil, Narowal District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is built on the historic site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, settled and assembled the Sikh community after his missionary travels (udasis to Haridwar, Mecca-Medina, Lanka, Baghdad, Kashmir and Nepal). Nanak lived there for 18 years until his death in 1539. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Golden Temple in Amritsar and Gurdwara Janam Asthan in Nankana Sahib.

The gurdwara is also notable for its location near the border between Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border. Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on Gurpurab (Parkash Purab and Joti Jot Divas of Guru Nanak Dev Ji) to perform darshan, or sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border. The Kartarpur Corridor was opened by then Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on 9 November 2019, the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and just days before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. This historic moment officially allowed Indian Sikh pilgrims rare visa-free access to the site in Pakistan. It is also claimed to be the largest gurdwara in the world.