Shift in Sangam exhilarate saint community

Ardh Kumbh Nagar, UP, Jan 11 (UNI) The shifting of Sangam, the confluence of holy Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers -- what looks like a simple geographical phenomenon -- has exhilarated the saint community considering it a 'rare' and 'good' omen.

The Sangam has shifted due to Ganga having changed its course towards west, making it a great coincidence for lakhs of devotees, who visit Ardh Kumbh to take holy dip in its sacred waters.

The gradual shifting of Sangam over the last several years has prompted scientists and environmentalists to find out the reasons.

But, the Hindu saints, mahanats and devotees find it as the most revered phenomenon.

''Paschimovahini Ganga mein snan karke lakho varsh ke paap dhul jate hain (Holy dip in westward Ganga washes away the sins of lakhs of years),'' said Hanuman Baba, a saint who has been visiting Sangam during the Hindu month of Magha since last 50 years.

Similar views have been echoed by noted a Sanskrit scholar and astrologer Dr Ram Naresh Tripathi, who said it was a popular religious belief that taking bath in 'Paschmovahini (westward)' Ganga is highly fruitful religiously and spiritually.

''It is the most auspicious omen that the Holy Ganga has changed its course and started flowing westwards. It is propitious not only for individuals, but for the mankind,'' Dr Tripathi said quoting several Hindu texts.

Swami Agnivesh, a sadhu from Gujarat told this correspondent that he came to know about westward Ganga after reaching Ardh Kumbh and was more than happy to take dip in the Holy river.

About nine crore pilgrims from all over the country and abroad are expected at the Ardh Kumbh Mela, the world's largest religious congregation, which began here on January 3. The devotees take holy dip in Ganga during the ongoing fair.

Sadhus from all sects, devotees from across the world, the poor and the rich, all converge on the banks of Ganga for a dip, which they believe would absolve them of all the sins.

This Ardh Kumbh, the coincidence is even better for the pilgrims as the Ganga is westwards. ''This is very auspicious and a good omen for the mankind,'' according to Pandit Ram Kripal of Lucknow.

Although the Ardh Kumbh is on the banks of Sangam, the bathing ghats have been constructed on the banks of Ganga. Moreover, the Hindu traditions speak of taking bath in Ganga to wash away sins.

Quoting Padam Puran, an ancient Hindu text, Dr Girija Shastri of the Allahabad-based Jyotish Karmakand Evam Adhyatam Shodh Sansthan, an astrology research centre, said a dip at the Sangam, when it flows westwards, washes off sins of a billion years.

Indian Institute of technology (IIT), Kanpur scientists have also analysed the satellite data of 1975, 1990 and 2000 to prove that the confluence has moved.

Scientists say the shift is clearly visible. Ganga, that flowed east-west at the north of Allahabad suddenly changed course towards the north-south direction. There is no change in the course of Yamuna.

The experts feel it does not involve any great scientific reason, but the local currents and topography can be attributed to this phenomenon. Yamuna is deep and Ganga is shallow, thus the former forces Ganga to divert towards it at the Sangam site.

UNI