ASTROLOGICAL CALCULATIONS OF KUMBH MELA

From ancient India, Vedic Astrology went to other countries like America, China, and several Arabic countries where it was preserved by them. The present Indian Vedic Astrology uses sidereal Zodiac which is dependent on stars and rasis where as the sages like Parasara advocates to use tropical Zodiac where the Zodiac wheel is constructed from the movement of Sun. Since the Indian Vedic Astrologers ignored this and did not make corrections to the deviations caused by earth's rotation, the astrological calculations of individual horoscopes along with calculation of festivals including Kumbh mela are found to be inaccurate. So, what are the correct dates of Kumbh mela?

‘Kumbh mela’ refers to certain astrological alignment of planets that gives not only worldly comforts but also spiritual progress to the mankind. People who take a dip in a specific river during Kumbh mela are considered to have taken bath in ‘amrith’ (nectar) and hence get rid of diseases and attain overall prosperity.

The story related to Kumbh mela dates back to churning of the milky ocean by gods and demons in order to obtain amrith (nectar). Finally, when their effort is rewarded, gods did not want to share the amrith with demons as the demons would cause harm to the Universe due to their bad nature. Lord Indra asks his son Jayanth to steal amrith and preserve it so that it would not be available to demons. Jayanth took amrith in a kumbh (pot) and ran for 12 days in order to keep it away from the demons. These 12 days became 12 years on the earth as 1 day in the heavens indicates 1 year on our earth. Thus, Kumbh mela happens every 12 years. During the struggle, the drops of amrith fell at 4 locations on the earth: Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nasik, and Ujjain. These places were thus sanctified, becoming the sites for the Kumbh mela. Precisely speaking, the positive energy of drops of amrith fell into the rivers flowing in these places, for example, Ganga in Haridwar, meeting point of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi in Prayagraj, Kshipra river in Ujjain and Godavari in Nasik.

The planets Sun and Jupiter in certain combinations give best results in Astrology. Jupiter is considered the most benefic planet in Astrology as it gives financial and spiritual gains. Sun distribute heavenly energies to our earth in the form of light. The following are the alignments of Jupiter and Sun during Kumbh mela.

• Jupiter sextile Sun: That means Jupiter is forming 60 degrees angle with Sun.
• Jupiter trine Sun: In this case, Jupiter forms 120 degrees angle with Sun.
• Jupiter conjunct Sun: Here, Jupiter joins with Sun, thus having 0 degrees.

The above 3 combinations are considered extremely good in Astrology. The above aspects provide a native with optimism, spiritual energy, power and popularity. These aspects are helpful to gain acceptance from huge crowd of people. Also, they are auspicious to communicate with higher souls or gods.

When does Kumbh mela happen?

The following is the description about Kumbh mela given in the Indian ancient texts:

• When Jupiter enters the Aquarius sign along with the Sun moving in to the Aries sign, the Kumbh festival is held at Haridwar. This was held from 1-4-2021 to 30-4-2021.
• When Jupiter moves to Taurus and the Sun is in Capricorn, the Kumbh festival is held at Prayagraj. Currently, the Kumbh mela is being conducted in Prayagraj from 13-1-2025 to 26-2-2025.
• In the event of Jupiter moving in to Leo and the Sun entering Aries, the Kumbh festival is held at Ujjain. This event is planned during 27-3-2028 to 27-5-2028.
• When Jupiter and Sun are placed in Leo, the Kumbh festival is held at Nasik on the banks of Godavari. This is scheduled during August and September of 2027.

Are our Astrology calculations correct?

Vedic Astrology depends on sidereal Zodiac. That means the zodiac is based on stars and signs (rasis). Let us see how far this is correct. Sage Parashara in his Brihat Parasara Hora sashtra (BPHS) clearly explains that the zodiac is based on planetary movement and not on stars. Parasara in BPHS, Chapter 3 says:

• Star (nakshatra) is the name for those that stay fixed in their place in the sky. But those that always move independently are planets (graha). That means planets are different from stars.
• Planets move independently but stars move together – keeping the same distances from one another, exactly like spokes on a wheel. This particular wheel has 27 spokes, named Aswini, Bharani and so on.
• But something similar to that can be divided into twelve, known as Aries and so on. That means Parasara says that the stars and signs in the zodiac are similar but not identical. The zodiac signs are obtained by dividing the space into 12 parts and are different from the 27 stars. That means the Zodiac is not sidereal, it is dependent on planetary motion.
• The positions of the planets for a given time be taken as per drikganita. That means the movement of the planets should be calculated and tallied by observing them with our eyes using astronomical instruments. In addition, sphuta (correction) should be applied from time to time.

Surya Siddhanta, Chapter 14 strongly advocates tropical zodiac and not sidereal zodiac. The tropical zodiac depends on Sun’s movement and aligns the equinoxes and solstices. It says:

• The two solstices and two equinoxes are the thread upon which the core of the zodiac exists.
• It takes the Sun six months to reach the northern (summer) solstice after entering Capricorn; and six months to reach the southern (winter) solstice after entering Cancer.
• The twelve divisions beginning from Aries are certainly the months which constitute a year.

That means, the zodiac is dependent on Sun’s motion and is tropical. The signs Aries, Taurus, etc. are divisions of the zodiac which helps as reference points to know the actual positions of the planets. Bhagavata Purana, 5th Skandha, Chapter 21 says:

• The sun moves at varying speed between the northern solstice, southern solstice, and equinoctial points.
• The days and nights grow longer and shorter, revealing which of the signs – Capricorn, etc. – the Sun is in.
• When the Sun is in Aries and Libra, the days and nights are equal.
• When the Sun is in the five signs starting from Taurus, the days grow longer and nights grow shorter, month by month.
• When the Sun is in the five signs starting from Scorpio, the days and nights change in the opposite way. That means days will be shorter and nights will be longer.

Similar verses can be found in Vishnu Purana and Padma Purana also. Thus, the zodiac should be drawn based on Sun’s movement and should be divided into 12 signs based on the lengths of the days and nights. Since the Sun’s full power can be seen from March onwards and the day and night are at equal length, Aries 0 degree would be right choice as starting point of the Zodiac. The above references help us to draw tropical zodiac by taking the earth in the middle, as shown in the following Figure.

Another important point is that the planetary positions in the sidereal Zodiac employed by Indian Vedic Astrological system cannot be verified by ‘drikganitha’, i.e. by looking in the astronomical telescope. The planets are not found where they should be. Let us understand the reason for this deviation.

In addition to rotating on its own axis, our earth revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. This orbit is divided into 12 parts called the 12 Zodiac signs (or rasis) starting from Aries to Pisces. The earth revolves around the Sun and it traverses from Aries till Pisces completing one year. Here, we should know how the earth is rotating. It is rotating like a top. When we take a rotating top, initially the top will stand straight and rotate on its own axis. After a few seconds of time, the top slightly bends and deviates from its original straight-line path. When the time goes on, it still bends and makes more deviation. Then it touches the floor and stops. This is because the top’s speed has reduced slowly. In the same manner, our earth used to rotate on its own axis standing in a straight-line. That means the earth’s axis and its rotational axis would coincide and form 0 degrees. When years are going on, the earth’s rotational axis deviates from its own axis and it is becoming slow. This deviation is measured as 1 degree in about 72 years or 50 minutes (1 degree = 60 minutes) per year.

When earth completes one revolution around Sun and enters Aries 0 degrees on March 20th at a particular time, the following year, after the earth completes one revolution around the Sun, earth needs more time to reach Aries 0 degrees. Thus, in 72 years, the earth would deviate by 1 degree. That means, the earth would be at Pisces 29 degrees instead of Aries 0 degrees. This deviation is called ‘ayanamsa’ and Sage Parasara asks to correct this using drikganitha. Since this correction is ignored by Indian Vedic Astrologers for many years, by the year 2025, the deviation became 24 degrees 12 minutes. Since this ayanamsa is not added to the planetary positions, the Indian Vedic Astrological system is called ’nirayana’ (without ayanamsa) system. For example, if Vedic Astrology shows that your moon star is Bharani-1 in Aries sign, since we have to add around 24 degrees, it would be actually Krittika-4 in Taurus sign. Thus, what you believe as your Janma nakshatra (birth star) and birth rasi – both are not yours in reality. Setting all muhurtas like marriage, house warming etc. will go wrong since you adopted a wrong birth star.

Even calculation of festivals will go wrong. For example, Sun’s entry into Capricorn is celebrated as Makara Sankranti festival in South India. It was celebrated in the year 2025 on 14th January. But actually, it happened 24 days before (Sun moves 1 degree per day) on 21st December 2024.

In the recent past, in the year 285 CE, the ayanamsa was 0 degrees and no ayanamsa correction was required. This date was arrived at by Calendar Reform Committee (CRC) appointed by CSIR, Government of India headed by N.C. Lahari in 1955 after 3 years of extensive study. This is the reason the predictions of the Vedic Astrologers like Varahamihira (505 CE) and Aryabhatta (476 CE) came very accurate since the ayanamsa was not of considerable quantity during their times.

From the above discussion, let us conclude the following 2 important points:

• The Zodiac should not be drawn based on stars and rasis. It should be drawn based on Sun’s movement in a year starting from Aries 0 degrees. In Astrology, Sun’s movement is taken relative to earth’s movement.
• Ayanamsa correction should be applied to all planets positions since earth has deviated from Aries 0 degrees.

Aspects of planets during Kumbh mela

The flow of energy can be expected when the planets form aspects between them. No significant event takes place without aspects. During Kumbh mela, Jupiter and Sun form 0, 60 or 120 degrees. When we take Indian Vedic Astrology, the 0 degrees or conjunction between Sun and Jupiter is considered bad as Sun limits the power of Jupiter. This is called ‘asthangatva’ or combustion. The 60-degree aspect never exists in Vedic Astrology. Only the 120-degree aspect (trikona) is considered auspicious. In this light, the Haridwar and Nasik Kumbh melas will be invalid.

But, when we consider tropical Zodiac, these aspects will become meaningful. The aspects 0, 60 and 120 between Sun and Jupiter are all mentioned as bestowing high benefits.

Correct Kumbh mela calculations

Ayanamsa correction should be applied to every festival including Kumbh mela calculations also. Otherwise we cannot take advantage of the days containing precious spiritual energies. I have relied on tropical zodiac with ayanamsa correction and calculated the actual dates of upcoming Kumbh mela for the benefit of mankind. People who believe in my calculations can have a holy dip in those days.Ayanamsa correction should be applied to every festival including Kumbh mela calculations also. Otherwise we cannot take advantage of the days containing precious spiritual energies. I have relied on tropical zodiac with ayanamsa correction and calculated the actual dates of upcoming Kumbh mela for the benefit of mankind. People who believe in my calculations can have a holy dip in those days.

• Ujjain Kumbh mela: In the event of Jupiter moving in to Leo and the Sun entering Aries, the Kumbh festival is held at Ujjain. This event is planned during 27-3-2028 to 27-5-2028 which is inaccurate. The correct dates are 21-3-2027 to 20-4-2027. The highly effective days will be 28-3-2027 to 17-4-2027.
• Nasik Kumbh mela: When Jupiter and Sun are placed in Leo, the Kumbh festival is held at Nasik on the banks of Godavari. This is scheduled during August and September of 2027 which is inaccurate. The correct dates are 23-7-2026 to 22-8-2026. The highly effective days will be 23-7-2026 to 12-8-2026.