The story, the myth, is elaborate, but one word that firmly dictates the narrative of the Kumbh saga is immortality. Immortality is to live deeply, not necessarily long. It is to go to one’s deepest desire, fulfill it, and extinguish it forever. Another Kumbh beckons us. Can we go beyond the ritualistic dip and honestly observe life as it is, within and around us?
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Originally published in the The Sunday Guardian on 19 jan '25.
Acharya Prashant: So, the demigods and the demons, vigorous and adventurous as they were, thought of adding to their bounties. And got together, uncharacteristically, for a joint exploration mission. Together they churned the great sea using the great mountain as the churner and the great python as the rope.
One of the first things to show up was the great fuming poison. Shiva protected the three worlds by consuming the poison. And then, emerged the nectar of immortality. The exploration had reached its zenith. The mission had succeeded. The ambrosia had been churned out from the utter depths of the great ocean and was now available to be gulped down some ambitious throats.
Both parties looked lustfully at their biggest exploit: the pot – the kumbh – of nectar that would put an end to death and make them invincible. But death is so overwhelming a threat that the prospect of deathlessness can make anyone do strange things. One individual, probably a
