Haridwar Kumbh Mela

Haridwar stands where the Ganges enters the northern plain. Ancient Sanskrit texts call it Gangadvara, the gate of the Ganges; its later name means gateway to Hari, the god Vishnu. Puranic legend counts it among the four places where drops of amrita fell from the gods' pitcher.

Its twelve-yearly bathing fair appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, named for the zodiacal sign Kumbha, or Aquarius, under which it is held. The earliest surviving texts to use that name, from 1695 and 1759, apply it only to Haridwar.

Timur sacked the town in 1398 and massacred pilgrims on its banks. Under Mughal rule the fair became a great religious and commercial gathering, but armed ascetics often fought over bathing precedence: a clash in 1760 left thousands dead. After the Marathas ceded the region in 1804, the East India Company disarmed the orders and policed the ghats.