Mahakumbh: The mystic world of Naga sadhus and their 17 ‘shringar’
Naga sadhus prepare for Amrit Snan by performing a unique 17 shringar, involving cleansing and smearing ash, before bathing in the Ganga.
Their ash-covered bodies and long locks make Naga sadhus look different. To most, they may not exactly exude charm, but they spend hours on their ‘17 shringar’—unlike the 16 traditional adornments (16 shringar) performed by married women in Hindu culture— before each bathing festival as they did on Monday night ahead of the first Amrit Snan on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on Tuesday.
In addition to 16 shringar done by a married woman in Hindu culture, 17th is of the ash or bhaboot with which Naga sadhus smear their body.
The night preceding the Amrit Snan (previously called Shahi Snan), Naga sadhus begin the ‘spiritual and physical’ shringar, which starts with cleansing rituals and concludes with smearing the entire body with ash. The whole process takes 7-8 hours.
Each Naga sadhu keeps awake the whole night, first praying to Shiva and the deity of his Akhada to purify his soul, and then begins readying himself more carefully than, say, a woman for Karva Chauth, share sadhus. If a woman dresses up to look attractive, a Naga sadhu adorns himself to look suitable for a union with the divine Ganga.
“Once they reach the bathing ghats, their excitement peaks and even the most senior of these sadhus can be seen frolicking in the river water like a child in the arms of his mother,” shared Sri Mahant Ravindra Puri, secretary, Niranjani Akhada.
As per him, unlike others who bathe to purify themselves, the Naga sadhus first purify themselves through prayers and only after ensuring that they are ‘shuddh’ from inside do they go for the bath in the Ganga. He said each Naga sadhu smears his body with holy ash and grooms his ‘Panchkesh’ (hair of his body) before proceeding for the dip.
“If a Naga sadhu is keeping hair, he brushes them, else he shaves them. Like a married woman applying a bindi, sindoor and kajal, a Naga sadhu after attending to his Panchkesh applies the sacred roli, tilak and chandan,” he added.
“If a woman wears jewellery, a Naga sadhu too wears garlands of Rudraksh (rosary). He wears a kada (iron bracelet) instead of bangles and carries a damroo, chimta and kamandal as other adornments,” Shri Mahant Ravindra Puri said.
He said though a Naga sadhu does not wear clothes, he often puts on a loincloth as a concession to the world.
Shri Mahant Aradhana Giri of Shri Sanyasini Dashnaami Juna Akhada, said, “No doubt the shringar of a Naga sanyasi is tougher than that of a woman. A Naga sadhu purifies his body and soul before the Amrit Snan in the river because he is aware that millions of others will bathe in the same water after him and it is for this reason that he comes out after just one dip or two.”
