Niranjani Akhada anoints five sadhus as mahamandaleshwars
Vedic scholars chanted mantras after which all senior sadhus present at the site offered the newly anointed mahamandaleshwars a piece of cloth as part of the ‘chadar poshi’ ritual
Niranjani Akhada on Saturday anointed five senior sadhus as mahamandaleshwars (head priests) during a ceremony at the tent city at the Mahakumbh Mela venue on Saturday. All five are from different states of the country. Niranjani Peethadheeshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri and Anand Akhada Peethadheeshwar Swami Balakanand Giri were present in the ceremony.

Vedic scholars chanted mantras after which all senior sadhus present at the site offered the newly-anointed mahamandaleshwars a piece of cloth as part of the ‘chadar poshi’ ritual marking their support to their anointments.
Among those who became mahamandaleshwars are Swami Krishnanand Puri of Chandigarh, Swami Adi Yogi Puri of Rishikesh in Uttarakhand, Swami Bhagwati Puri of Mumbai in Maharashtra, Sadhvi Meera Giri of Kishanganj in Rajasthan and Swami Adityanand Giri of Vrindavan, UP.
Sri Mahant Ravindrapuri, the president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and head of Mansa Devi Temple Trust, said these sadhus had always played an important role in uniting the country culturally and spiritually. “The newly-appointed mahamandaleshwars of Niranjani Akhada will contribute in taking forward the Akhada tradition established by Adi Guru Shankaracharya for the protection of Sanatan dharma,” he added.
Acharya mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Giri said the sadhus who become mahamandaleshwar have a special position and special respect in the Akhada. Anand Peethadheeshwar acharya mahamandaleshwar Swami Balakanand Giri said the guru-disciple tradition was followed in the process of anointing mahamandaleshwar. The consent of prominent sadhus and gurus of the Akhada is necessary to appoint a qualified person to this post, he added.
All the newly appointed mahamandaleshwars took the blessings of the sadhus present there.
