The Maha Kumbh begins with the bath of Naga Sadhus. Only after that the rest of the devotees take bath. Naga Sadhus have a lot of importance in Maha Kumbh. First the male Naga Sadhus take the royal bath, then the female Naga Sadhus. Do you know that the life of a female Naga Sadhu is even more challenging than that of a male Naga Sadhu? You must have seen many female Naga Sadhus in Maha Kumbh. Who take the royal bath wearing only a Ganti. But do you know, some female Naga Sadhus do not even wear a Ganti. That is, they remain completely naked.
These Naga Sadhus never appear in front of anyone. They always stay hidden. They dedicate their entire life to God. They remain engrossed in penance and meditation. No one has exact information about their whereabouts. But it is believed that they usually live in mountains and caves. Where they can meditate peacefully.
Some experts believe that in India, only Dashnam Sannyasini Akhara allows female Naga Sadhus to become Sadhvis. Only men are taken in other Akharas. In the beginning, there was no separate Akhara for women. A separate camp named Mai Bada was organized for them in Juna Akhara itself. Even in Kumbh, Juna Akhara used to organize Mai Bada camp next to it in which female sanyasis used to come. After this, the number of women started increasing and in 2013 Dashnami Sannyasini Akhara was formed. Since then, female Naga Sadhus are also made through this Akhara.
Celibacy at the age of 6
Any woman has to undergo rigorous tests from childhood to become a Naga Sadhu. She has to follow celibacy from the age of 6. When she is able to do this, she is allowed to become a Naga Sadhu. During this period, she has to follow many rules along with rigorous penance. Such as living in caves, penance, bathing in the river, strict rules related to food and drink, etc.
Women wear Naga Ganti
The clothes worn by female Naga Sadhus are called Ganti. It is only of saffron colour. Along with seeing the worship and penance of female Naga Sadhus, their Guru also knows about their previous life so that it can be ensured whether the female Naga Sadhu will be able to dedicate her life to God by becoming a Naga Sadhu or not. Along with this, there are many other rules. Like female Naga Sadhus will stay away from worldly activities all the time and will appear in front of everyone only on some special days. Like female Naga Sadhus can be seen during the Kumbh Mela.
PC:TV9Bharatvarsh
