Bansberia Kumbh Mela
Bansberia Kumbh Mela, also called Bansberia Tribeni Sangam Kumbha Mela, is a yearly Hindu gathering in Bansberia, West Bengal, India. It takes place at Triveni Sangam, where the Hooghly, Saraswati, and Jamuna (Yamuna) rivers meet.
The Kumbh at this site has been held during Makar Sankranti for centuries. Tribeni has been called the Prayag of the South because people bathe there for spiritual cleansing. After the Gangasagar Mela, saints would walk to Tribeni to bathe in its holy waters.
Historically, Tribeni and nearby Saptagram were centers of learning, culture, and trade. The Kumbh tradition declined under Muslim rule and British rule, when temples and pilgrimage sites were destroyed. Some historians say the last Bansberia Kumbha Mela was in 1298 CE. In 1979, scholar Alan Morinis noted Tribeni’s Sankranti bathing in his Oxford paper. The mela is mentioned in Bengali literature.
After about 700 years, the Kumbh Mela was revived in 2022 at Bansberia Tribeni. A legend in the Skanda Purana tells of seven sons of King Priyavanta who built ashrams around Tribeni, forming seven villages called Saptagram.
The Tribeni Sangam is different from Prayagraj’s Triveni Sangam. At Prayagraj, the Saraswati River is seasonal and the confluence is with the Ganges and Yamuna; at Tribeni, the Yamuna is seasonal and the Ganges and Saraswati are prominent.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 01:24 (CET).