Khumbh Mela - World's largest religious gathering.

The word Kumbh actually means a 'pot or pitcher' and the word Mela stands for a 'fair'. Therefore, Kumbh Mela means 'Celebration of the pot'.
This celebration related to the legend of the pot of nectar as per Hindu mythology.

As per Hindu mythology, once when Hindu gods were stripped of their powers, they agreed with the Demons to churn the primordial ocean of milk for the 'Amrit', nectar of immortality. This event is popularly known as 'Samudra Manthan'.
A fight started between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons) over the Kumbh (pot in which nectar of immortality was there or Amrit), following which celestial bird or vehicle of Lord Vishnu (The preserver according to Hindu Mythology), Garuda flew away with the Kumbh of Amrit.

It is believed that during Garuda's flight, some drops of Amrit spilled over at 4 places on Bhu-lok (Earth) - Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) and Nashik (Maharashtra). Kumbh Mela is celebrated on the banks of rivers at these sites on a rotational basis.

Shahi Snan (Holy Bath) - It is a ritual bath or holy dip at a predetermined time and place is the major event of the Kumbh.
It is believed that during this time the water in rivers at the 4 sacred sites turns into purifying nectar allowing the devotees to cleanse their souls and help them attain Moksha/Mukti (freedom from Samsara i.e. liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth) as they bath.

Astrological predictions and religious considerations are the two things by which the exact time and place for Kumbh are decided via astrological predictions and religious considerations.
There are 4 types of Kumbh celebrated in India 
    1. Maha Kumbh Mela (every 144 years)
    2. Purna Kumbh Mela (every 12 years)
    3. Ardh Kumbh Mela (every 6 years)
    4. Kumbh Mela (every 3 years)

Mark Twain describing Kumbh Mela: "It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites."

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