(TibetanReview.net, Jan13’25) –More religious and other mourning events were held for the victims of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Tibet’s Mt Everest-County of Dingri in Tibet, China, Nepal and India, including at the world’s largest ever religious gathering in the Indian city of Prayagraj in the Uttar Pradesh state.
On the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela on Jan 13, an aarti (lamp prayer ceremony) was performed for the victims of the earthquake.
“Today, I prayed on the bank of Sangam – for those people who suffered as many houses were destroyed and lives were lost in Tibet and Nepal due to a disastrous tragedy (earthquake),” the ANI news service Jan 13 quoted Swami Chidanand Saraswati, President of the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh, as saying.
Sangam, or Triveni Sangam, is the confluence of three sacred rivers of Ganges, Jamna and the invisible, legendary Saraswati rivers.
“All of India is with them. The relation between India, China and Tibet continues to flourish and we continue to peacefully co-exist – today’s aarti was dedicated to that cause as well..,” he has added.
Held every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival – as the religious event is called – attracts more than 400 million visitors, both Indians and tourists, noted the scmp.com Jan 13.
The festival, to be held over 44 days, originates in a Hindu tradition that the god Vishnu, known as the Preserver, wrested away from demons a golden pitcher that held the nectar of immortality.
In a 12-day celestial fight for its possession, four drops of the nectar fell to earth, in the cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, where the festival is held every three years in rotation.
The Maha Kumbh Mela, held once in 12 years in this cycle, the most auspicious, attracts the largest crowds.
In Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, the Tibetan community gathered at the Shelkar Chode Gaden Lekshey Ling—a Nepal-based heritage replica of the Shelkar Chode Monastery in Dingri—to offer prayers and mourn the loss caused by the devastating earthquake.
The mass prayer service, organised by the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office (also known as the Office of Tibet), was attended by around 167 representatives from 47 Tibetan civil society organisations and various other institutions, said the Office of Tibet, Kathmandu, in a statement posted on the Central Tibetan Administration’s Tibet.net website Jan 13.
In northeast India’s Tibet-border state of Arunachal Pradesh, Thousands of people, including lamas and students, took out a candlelight march from Tawang Monastery to Masang Dungyur Mani in Old Market on Jan 12 to express solidarity with the victims of the earthquake, reported arunachal24.in Jan 12 and arunachaltimes.in Jan 13.
The march was initiated by Tawang MLA Namgey Tsering. He, along with Galden Namgyal Lhatse monastery abbot Shedling Tulku Thupten Tendar Rinpche, monks and well-wishers offered condolences to those who lost their lives, and prayed at the monastery for the wellbeing of the injured and the homeless, the report said.
Public leaders, members of MMT, Govt officials, AMSU, ATDSU, Taxi Association, WWA, Social Organisations, Bazar Secretaries of all the three markets, its members and people of all walks of life took part in this event, said the reports.
A memorial service was also held Jan 13 morning in Dramtso Township of Dingri, the worst-hit area, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency. It said hundreds of people, including government officials, rescue workers and local residents, took off their hats and stood in silence for three minutes in memory of the dead.
In Beijing, the Chinese government-appointed Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu was stated to have held a prayer service in Beijing for the earthquake victims. He and fellow-monks chanted scriptures and prayed that all lives in the disaster-stricken areas may soon be freed from calamities and rebuild their homes. They also prayed for the peace and prosperity of the nation, said another Xinhua report Jan 13.
The report made it a point to note that Gyaincain Norbu, who hold his position only on the basis of the Chinese government’s appointment rather than by mass appeal, made it a point to note that he is a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body. He is also vice president of the Buddhist Association of China.