Opinion: Kumbh, Prayagraj, And Scindias — A Connection That Spans Centuries
Maha Kumbh is under way in Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, and crores of people have visited the “King of the Tirthas” and taken a dip in the Triveni Sangam. The Poorna Kumbh is celebrated in Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar every 12 years, based on the relative positions of the Sun, the Moon, and Jupiter.
The history of Kumbh Mela dates back centuries, while some believe it finds mention in the Vedas and Puranas to. It has long been recognised as one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, drawing millions of devotees. While modern history extensively documents Kumbh’s significance, fewer people are likely to be aware that the Scindia Marathas have had deep historical ties with Kumbh and Prayagraj.
Scindia Marathas And Their Prayagraj Connection
Ujjain was the first capital of the Scindia Marathas. For 500 years, Simhastha Kumbh was not organised in Ujjain, but when Ranojirao Scindia made this city his capital in 1731, he restarted this festival.
According to the Vikrama-smrti-granth, the Ujjain Mela began late in the 18th century when Ranoji Scindia invited the akharas up from Nashik to Ujjain for a religious festival. Here, Ranoji was emulating earlier kings such as Ashoka and Harsha, both of whom had convened religious assemblies. Such patronage reinforced his image as a pious Hindu king and provided religious validation for his reign.
The city of Prayagraj has seen several empires rise and fall, and has also been the centre of devotion for Scindia Marathas. The founder of the Scindia dynasty, Maratha General Ranoji Scindia, fought against the Mughal Subedar of Allahabad, Muhammad Khan Bangaah. According to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Ranoji’s son, Maratha General Dattaji Scindia, was given the duty by the Maratha government to march towards Punjab and Multan, and introduce order and regular government in the newly conquered provinces. He had thence to come down to Kashi, Prayagraj, where Raghunath Rao was to meet him as the head of another army. Then the allied Maratha armies were to march on to Bengal and free the whole province right to the seas by sweeping it clear of the Mughal and the English, who had recently won the 1757 Battle of Plassey.
Scindia was able to establish peace in Lahore as its governor, according to Pakistani writer Majid Sheikh, but attained martyrdom at Burari Ghat in Delhi before he could get Prayagraj from the Mughals through a “firman”. What Dattaji couldn’t achieve, his brother Maharaja Mahadji Scindia was successful in achieving.
According to Sir George Dunbar, the English East India Company had gained the guardianship of the Mughal Emperor after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, but lost it to the Marathas when Shah Alam moved to Delhi from Prayagraj seven years later and was made a prisoner and pensioner by Mahadji Scindia. He granted Mahadji a 'firman' for the provinces of Kora and Allahabad.
As per British historian Sir Christopher Bayly, between 1760 and 1830, the Marathas poured wealth into Prayagraj, constructing large numbers of religious buildings and feeding a whole new generation of priests. The majority of temples existing by the mid-19th century in popular pilgrimage places had been built during the preceding 150 years by Marathas.
In the year 1786, nearly 1.7 lakh Maratha pilgrims elected to increase their merit by travelling to Prayagraj in an opulent armed convoy. For the aforementioned pilgrimage, “pilgrim passports” were provided to pilgrims from the territory of Maharaja Mahadji Scindia.
Historical records suggest a connection between the Shaktipeeth Alopi Devi temple in Prayagraj and the Scindia Maratha dynasty. The Maharaja Mahadji Scindia is believed to have developed the Triveni Sangam area, where the temple is located, during his stay in Prayagraj in the late 18th century.
Subsequent renovations and developments were undertaken by Maharani Baizabai Scindia in the 1800s, further enhancing the temple’s prominence. On January 16, 1836, Maharani Baiza Bai Scindia, who had fought against former Prime Minister of Britain Arthur Wellesley in the Battle of Assaye, arrived at Allahabad and encamped on the banks of the Jumna, beyond the city.
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Baiza Bai And The Scindia Maratha Legacy In Prayagraj
The Bai-ka-Bagh locality in Prayagraj is named after Baiza Bai Scindia, and here she built Veni Madhav Temple. She also built Gwalior Kothi, her palace in Prayagraj.
On February 9, 1836, Scindia hosted a dinner at her tents for 20 of the civilians and the military. In the evening, there was a dance, and fireworks were displayed. There is a very extensive enclosure at Allahabad, called Khusrau’s garden. According to the travelogue of Fanny Parkes, who met Baiza Bai Scindia, tents had been sent there and pitched under some magnificent tamarind trees, where a Maratha dinner was organised. In the evening, her two pet rhinoceroses arrived. They fought one another rather fiercely, and it was an amusement for the guests.
Parkes wrote: “The ex-queen had some tents pitched at that most sacred spot, the Triveni, the junction of the three rivers; and to these tents she came down continually to bathe; her ladies and a large concourse of people were in attendance upon her, and there they performed the rites and ceremonies… I found the Mahratta ladies assembled there: the tents were pitched close to the margin of the Ganges, and the canvas walls were run out to a considerable distance into the river. Her Highness, in her usual attire, waded into the stream, and shaded by the kanāts from the gaze of men, reached the sacred junction, where she performed her devotions, the water reaching to her waist. After which she waded back again to the tents, changed her attire, performed pooja, and gave magnificent presents to the attendant Brahmans.”
Maharani Baiza Bai Scindia’s great grandson was Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia. He passed away in Paris in 1925, and was cremated there. However, his ashes were brought back to India, and the last rites were performed in Prayagraj. The city witnessed an impressive sight when, on the morning of July 13, 1925, the ashes of the Maharaja were taken in a solemn procession from Bai-ka-Bagh, named after Maharani Baiza Bai Scindia, to the Ganga. The residents of Prayagraj turned out in thousands to offer their tribute to the remains of one of the most illustrious of Indian princes.
A large number of people, men and women, officials and non-officials, Hindus, Muslims, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, and Indian Christians were seen flocking towards Bai-ka-Bagh and at other places on the route of the procession.
People who participated in this procession included prominent Indian freedom fighters and politicians such as Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Pandit Hirday Nath Kunzru, Dr. Kailash Nath Katju, Dr. M. Waliullah, and Mrs. Sarojini Naidu. Flags were half-mast, and government offices and the high court were closed till 1 pm.
The ashes were carried in a boat to the Sangam, where, after the necessary ceremony, they were consigned to the Ganga under a 21-gun salute, while a similar number of minute guns were fired at the same time from Agra Fort.
Last year, the ashes of late Rajmata of Gwalior, Madhavi Raje Scindia, were consigned to the Ganga in Prayagraj like those of her grandfather-in-law. Recently, a descendant of the aforementioned Scindias, Union minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, with his family, participated in Kumbh Mela, took a dip at the Triveni Sangam, and released a commemorative stamp on the Maha Kumbh 2025 in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta “Nandi”, and Prayagraj Mayor Ganesh Kesarwani.
Author Arunansh B. Goswami is the head of Scindia Research Centre, Gwalior.
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