About Sangam

Sangama is the Sanskrit word for confluence. The Triveni Sangam in Allahabad is a confluence of 3 rivers, the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati. Of these three, the river Saraswati is invisible and is said to flow underground and join the other two rivers from below. The point of confluence is a sacred place for Hindus. A bath here is said to wash away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth. Here the muddy and pale-yellow waters of Ganga merge with the blue waters of Yamuna. While the Ganga is only 4 feet deep, the Yamuna is 40 feet deep near the point of their nexus. The river Yamuna merges into the Ganges at this point and the Ganges continues on until it meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal. At the confluence of these two great Indian rivers, where the invisible Saraswati conjoins them, many tirtha yatris take boats to bathe from platforms erected in the Sangam. This, together with the migratory birds give a picturesque look to the river during the Kumbha Mela, in the month of January. It is believed that all the gods come in human form to take a dip at the sangam and expiate their sins.

Evening view of Sangam