The Kumbh Mela, held at each of the four traditional sites in rotation according to a roughly twelve year cycle determined by specific planetary and astrological positions, draws among the largest peaceful gatherings of people recorded anywhere in the world, with tens of millions of pilgrims, ascetics and religious orders converging on the host city over the course of the festival to bathe in the sacred river at auspicious moments, an act believed to grant purification and spiritual merit connected directly to the nectar tradition associated with the site.
Scholars studying the Kumbh Mela's historical development note that while the core Samudra Manthan narrative is very ancient, appearing already in the Mahabharata and early Puranic literature, the specific tradition linking the spilled nectar to these four particular sites, and organizing a coordinated pilgrimage cycle around all four together, is a comparatively later development in the festival's long history, reflecting an evolving rather than a fixed, unchanging ancient practice.
In 2017, UNESCO recognized the Kumbh Mela as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, citing both its religious significance and the scale and social organization of the gathering itself, a recognition that acknowledged the festival's living, continuing character rather than treating it only as a historical curiosity.