The fair held in Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik and Ujjain is the:

The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage festival held in turn at four sacred places on four rivers:

Haridwar (Uttarakhand) on the Ganga.

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) at the Triveni Sangam, the meeting point of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.

Nashik-Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra) on the Godavari.

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) on the Kshipra.

According to the story of the Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean), gods and demons fought over a pot (kumbh) of nectar (amrit). During the struggle, drops of nectar fell at these four places, making their rivers sacred. The word "Kumbh" itself means a pot.

The dates of each Kumbh depend on the positions of Jupiter, the Sun and the Moon. For example, the Ujjain Kumbh (called Simhastha) is held when Jupiter is in Leo, and the Nashik Kumbh is held when Jupiter is also in Leo (hence also called Simhastha there).

Types of Kumbh:

• Kumbh: at each site roughly every 12 years.
• Ardh Kumbh: every 6 years, only at Haridwar and Prayagraj.
• Maha Kumbh: at Prayagraj after 12 Kumbh cycles (144 years); one was held in January-February 2025, with crores of pilgrims.

The central ritual is the holy bath (snan) on auspicious days, led by the akharas of sadhus in the Shahi or Amrit Snan. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) described a large gathering at Prayag in the 7th century during Harsha's reign. In 2017, UNESCO inscribed the Kumbh Mela on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The Magh Mela is held every year at Prayagraj only.
• ✗The Pushkar Mela is held at Pushkar in Rajasthan.
• ✗The Gangasagar Mela is held at Sagar Island in West Bengal.