On the Godavari — the Ganga of the South — the Kumbh flows between two poles: Ramkund in Nashik, where Shri Rama bathed in exile, and Kushavarta Kund at Trimbakeshwar, where the river is born at the feet of the Jyotirlinga.
When the Amrit was carried across the sky, drops fell on the banks of the Godavari — and so this river, rising from the Brahmagiri hill above Trimbakeshwar, is honoured as Dakshina Ganga, the Ganga of the South. The Kumbh here is called Simhastha, "seated in the lion", because it is held when Guru (Jupiter) stands in Simha rashi (Leo) — the only Kumbh shared between two sacred centres at once.
This is also Rama's land. In the Panchavati forest on the Godavari's bank, Shri Rama, Sita Mata and Lakshmana lived their exile; here Lakshmana cut Shurpanakha's nose (nasika — giving Nashik its name), and from here Sita was taken, setting the Ramayana's great arc in motion. To bathe at Ramkund is to enter that story's waters.
Uniquely, the Simhastha has two bathing capitals: the Vaishnava Akharas take their Amrit Snan at Ramkund, Nashik, while the Shaiva Akharas bathe at Kushavarta Kund, Trimbakeshwar — beside one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the three-faced Trimbakeshwar embodying Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in one linga.
सिंहस्थे च गुरौ ब्रह्मन् गोदावर्यां प्रयत्नतः । स्नानं कुर्यात् प्रयत्नेन सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥ When Guru is in Simha, bathe with devotion in the Godavari — one is freed from all sins. — Simhastha tradition of the Godavari mahatmya
| Date | Event | Where & what |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 2026 | Dhwajarohan Flag Hoisting | The Kumbh flag rises — the Simhastha period formally opens on the Godavari |
| 2 Aug 2027 | First Amrit Snan Amrit Snan | The Akharas' first royal Nectar Bath of the Simhastha |
| 31 Aug 2027 | Main Amrit Snan Amrit Snan | The principal royal bath — the axis day of Nashik-Trimbakeshwar 2027 |
| 11 Sep 2027 | Third Amrit Snan — Vaishnava Amrit Snan | Vaishnava Akharas at Ramkund, Nashik |
| 12 Sep 2027 | Third Amrit Snan — Shaiva Amrit Snan | Shaiva Akharas at Kushavarta Tirtha, Trimbakeshwar |
| 24 Jul 2028 | Samapan Conclusion | The Simhastha period closes after nearly 21 months of sacred time |
The central ghat of the Godavari in old Nashik, where Rama is said to have performed his father Dasharatha's shraddha. Its waters are held to release ancestors — asthi-visarjan here is sought from across Bharat. On Vaishnava snan days the kund becomes a sea of saffron and the chant of "Jai Shri Ram".
The stepped kund where the Godavari, having vanished into the Brahmagiri after her descent, re-emerges from a bed of kusha grass — the river's formal source. Every Shaiva Akhara's procession descends to this square of water. A snan here, followed by darshan of the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga, is the Simhastha's complete rite.
The Simhastha snan is held to grant what the shastra calls sarva-papa-vimochana — release from all accumulated sin — and particular grace for one's ancestors: the Godavari at Nashik is Bharat's foremost water for pitru-karya. For the living, the Simhastha is a rare confluence of Rama-bhakti and Shiva-bhakti in one yatra — exile's river and the Jyotirlinga's source in a single dip.