Prayagraj

Prayagraj's history reaches into deep antiquity; the name Prayag — the place of yagyas — is tied by tradition to the prakrishta-yajna of Brahma, though the Rig Veda itself does not name the city. The early-historical city was a major centre of the Vatsa janapada. The Allahabad Pillar of Ashoka stands within the fort, bearing the inscriptions of the Mauryan and later Gupta emperors. Samudragupta's prashasti on the pillar is one of the most important historical documents of ancient India.

The Akbar-era Allahabad Fort enclosed the Akshay Vat. The city was renamed Allahabad by Akbar in the sixteenth century and renamed back to Prayagraj in 2018. The Triveni Sangam, the Magh Mela, and the Kumbh Mela have continued unbroken through every political change for many centuries.

The Sangam itself is an open expanse where boats are taken from the ghats. The Allahabad Fort, a Mughal-period structure on the bank, houses the Akshay Vat and the Patalpuri Mandir. Hanuman Mandir on the Sangam bank — known for its reclining Hanuman murti, said to be the largest such in India — is among the most visited shrines. Anand Bhavan (the ancestral home of the Nehru family, now a museum) and the Allahabad High Court (a colonial heritage building) are also in the city.

Snan at the Sangam is offered daily; boats run from sunrise to sunset. Special timings apply during the Magh Mela (full month of Magha) and the Kumbh. Akshay Vat darshan is offered with special permits inside the Fort; verify timing with the Allahabad Fort administration. Bharadwaj Ashram and the Sangam-bank temples have their own daily aarti rhythms.

The traditional sequence on a Prayagraj yatra is: snan at the Sangam (taking a boat out to the meeting point), tarpan and pind-daan on the ghats, darshan at Akshay Vat (if permits available), darshan at the reclining Hanuman, and Bharadwaj Ashram. Pind-daan at Prayag is held to be especially powerful — the city is among the major north Indian tirthas for ancestor rites.