Kinnar Akhara’s Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and others perform rituals as former actor Mamta Kulkarni is being consecrated as a mahamandaleshwar during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, in Prayagraj, on January 24, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
After enthralling her fans, film lovers and audience in various roles and characters she played, actor Mamta Kulkarni on Friday (January 24, 2025) embarked on a spiritual journey by renouncing her worldly life and assuming a new identity of ‘Mai Mamta Nand Giri’, the Uttar Pradesh government said.
In a statement, the U.P. government said in the ongoing Maha Kumbh, Kulkarni first took ‘sanyas’ in the Kinnar Akhara and then she got a new name ‘Mai Mamta Nand Giri’ in the same akhara.
After performing ‘Pind Daan’, the Kinnar Akhara performed her pattabhishek (consecration ceremony).
Kulkarni, 52, Reached the Kinnar Akhara in Maha Kumbh on Friday (January 24, 2025) where she met Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Laxmi Narayan tripathi of kinnar akhara and tooks. She also met the President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (Abap) Mahant Ravindra Puri.
Mamta took a dip in the sacred waters of the Sangam and was seen in the clothes of a ‘sadhvi’. After sanyas and pattabhishek, Mamta said it will be “my good fortune that I am also becoming a witness in this holy moment of Maha Kumbh”.
She said she was receiving the blessings of the saints. She took initiation (‘deeksha’) from Guru Shri Chaitanya Gagan Giri in Kupoli Ashram 23 years ago and now she is entering a new life with complete sanyas, the statement added.
Speaking to reporters, Kulkarni said, “I started my penance (‘tapasya’) in 2000. And I chose Laxmi Narayan Tripathi as my ‘pattaguru’ because today is Friday… it is the day of Maha Kaali (Goddess Kaali).
“Yesterday, preparations were on to make me a mahamandaleshwar. But, today Maa Shakti instructed me that I choose Laxmi Narayan Tripathi because that person is a ‘saakshaat’ (direct) form of Ardhnaareshwar. What else can be a bigger title than an Ardhnaareshwar doing my ‘pattabhishek’,” she said, adding she has been doing penance for the past 23 years.
Kulkarni said she had to face an examination for the title of mahamandaleshwar.
“I was asked what did I do in 23 years. When I cleared all the examinations, I got the ‘upaadhi’ of mahamandaleshwar,” she said.
She said that she was feeling very nice here and such planetary positions are being formed after 144 years. No Maha Kumbh could be as pious as this one, she added.
Asked whether there was anger among a section of the seers over her ‘deeksha’, she said, “Several people are angry, my fans are also angry, they feel that I will return to Bollywood. But it is all right.
“Whatever the Gods wish. No one can supercede the will of Mahakaal and Mahakaali. He is ‘param Brahm’. I have performed the ritual of ‘Pind Daan’ at Sangam,” she told reporters.
Kinnar Akhara’s mahamandaleshwar kaushalya nand giri alias tina maa todd piot that kulkarni Performed her Own Pind Daan on the Banks of Ganga on friday.
She said Kulkarni has been associated with Juna Akhara for the last two years and she came in contact with Kinnar Akhara for the past two-three months.
Tripathi confirmed Kulkarni’s association with the Kinnar Akhara and her spiritual journey.
“Mamta Kulkarni has been in touch with us for the past one-two years. She had previously been connected with Juna Akhara,” she said.
When Kulkarni came to Maha Kumbh, she expressed her wish to serve Sanatan Dharm, she said, adding the seers do not stand between a devotee and the divine and thus, they respected her wish. She has now completed the sacred rituals and will soon officially join the akhara, Tripathi said.
With this induction, Kulkarni joins the ranks of the revered mahamandaleshwars — a title given to spiritual leaders who play a vital role in religious discourse and social upliftment.
The grand consecration ceremony is set to take place at the Kinnar Akhara camp where saints and devotees will witness her initiation into the ascetic order.
Mahant Balak Das, the Peethadhishwar of Patalpuri Math, said, “The process of becoming a mahamandaleshwar is very simple. There are 13 akharas, each have unique rules but the central value of service remains paramount.” He said becoming a mahamandaleshwar involves 12 years of dedication and spiritual practice.
“The process includes daily chanting of Ram Japa 1,25,000 times and living a life of strict penance (Tapomayi Jeevan). The aspirant must follow a disciplined routine with only three-four hours of sleep per day,” he said.
A feeling to render service is the key to attaining the mahamandaleshwar title, Mahant Balak Das said.
Published – January 24, 2025 10:21 pm is
