'Shahi' coined by Mughals, call Mahakumbh bath 'Rajasi Snan': Akhara body

File photo of Mahakumbh royal bath

The royal bath event at the upcoming Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj is set be renamed from "Shahi Snan" to "Rajasi Snan", since 'shahi' is an Urdu word while 'rajasi' has a Sanatan origin.

Objecting to linking this popular religious event with a word coined by Mughals, Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Ravindra Puri said Shahi Snan should be called Rajasi Snan, according to a report in The Times of India.

Puri who heads 13 akharas is planning to meet representatives of all the akharas on the issue, has called for collective decision to change the name. He said, as per the report, that the govt authorities will be informed about the change so that the new name would be used from the subsequent Maha Kumbh.

Puri was further quoted in the report: “Shahi is an Urdu word and it symbolises slavery. There is no difference, just that rajasi is the word of “Dev Vani."