In this guide
Every twelve years, when Jupiter enters Leo (Simha), millions of pilgrims converge on Ujjain to bathe in the Shipra during the Simhastha. It is one of India's four Kumbh melas and among the largest religious gatherings in the world. The last Simhastha was held in 2016 and the next is due in 2028.
Simhastha is only the most famous of Madhya Pradesh's fairs. There are river festivals along the Narmada, tribal haats in the Bhil belt, fairs for saints and folk deities, a century-old trade fair at Gwalior and a calendar of cultural festivals run by the state. MPPSC Prelims asks where and when; Mains asks why they matter and how the state manages them. This guide covers both.
How to organise this topic
Memorising a list of fifty fairs doesn't work. Sort them into four kinds, and each fair becomes easier to place:
| Kind | Examples | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Religious | Simhastha, Mahashivratri, Narmada Jayanti, Ram Navami at Orchha | River, deity, month |
| Folk and saint fairs | Singaji, Tejaji, Nagaji | Region and the saint or folk deity |
| Tribal | Bhagoria, Madai, Karma | Community and season |
| Trade and cultural | Gwalior Mela, Tansen Samaroh, Khajuraho Dance Festival, Lokrang | Place, founder or month |
Religious fairs and festivals
Simhastha, Ujjain
- Held on the Shipra at Ujjain when Jupiter is in Leo, hence the name.
- Comes round every twelve years: 2016, then 2028.
- The four Kumbh sites are Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik–Trimbakeshwar and Ujjain.
- Features: the royal baths (shahi snan) of the akharas, sadhus' camps, discourses and a huge temporary city.
- The Kumbh Mela was inscribed on UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017.
Ujjain also holds an annual Panchkroshi yatra, a walking pilgrimage around the city's shrines. For Ujjain's wider history, see Ujjain, Kalidasa and Mahakal.
Other religious fairs
| Fair / festival | Place | Timing | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahashivratri | Pachmarhi (Chauragarh), Omkareshwar, Ujjain, Bhojpur | Phalgun | At Pachmarhi, devotees climb to the Chauragarh shrine carrying tridents |
| Narmada Jayanti | Amarkantak, Narmadapuram (Hoshangabad), Jabalpur and along the Narmada | Magh Shukla Saptami | Birth of the Narmada; lamps floated on the river |
| Ram Navami | Orchha | Chaitra | Celebrations at the Ram Raja temple, where Ram is worshipped as a king |
| Urs | Sufi shrines across the state | Islamic calendar | Anniversaries of saints; qawwali and gatherings |
The Narmada is worshipped as a mother goddess across MP, and the Narmada parikrama, a walk along both banks from source to sea and back, is one of India's most demanding pilgrimages.
Folk and saint fairs
| Fair | Region | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singaji fair | Khandwa district (Nimar) | Around Sharad Purnima | Honours the Nimar saint Singaji; historically also a large cattle fair |
| Tejaji fair | Bhamawad (Guna) and other places | Bhadrapad (Teja Dashami) | Folk deity Tejaji, believed to protect against snakebite |
| Nagaji fair | Morena district | — | Honours the saint Nagaji; historically a large animal fair |
These fairs matter beyond religion. For generations they were where farmers bought and sold cattle, where craftspeople found buyers and where rural families met.
Tribal festivals
| Festival | Community | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Bhagoria | Bhil, Bhilala | Festive haats in the week before Holi in Jhabua, Alirajpur, Dhar, Khargone and Barwani |
| Madai | Gond and other tribes | Village fairs honouring local deities in the Gond regions |
| Karma | Gond, Baiga and others | Harvest-season festival with the Karma dance |
Bhagoria is the tribal festival MPPSC asks about most. Bhil and Bhilala families gather at the weekly markets before Holi, with drums and flutes, swings, dance, new clothes and shopping after the harvest.
The dances performed at these festivals are covered in folk dances of MP.
Trade fairs
The Gwalior Mela (trade fair) was started in 1905 by Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia, originally as a cattle fair. It grew into one of the largest trade fairs in north India, held every winter, with stalls for crafts, vehicles, machinery and consumer goods. It shows how a princely-state initiative became a lasting public institution.
Cultural festivals
| Festival | Place | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Tansen Samaroh | Gwalior | December |
| Kalidas Samaroh | Ujjain | Around Dev Prabodhini Ekadashi (Oct–Nov) |
| Khajuraho Dance Festival | Khajuraho | Usually February |
| Lokrang | Bhopal | Around Republic Day |
| Malwa Utsav | Indore | Folk arts of Malwa |
| Nimar Utsav | Maheshwar | Folk arts of Nimar, on the Narmada |
| Jal Mahotsav | Hanuwantiya (Indira Sagar backwaters, Khandwa) | Winter; water sports and tourism |
Several of these are run by the state's culture and tourism departments, and their dates shift from year to year.
Why fairs and festivals matter
| Dimension | Role |
|---|---|
| Religious | Pilgrimage; devotion to rivers, deities and saints |
| Economic | Trade, livestock, crafts, tourism and seasonal income |
| Social | Community bonding; for tribal communities, the centre of social life |
| Cultural | Folk music, dance and crafts passed on in public |
| Administrative | Crowd management, sanitation, health and safety at mass gatherings |
For Mains: Simhastha as a governance case
Question: "Discuss the administrative challenges of organising the Simhastha at Ujjain and how they can be met." (250 words)
Outline:
- Introduction: Simhastha as one of the world's largest gatherings; a temporary city built for a few weeks.
- Crowd safety: bathing-day surges, ghats and bridges as choke points; zoning, one-way routes, holding areas, real-time crowd monitoring. The NDMA's guidance on managing crowds at mass gatherings is the reference framework.
- Water and sanitation: keeping the Shipra clean and flowing; the Narmada–Shipra link that brings Narmada water to the river; toilets and waste in the camps.
- Health: field hospitals, disease surveillance, heat and water-borne illness.
- Infrastructure: roads, rail and bus capacity, power; building works that last beyond the event.
- Coordination: many departments, the akharas, police and volunteers under one command.
- Conclusion: plan with a disaster-management lens, and leave behind infrastructure the city can use.
For the disaster-management side, see disaster management in MP.
Practice
1. The Simhastha is held at Ujjain on the bank of: (a) Narmada (b) Shipra (c) Chambal (d) Betwa
Answer: (b). Shipra is also spelt Kshipra.
2. The Gwalior trade fair was started in 1905 by: (a) Mahadji Scindia (b) Jiwajirao Scindia (c) Madho Rao Scindia (d) Daulat Rao Scindia
Answer: (c).
3. Bhagoria is celebrated mainly by: (a) Gonds before Diwali (b) Bhils before Holi (c) Baigas after the monsoon (d) Korkus in Chaitra
Answer: (b).
4. The folk deity Tejaji is traditionally worshipped as a protector against: (a) drought (b) snakebite (c) smallpox (d) floods
Answer: (b).
5. Which pair is correctly matched? (a) Kalidas Samaroh — Gwalior (b) Tansen Samaroh — Ujjain (c) Lokrang — Bhopal (d) Singaji fair — Morena
Answer: (c). The Kalidas Samaroh is at Ujjain, the Tansen Samaroh at Gwalior and the Singaji fair in Khandwa district.
6. Narmada Jayanti falls in the Hindu month of: (a) Chaitra (b) Shravan (c) Magh (d) Kartik
Answer: (c).
Mains-style (short, 150 words): How do tribal festivals like Bhagoria support the economic and social life of tribal communities?
Revise this
- Simhastha: Shipra, Jupiter in Leo, 12 years, 2016 and 2028, four Kumbh sites, UNESCO (2017)
- Mahashivratri sites; Chauragarh at Pachmarhi
- Narmada Jayanti: Magh Shukla Saptami; Amarkantak
- Singaji (Khandwa), Tejaji (Bhamawad, Guna), Nagaji (Morena)
- Bhagoria districts; Madai and Karma
- Gwalior Mela 1905, Madho Rao Scindia
- Cultural festivals: place and month
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission website .
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