Old video goes viral as a man blowing conch for over 2 minutes during Mahakumbh inauguration in Prayagraj

This is an old video from Varanasi, it has no link to the ongoing Prayagraj Mahakumbh

Mahakumbh Mela 2025 officially commenced on 13 January, 2025 continuing until 26 February, 2025 and will be held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The mela is held every 12 years and attracts millions of pilgrims, saints, and tourists who partake in spiritual practices such as ceremonial bathing at the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers. 

Against this backdrop, a video of a person blowing the Shankh (conch shell) for over two minutes on a decorated platform is going viral on social media with users claiming it to be from the inaugural ceremony of the ongoing Prayagraj Mahakumbh. 

The caption states, “At MahaKumbh Mela’s inaugural function, a world record for non-stop blowing of conch for 2 minutes 49 seconds was created”. Users are sharing this video and claiming that this video is from Prayagraj Mahakumbh. 

Let’s check the truth

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by observing the video carefully and found the watermark of ‘VK News’ on the top right corner of the screen. We also spotted President Droupadi Murmu and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the viral footage.

Keeping this in mind, we conducted further keyword search and found 

a similar video uploaded on the YouTube channel of VK News on 13 February 2023. It carried the same video of a man blowing a conch shell, stating it to be from Varanasi.

Moving forward, we found that the same visuals were posted on the official YouTube channel of the President of India on 13 February 2023. At around the 17:53 timestamp, we can see the visuals seen in the viral video

We found several reports mentioning that during her visit to Varanasi in February 2023, President Droupadi Murmu offered prayers at Kaal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath temples and also took part in Ganga Aarti at Dashashwamedh Ghat.

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Based on these evidences, we can understand that the viral video is old and not related to the Prayagraj Mahakumbh.

Conclusion- Fact crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. This is an old video from Varanasi, it has no link to the ongoing Prayagraj Mahakumbh