Shankhnaad Today: Conches at About 5:50 PM After a Guinness Check From 4 PM; 251 of the 501 Will Play Again at the 31 October Flag Hoisting; the Week's Programme

The 501-conch Shankhnaad is this evening, Sunday 25 October 2026 (Kojagiri Purnima), on the Godavari bank in Nashik. Since our Shankhnaad guide went up, the organisers have given a tighter timetable and said what the group will do on 31 October. Everything below is reported by local media from information given by the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority (NTKMA) and the organisers. We have not seen an official press note for today.

Today's timetable (REPORTED)

According to Prahaar (24 October) and Nashik Calling (25 October):

• From 4 PM: registration, attendance check and verification of the conch players at the venue.
• Guinness World Records team: checks the participants against its rules before the attempt.
• About 5:50 PM: the 501 conches sound together.
• 7 PM: Goda aarti on the ghat.
• Venue: near the Devmamledar grounds (Patangan) on the Godavari, close to Ramkund. Pudhari calls it the Yashwantrao Maharaj Devmamledar ground; it is the same place.
• The record to beat: 303 people blowing conches together.
• Organisers: NTKMA with the Anant Vijay Shankhnaad Pathak, run by the Gungaurav Nyas.

Sources differ on the time

• Prahaar and Nashik Calling: conches at about 5:50 PM.
• Pudhari and Aapla Nashik 24 (from NTKMA information): a 5 PM to 7 PM programme window.
• The 18 October announcement said about 6 PM, and one report said 5 PM.

All of these fit together: be there by 5 PM, and expect the conches shortly before 6.

251 conch players at the 31 October flag hoisting

Prahaar and Nashik Calling report that 251 players from the same group will blow conches at the exact moment of the flag hoisting, 12:02 PM on 31 October. Kumbh Commissioner Shekhar Singh is quoted as saying this links the tradition to the start of the Simhastha. On 23 October, ETV Bharat had quoted him as saying 501 players would play at the flag hoisting. The newer figure is 251, but nobody has explained the difference.

A conch programme in Trimbakeshwar too

Pudhari and Aapla Nashik 24, citing NTKMA, say a Shankhnaad will be held in Trimbakeshwar at the same time this evening. They do not give a venue or a head count. It is not part of the world-record attempt.

The week ahead, as NTKMA has set it out (REPORTED)

• Sunday 25 October, 5 to 7 PM: 501-conch Shankhnaad, Nashik.
• 26 to 29 October: 'Har Ghar Kumbhdhwaj' (a Kumbh flag on every home) and preparations. Sakal and Navbharat had earlier described a 'Har Ghar Bhagwa' drive of one lakh saffron flags from 25 October (details). These look like the same campaign under two names.
• Friday 30 October, morning: rituals by the Shri Ganga-Godavari Panchkoti Tirth Purohit Sangh and the Simhastha Samiti: sankalp, tirth pujan, Ganesh pujan, Navagraha and Rudra sthapana, swarnapad vidhi and a prayer to the Godavari.
• Friday 30 October, evening: Gram Parikrama and processions in both Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
• Saturday 31 October, 12:02 PM: flag hoisting at Ramkund and Kushavarta. Pudhari says the President will hoist the flag at Ramkund, and the Governor and the Chief Minister will be present at Kushavarta. See our Trimbakeshwar plan story for a different account of the Trimbak side.
• Saturday 31 October, evening: Godavari Maha Aarti from Ramkund to Ahilyabai Holkar bridge with about 6,500 tribal participants. Pudhari says people from 650 villages in seven talukas and 28 city settlements have registered. The authority's website, the coffee-table book, the stamp and the Kumbh anthem are to be launched the same day.

Joint aarti on 31 October

Pudhari says the Ramtirth Godavari Seva Samiti and the Nashik Purohit Sangh will hold a joint maha aarti on 31 October. At a 16 October meeting the Purohit Sangh had refused Minister Girish Mahajan's proposal for a single aarti, and no decision was reached (Sarkarnama, 17 October). If Pudhari's account holds, the two sides have since agreed. Neither group has said so publicly in the reports we have seen.

If you are going this evening

• Park well outside Panchavati and walk in. No police traffic notice for today has been published.
• It is Kojagiri Purnima, so the ghats will be busier than a normal Sunday.
• A record exists only after Guinness certifies it. We will add the result here once it is announced.

Full flag-hoisting programme and live updates: Dhwajarohan 2026 hub.