Martin Palmer discusses the spiritual significance of water in BBC podcast

	100 million Hindu pilgrims came to bathe in the sacred Ganges during the 2013 Kumbh Mela

Martin Palmer was the main contributor to a BBC World Service programme broadcast in June 2013 and available as a downloadable podcast from the BBC website.

The programme was The Why Factor, a regular feature presented by Mike Williams that looks into the secret or forgotten history behind everyday objects and actions. The subject of this edition was bathing and in his contribution Martin discusses the different symbolic and practical meanings that water and immersion have for Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Sikh traditions.

You can listen to the 18 minute programme via the BBC i-player here or download the podcast here.