The present work is an attempt to outline the essential features of the cultural history of Prayaga from varied sources with a view to bringing out that magnetic quality of the Tirtharaja which has been attracting multitudes from far and near. The greatness of Prayaga, perceptible since the Vedic period, is adumbrated in the Epic-Puranic literature, and is attested by epigraphic records, Buddhist and Jaina texts, foreign (Chinese, Muslim and European) accounts, treatises on tirtha, and vernacular literature which received and developed further this great traditional lore about Prayaga. Archaeological evidences have also been accumulated to a considerable extent. The task of sifting and interpreting this immense material, contained inter alia in the numerous and varied texts is not easy. The most ticklish problem faced by the researcher consists of imparting the traditional pronouncements an interpretation intelligible to the modern world but without prejudice to their original import.