The festival is unfolding at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers in the city of Prayagraj.
Details: Kickoff: The Maha Kumbh festival, held every 12 years, started Monday, with an estimated 15 million pilgrims bathing in the holy rivers.
People arrive for a ritualistic dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday.
(AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Attendees perform rituals at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday.
(AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Hindus bathe at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday.
The annual Maha Kumbh festival in India is anticipated to draw 400 million people.
The first of several significant baths in the Maha Kumbh festival, the biggest religious gathering on Earth, took place this week at the confluence of holy rivers in northern India, where tens of thousands of Hindu ascetics and millions of pilgrims dipped in freezing water. In Prayagraj, the festival is taking place at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Ganges, and the fabled Saraswati rivers. Details:.
Launch: An estimated 15 million pilgrims took a dip in the sacred rivers as the 12-year-old Maha Kumbh festival got underway Monday. Over 400 million people are anticipated to attend the festival over the course of the next six weeks, many of whom will participate in intricate rituals, according to the AP.
Background: Hindus believe that taking a bath at the confluence allows them to be freed from the cycle of rebirth and cleansed of their sins. The Hindu mythology behind the festival claims that the god Vishnu stole a golden pitcher filled with the nectar of immortality from demons. The four cities where the Kumbh festival has been celebrated for centuries—Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain, and Haridwar—are where Hindus believe a few drops fell.
The New York Times states that the festival’s date is set by the sun, moon, and Jupiter’s yearly orbit around the sun. About every three years, smaller versions of the festival are held in Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain.
Installation for 2025: The festival this year is the largest yet. On the banks of the river, authorities have constructed a vast tented city, and the government has contributed over $765 million to the event in the hopes of attracting tourists from India and other countries. There are 150,000 toilets and 3,000 kitchens in the tent city. In order to uphold law and order and crowd control, the city is also home to roughly 50,000 security guards.
The mass baths: Although bathing is done at the location every day, on a few of the most auspicious days, millions of pilgrims follow Hindu ascetics as they rush toward the sacred rivers at dawn. On Tuesday, for example, whole families and groups of people from distant villages marched in long lines while security guards sounded warnings to prevent the stampedes that have previously ruined the celebration. New York-based artist Stephen Barker, who attended the festival, said, “It is some culmination, some distillation of so much spiritual pursuit, so it is fascinating to see everyone with one purpose.”.
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Tuesday’s Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, draws crowds to the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers for a ceremonial dip. Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo.
On Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, followers erect a barrier in the way of senior Hindu ascetics and holy men as they bathe at the confluence of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers in a procession. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP).
On Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, naked Hindu ascetics and holy men bathe at the confluence of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers after submerging an idol. Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo.
In Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, participants in the Maha Kumbh festival carry out ceremonies at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Image: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP).
At the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, people perform ceremonial dips at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Photo courtesy of Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP).
Following a dip at the confluence of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers in Prayagraj, India, Hindu devotees cross a pontoon bridge on Tuesday. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP).
At the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, Hindu ascetics gather for a ceremonial dip at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Image: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP).
At Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival, media scurry to capture images of Hindu ascetics and holy men bathing at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Ganges, and legendary Saraswati rivers. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP).
In Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival, holy men and naked Hindu ascetics bathe at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP).
In Prayagraj, India, on Tuesday, Hindus celebrate the Maha Kumbh festival by taking sacred dips at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo).
On Tuesday, during the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Hindus await a sacred procession at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP).
In Prayagraj, India, police officers on horseback manage the crowd at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers on Tuesday during the Maha Kumbh celebration. Photograph by Ashwini Bhatia/AP.
In Prayagraj, India, Hindus celebrate Maha Kumbh on Tuesday by taking a bath at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Photo by Ashwini Bhatia/AP).
On Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, naked Hindu ascetics, holy men, and their guru offer a cloth to the water as they get ready to bathe at the confluence of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. (Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo).
On Tuesday, the second day of the 45-day Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, holy men and naked Hindu ascetics bathe at the meeting point of the Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganges rivers. Ashwini Bhatia/AP Photo.