Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is being touted as the world's largest religious gathering. Over about the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims with gather at the confluence of three sacred rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati — where they will take part in elaborate rituals, hoping to begin a journey to achieve Hindu philosophy's ultimate goal: the release from the cycle of rebirth.
Millions of Hindu devotees gather for Maha Kumbh festival
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Workers broom a barricaded area near Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, on a cold winter morning in Prayagraj on Jan.13, 2025.
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A Hindu devotee arrives to take a dip in Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, on a cold winter morning in Prayagraj on Jan. 13, 2025.
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Rescue personnel ferry a boat for security measures, at Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on Jan. 13, 2025.
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Hindu pilgrims arrive with their belongings to take a holy dip in the sacred waters of Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on Jan. 13, 2025.
