Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics, and holy men and women from across India gathered in Prayagraj on Monday to mark the start of the Maha Kumbh festival, celebrated as the world’s largest religious gathering.
Over the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims will assemble at the confluence of three sacred rivers — the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati. They will engage in elaborate rituals, including ritual baths, aiming to achieve moksha, the ultimate goal in Hindu philosophy, which represents liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Hindus hold rivers in high esteem, with the Ganges and the Yamuna regarded as particularly sacred. Devotees believe a dip in these waters cleanses past sins and helps end the cycle of reincarnation, especially on auspicious days.
These days, occurring every 12 years, are central to the Maha Kumbh Mela, or “pitcher festival,” a tradition dating back to at least medieval times. The Saraswati river, said to have once flowed through Prayagraj from the Himalayas, is believed to meet the Ganges and the Yamuna at this site.
While pilgrims bathe daily during the festival, the most significant dates see ash-smeared, naked monks charging into the holy rivers at dawn. Many devotees stay for the festival’s entirety, observing strict austerities, giving alms, and bathing at sunrise.
“We feel peaceful here and attain salvation from the cycles of life and death,” said pilgrim Bhagwat Prasad Tiwari.
The Kumbh’s origins lie in Hindu mythology, where the god Vishnu is said to have wrested a golden pitcher containing the nectar of immortality from demons.
According to legend, drops of this nectar fell in four cities — Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain, and Haridwar — where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.
Rotating among these four cities every three years according to astrological calculations, this year’s festival is the largest of its kind. A smaller version, the Ardh Kumbh, or Half Kumbh, was held in 2019, attracting 240 million visitors, with 50 million taking ritual baths on its busiest day.
Officials estimate at least 400 million people will visit Prayagraj during the 45-day festival, nearly double the population of the United States. This dwarfs the 2 million pilgrims who attended the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina last year.
The event is a massive challenge for Indian authorities, serving as a platform to showcase Hindu culture, tourism, and crowd management capabilities.
A sprawling tent city has been set up along the rivers, covering 40 square kilometres (15 square miles). Divided into 25 sections, it features more than 3,000 kitchens, 150,000 restrooms, 11 hospitals, and infrastructure such as housing, roads, electricity, water, and communication towers. The city walls are adorned with murals depicting stories from Hindu scriptures, further enriching the experience.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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