More than 10 million people have taken a holy bath at the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela (also known as Mahakumbh) – described as humanity’s biggest gathering – in northern India’s Prayagraj city on Monday.
The event – held once every 12 years – starts on Monday and over the next six weeks, the devout will bathe at Sangam – the confluence of India’s most sacred Ganges river with the Yamuna river and the mythical Saraswati.
Hindus believe that taking a dip in the sacred river will cleanse them of sins, purify their soul, and liberate them from the cycle of birth and death – as the ultimate goal of Hinduism is salvation.
About 400 million pilgrims are expected to attend the 45-day spectacle, which is so large it can be seen from space.
Tuesday’s spectacle will be special as it will see ash-smeared naked Hindu holy men with matted dreadlocks, known as Naga sadhus, take a dip in the northern Indian city at dawn.
But authorities are racing against time to get the city ready to host millions who will continue to pour in throughout the festival.
To accommodate the pilgrims and tourists, a vast tent city, spread over 4,000 hectares, has been set up on the banks of the river.
But on Sunday, just hours before proceedings were due to begin, many parts of the sprawling grounds in Prayagraj still appeared to be a work in progress.
Some of the camps set up by saints and other worshippers had no water and intermittent power supplies.
