Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.
More
Home News UK & World

IN PICTURES: Kumbh Mela: The world’s largest gathering of humanity

By Ross Gilmore
Newly initiated 'Naga Sadhus' (Hindu holy men) sit as they perform rituals on the banks of the Ganges River during the Kumbh mela festival, in Allahabad. During every Kumbh Mela, the diksha, a ritual of initiation by a guru takes place for new members.
Newly initiated 'Naga Sadhus' (Hindu holy men) sit as they perform rituals on the banks of the Ganges River during the Kumbh mela festival, in Allahabad. During every Kumbh Mela, the diksha, a ritual of initiation by a guru takes place for new members.

Kumbh Mela: A view of the world’s largest gathering of people

More than 120 million people are expected to travel to the confluence of the rivers Yamuna and in the coming weeks. Bathing in these rivers is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins.  Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred or holy river. Traditionally, four fairs are widely recognized as the Kumbh Melas: the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, Haridwar Kumbh Mela, the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha, and Ujjain Simhastha.

An aerial view of Kumbh city at Sangam, on the auspicious day of "Paush Purnima" during Kumbh Mela or Pitcher Festival at Prayagraj, India, .The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu holy men, and other pilgrims at the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati that dates back to at least medieval times.
Hindu holy men from one of the ancient and most orthodox akharas "Juna akhara" take a dip on auspicious Makar Sankranti day during the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India. The Juna Akhara is the only monastic order to have accepted the newly formed Kinnar Akhara, led by transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi. Unlike other akharas, which are only open to Hindu men, Kinnar, founded in 2015, is open to all genders and religions.
A Hindu devotees takes ritualistic dips at Sangam during Kumbh Mela or Pitcher festival at Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh state, India. The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu holy men, and other pilgrims at Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati that dates back to at least medieval times.
An Indian Hindu devotee takes a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India.
An Indian Hindu pilgrim prays at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad, India.
Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, center left, a transgender activist and founder of the "Kinnar Akhara" monastic order arrive with other members of the order for a spiritual-cleansing dip on the auspicious Makar Sankranti day during the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India. Kinnars celebrated their inclusion at Kumbh as a victory, but their greater acceptance by Hinduism's most powerful leaders, in the religious and political spheres, remains to be seen. Unlike other akharas, which are only open to Hindu men, Kinnar, founded in 2015, is open to all genders and religions.
A naked Hindu holy man gestures they arrive for ritualistic dip on auspicious Makar Sankranti day during the Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India. The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu holy men, and other pilgrims at the confluence of three sacred rivers , the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati that dates back to at least medieval times. The city's Mughal-era name Allahabad was recently changed to Prayagraj.
A member of the "Kinnar Akhara" monastic order sits on a carriage during a procession on auspicious Makar Sankranti day during the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India. Unlike other akharas, which are only open to Hindu men, Kinnar, founded in 2015, is open to all genders and religions. On the Kumbh's first bathing day, transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi led a train of 21 tractor chariots from their tent camp to the bathing ghats with devotees following on foot as observers showered them with flower petals.
Hindu devotees take snapshots by the entrance to "Kinnar akhara," a monastic order formed by Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who is among India's best-known transgender activists, during the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, India. The Kinnars tent camp on the edge of the festival grounds is adorned with Ardhanari, the androgynous composite image of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati, that religious scholars date to the 1st century. Tripathi is trying to break into the male-dominated world of Hinduism's high priests gathered this month in the north Indian city of Prayagraj on the Ganges river for the weeks-long Kumbh Mela festival, where tens of millions of Hindus travel every three years to take a holy dip.
A naked Hindu holy man arrives on a horse back for ritualistic dip on auspicious Makar Sankranti day during the Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India.
An Indian Naga Sadhu or a naked Hindu holy man prays inside his tent during Kumbh mela or pitcher festival at Sangam, in Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh state, India, . The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu holy men, and other pilgrims at Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati that dates back to at least medieval times. The city's Mughal-era name Allahabad was recently changed to Prayagraj. (
An Indian Naga Sadhu or a naked Hindu holy man prepares tea inside his tent during Kumbh Mela or pitcher festival at Sangam, in Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh state, India, .

 

 

More from UK & World

The aftermath of the Spanish floods. Image: Dennis Norton
Dundee man living in Spain says floods left home region looking like a 'warzone'
Sharon Stone lost millions in savings after 2001 stroke: ‘I had zero money’ (Doug Peters/PA)
Sharon Stone lost millions in savings after 2001 stroke: ‘I had zero money’
Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy at the premiere of Shrek Forever After in 2010 (Minas Keukazian/Alamy)
Shrek 5 starring original cast set for 2026
ASAP Rocky and son RZA star in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty campaign (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
ASAP Rocky and son RZA star in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty campaign
Deep Purple make history performing Smoke On The Water on Lake Geneva stage (Lionel Flushin)
Deep Purple make history performing Smoke On The Water on Lake Geneva
Ringo Starr poses at his annual birthday celebration (Chris Pizzello/AP)
Ringo Starr marks 84th birthday on stage with message of ‘peace and love’
Madonna (Yui Mok/PA)
Madonna celebrates ‘miraculous recovery’ from bacterial infection one year on
Vanessa Hudgens confirms arrival of first baby: ‘Mum, dad and baby are healthy’ (Doug Peters/PA)
Vanessa Hudgens confirms arrival of first baby: ‘Mum, dad and baby are healthy’
(Christopher Polk/E Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/polkimaging)
Ellen DeGeneres cancels string of stand-up comedy tour dates
Justin Timberlake (Isabel Infantes/PA)
Justin Timberlake asks fans is ‘anyone driving’ at gig amid arrest