Millions attend India's Maha Kumbh Festival

PRAYAGRAJ, India — Tens of thousands of naked Hindu sadhus and millions of pilgrims took a dip in the icy waters of the confluence of holy rivers in northern India on Tuesday, part of a series of massive events during the country's largest religious Kumbh Mela. The first of the bathing sessions. Congregation on Earth.

At sunrise, ash-stained Hindu saints armed with tridents, swords, spears and small double-headed drums ride on chariots towards the Ganges, Yamuna and mystical Saraswati rivers in the northern city of Purpur. Traveling from the junction of Rayagraj. Wearing tangled dreadlocks and crowns of marigolds, the men chanted religious slogans and praised the Hindu god Shiva as they made their way to their bathing sites, singing songs, beating drums and blowing horns.

Millions of Hindu pilgrims followed them into the confluence.

The Maha Kumbh, held every 12 years, began on Monday with more than 15 million pilgrims bathing in the holy river, officials said. Over the next six weeks or so, the festival is expected to attract more than 400 million people, many of whom will take part in elaborate ceremonies.

Hindus believe that bathing at the intersection can wash away their sins and free them from the cycle of rebirth.

Among the bathers was Venkatesh Ramaling, a technology expert from the southern city of Pune.

“It's amazing to see people diving in such cold water. The people here have such a strong faith and I feel inspired watching them,” Lamarin said. “After the shower I felt really good and full of positivity.”

The festival has its origins in Hindu tradition, where Lord Vishnu is said to have wrested a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality from the hands of a demon. Hindus believe that a few raindrops fell in the cities of Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar – four places where big festivals have been held. Kumbh Mela for centuries.

The Kumbh Mela rotates between four pilgrimage sites approximately every three years, with dates determined by the cosmic alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter.

This year’s festival is the biggest and biggest of them all.

Authorities built a sprawling tent city on the river bank to accommodate saints, pilgrims and tourists attending the festival. The government provided more than $765 million for the event, hoping to impress India's predominantly Hindu population and attract tourists from around the world.

“It’s kind of the culmination and distillation of so many spiritual pursuits, so it’s fascinating to see everyone having a purpose,” said Stephen Barker, a New York artist who participated in the festival.

The tent city is equipped with 3,000 kitchens and 150,000 toilets. There are also about 50,000 security personnel stationed in the city to maintain law and order and crowd management.

Millions of people flocked to the river banks on Tuesday, some carrying clothes, blankets and food on their heads, others dragging wheeled bags. Families and groups of people from far-flung villages lined up to march as security personnel shouted warnings to avoid the stampedes that have marred festivals in the past.

Senior police officer Rajnish Diwedi, who oversees festival security, said at least 2,700 cameras, some powered by artificial intelligence, were used to send information on crowd movement and density to four central control rooms, where officials could quickly deploy personnel. Police also use automated systems to avoid stampedes, he said.

A group of Hindu sadhus established a vast camp at the site, and tens of thousands of pilgrims traveled there to hear religious lectures and participate in prayers. Known as “Naga Sadhus,” these sadhus are part of a religious group that was once a mercenary group, and they often revere the Hindu god Shiva.

Sri Digambar Ishwargiri, a Naga Sadhu from Junagadh, a city in the west about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Prayagraj, said that immersing in the holy water is a blessing A step toward redemption. He sits cross-legged next to a small firewood and ceremonial trident inside the tent, and devotees come to visit him for blessings.

“This is a holy place of salvation,” Ishwagiri said, adding that ascetics like him were “warriors of Hinduism.”

“We stand up for what we believe in,” he said.

Bathing takes place daily at the site, but on the most auspicious days, Hindu sadhus rush to the holy river at dawn.

Many pilgrims also stay throughout the festival, observing austerities, giving alms and bathing at sunrise each day. River baths, prayer, meditation and yoga classes, and other religious rituals are organized by Hindu sadhus and supported by public funds.

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AP video reporters Shonal Ganguly and Rishi Lekhi contributed to this report.

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