Maha Kumbh Mela: The Largest Gathering in the World

Alan Taylor
February 4, 2025
23 Photos
In Focus

As many as 400 million Hindu pilgrims are expected to visit Prayagraj, India, during this year’s 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela festival. Held every 12 years at one of four places in India, the Kumbh Mela is considered to be an especially auspicious time to bathe in the Triveni Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers—for purification from sin. Gathered below are images from the first days of this year’s Maha Kumbh Mela.

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A person takes a holy dip at Triveni Sangam—the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers—during the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Prayagraj, India, on February 3, 2025. #

ANI / Ishant / Reuters

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Hindu devotees cross pontoon bridges on Makar Sankranti Day during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. #

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

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Hindu devotees arrive for a holy dip at Sangam on the eve of the Mauni Amavasya ("new-moon day"), in Prayagraj, on January 28, 2025. #

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

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An aerial view shows the temporary camp set up for Hindu devotees in Prayagraj on January 16, 2025. #

Sanjay Kanojia / Reuters

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Naga sadhus, or Hindu holy men, arrive in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. #

ANI / Rahul Singh / Reuters

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A Hindu girl in costume looks on during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 27, 2025. #

Sharafat Ali / Reuters

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Hindu pilgrims take part in a mass bathing ritual in Sangam, during Shahi Snan ("royal bath"), in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. #

Idrees Mohammed / AFP / Getty

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Sadhus take a dip in the sacred waters of Sangam on February 3, 2025. #

Niharika Kulkarni / AFP / Getty

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Sadhus from Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin take part in a religious procession during Peshwai, or the arrival of the members of a sect of sadhus, on January 12, 2025. #

Adnan Abidi / Reuters

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Hindu ascetics and holy men pray before bathing at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati rivers on January 14, 2025. #

Ashwini Bhatia / AP

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A sadhu, photographed after bathing at Sangam, in Prayagraj, on January 13, 2025 #

Amarjeet Kumar Singh / Anadolu / Getty

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Hindu devotees gather for a holy dip on the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival on January 13, 2025. #

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

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Naga sadhus arrive in a procession to take a holy dip in Sangam on February 3, 2025. #

Idrees Mohammed / AFP / Getty

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A sadhvi, or Hindu holy woman, takes a dip in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. #

Anushree Fadnavis / Reuters

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Police officers on horseback move devotees out of the water before the arrival of Naga sadhus during the first Shahi Snan ("grand bath") in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. #

Adnan Abidi / Reuters

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Hindu devotees arrive to take a holy dip at Sangam on a foggy day, January 30, 2025. #

Deepak Sharma / AP

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An image of Lord Shiva consuming poison to save the universe was formed by drones during an aerial light show in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on January 24, 2025. #

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

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A sadhu prepares before taking part in a procession toward the sacred waters of Sangam on January 14, 2025. #

R.Satish Babu / AFP / Getty

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Pilgrims participate in a ritual at Sangam, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, on February 4, 2025. #

R.Satish Babu / AFP / Getty

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Hindu devotees take holy dips at Sangam on January 25, 2025. #

Rajesh Kumar Singh / AP

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A woman carries her luggage through the crowd as she arrives at Sangam on the eve of the Mauni Amavasya on January 28, 2025. #

Deepak Sharma / AP

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Devotees cross temporary pontoon bridges over the Ganges river on January 13, 2025. #

Ritesh Shukla / Getty

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Hindu pilgrims bathe in the Triveni Sangam on February 2, 2025. #

R.Satish Babu / AFP / Getty

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