Millions come to India for the world’s largest pilgrimage festival

At the start of the world’s largest pilgrimage festival, millions of people gathered on the banks of the Ganges in northern India. Around 15 million Hindu pilgrims entered the water at the confluence of the Ganges with the Jamuna River, which is also revered as holy, on the first main bathing day of the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025, wrote the head of government of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, on Platform X. He estimates that The festival, which lasts more than six weeks, will attract up to 400 million people this time – which would be a record.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of a “very special day” for millions of people. According to him, countless people gathered at the festival in the city of Prayagraj “at the holy meeting of faith, devotion and culture”.

Ritual ablutions

The ritual ablutions of the Hindus are at the center of the Kumbh Mela (pitcher festival). With these actions, the participants want to cleanse themselves of their sins and free themselves from the cycle of birth and death. Where the devotees perform their ablutions, the Ganges and Jamuna also flow together with the mythological river Sarasvati.

The Indian government promotes the Maha Kumbh Mela as not only the largest religious festival but also the largest peaceful gathering in the world. This year’s edition is the grand Kumbh Mela, which only takes place once every twelve years.

According to a myth, in Prayagraj and the towns of Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, drops of the “nectar of immortality” were spilled from a jar as gods and demons fought over it. The festival takes place every three years in a twelve-year cycle at one of four locations.

Pilgrims from all parts of the country, including sadhus or sadhvis considered “holy men” or “holy women,” as well as tourists from abroad travel to the Kumbh Mela.

Tent city on 40 square kilometers

For the festival weeks, the government of the city of Prayagraj has built a fully equipped tent city on an area of ​​40 square kilometers for the masses of pilgrims. Around 120 million people came to the Maha Kumbh Mela in 2013.