Tens of thousands of Hindus seeking absolution of their sins are immersing themselves in freezing waters at the convergence of sacred rivers as India begins the six-week Kumbh Mela festival.
Authorities expect Monday’s first ritual dip in the city of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to draw more than 2.5 million visitors.
This will be followed by a “royal bath” on Tuesday reserved for ascetics, in the belief that it absolves them of sin and confers salvation from the cycle of life and death.
“I feel great joy,” Surmila Devi, 45, told the AFP news agency. “For me, it’s like bathing in nectar.”
Also known as the Great Pitcher Festival, the religious event attracts more than 400 million visitors, both Indians and tourists.
The last celebration at the site, the “ardh” or half Kumbh Mela in 2019, attracted 240 million pilgrims, according to the government.
Amid public warnings to walk in lines without halting anywhere, droves of marchers headed for bathing positions to await sunrise at the confluence of the three holy rivers, the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.
Advancing towards the waters’ edge in the winter morning fog, they chanted invocations such as “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Ganga Maiyya” in praise of the Hindu deities Lord Shiva and Mother Ganga, who personifies India’s holiest river, the Ganges.
Hindu monks carried huge flags of their respective sects, while tractors turned into chariots for life-size idols of Hindu gods rolled behind them accompanied by elephants.
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