PRAYAGRAJ, India — Millions of Hindu devotees and holy people from across India converged in Prayagraj on Monday to begin the Maha Kumbh festival, considered the world’s largest religious gathering.
Over the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims will congregate at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati rivers, participating in rituals aimed at achieving liberation from the cycle of rebirth.
Here’s what you should know about the festival:
A sacred confluence
Hindus hold rivers in high regard, especially the Ganges and Yamuna. Devotees believe bathing in these waters purifies them, ending reincarnation, particularly on auspicious days. These auspicious days occur every 12 years during the Maha Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival.
This festival features ritual baths by Hindu sadhus and pilgrims at the confluence of three sacred rivers, a tradition dating back to at least medieval times. Hindus believe the mythical Saraswati river once flowed from the Himalayas to Prayagraj, joining the Ganges and Yamuna there.
Bathing occurs daily, but on the most auspicious days, monks participate in dawn rituals. Many pilgrims stay for the entire festival, practicing austerity, giving alms, and bathing daily at sunrise.
“We find peace here and achieve salvation from the cycles of life and death,” stated Bhagwat Prasad Tiwari, a pilgrim.
The festival originates from a Hindu legend about Vishnu obtaining a golden pitcher of immortality from demons. A few drops are believed to have fallen in Prayagraj, Nasik, Ujjain, and Haridwar—the four Kumbh festival locations.
The Kumbh rotates among these sites roughly every three years, based on astrological calculations. This year’s festival is the largest yet. The 2019 Ardh Kumbh, or Half Kumbh, drew 240 million visitors, with about 50 million bathing on the busiest day.
A global gathering
Officials anticipate at least 400 million people—exceeding the U.S. population—in Prayagraj over 45 days. This is significantly more than the 2 million pilgrims at last year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
The festival presents a major challenge for Indian authorities in managing crowds and showcasing India’s religious tourism capabilities.
A vast tent city along the riverbanks houses over 3,000 kitchens and 150,000 restrooms. Spread across 40 square kilometers (15 square miles), it includes housing, infrastructure, communication towers, and 11 hospitals. Murals depict Hindu scriptures.
Indian Railways has added over 90 special trains for nearly 3,300 trips during the festival, supplementing regular services.
Around 50,000 security personnel—a 50% increase from 2019—are deployed for crowd control and maintaining order. Over 2,500 cameras, some AI-powered, send crowd data to control rooms for efficient response.
Political implications
Previous Indian leaders used the festival to connect with the country’s Hindu majority. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the festival has become central to the promotion of Hindu nationalism. Modi’s party views Indian civilization as inseparable from Hinduism, although critics cite Hindu supremacy as a root of the party’s ideology.
Uttar Pradesh, led by Adityanath—a prominent Hindu monk and politician in Modi’s party—allocated over $765 million for the event. The festival is used to boost Modi and Adityanath’s image, with billboards and posters throughout the city promoting government policies.
The festival is expected to strengthen the Bharatiya Janata Party’s support base. However, past Kumbh gatherings have faced controversies.
Modi’s government renamed Allahabad to Prayagraj, part of a nationwide renaming effort before the 2019 festival and election. In 2021, the government declined to cancel the Haridwar festival despite a COVID-19 surge, fearing backlash.