Thousands of Hindus bathe in sacred waters at India’s Kumbh Mela festival

As India celebrates its six-week Kumbh Mela festival, tens of thousands of Hindus are slogging themselves into freezing waters near the convergence of sacred rivers.

More than 2.5 million people are expected to visit the city of Prayagraj in northern Uttar Pradesh on Monday for their first ritual dip.

A “royal bath” will follow on Tuesday, which will be reserved for ascetics, who believe it will free them from sin and bring them to eternal life.

“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.

Elephants accompanied by giant flags of their respective sects rolled up in tractors as chariots for life-size idols of Hindu gods rolled behind them.

According to Hindu custom, the god Vishnu, known as the Preserver, possessed a golden pitcher filled with the nectar of immortality to ward off demons.

In a 12-day celestial fight for its possession, four drops of the nectar fell to earth, in the cities of Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, where the festival is held every three years in rotation.

The Kumbh, which is held once every 12 years in this cycle, has the prefix “maha” (great), indicating that its timing makes it more opulent and draws the largest crowds.

‘ Top notch ‘ security

Authorities have set up 150, 000 tents to accommodate pilgrims, expected to number about three times the population of Russia.

Indian police said they were “conducting relentless day-and-night patrols to ensure top-notch security” for the event.

A gathering that is so large that its bright lights can be seen from space has 68 000 LED light poles constructed.

Temperatures hovered about 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit) overnight, but pilgrims said their faith meant their baths were not chilly.

“Once you are in the water, you don’t even feel cold”, 56-year-old devotee Chandrakant Nagve Patel told AFP. I experienced “oneness with God.”