The festival that attracts over 400 million people takes place where Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers meet.

Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival begins in India on Monday, a Hindu sacred event that will be the world's largest gathering of humanity as it showcases religion, spirituality, tourism and crowd management.

This year, the Maha Kumbh, or Poorna Kumbh, is being held in Prayagraj. Celebrated every 12 years, it is one of the world's largest religious events

The Maha Kumbh Mela has commenced in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on. The 45-day religious gathering is significant for Hindu pilgrims and devotees as the event marks the completion of 12 Kumbh Mela cycles,

Tens of thousands of Hindus seeking absolution of their sins immersed themselves on Monday in freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers, as India began a six-week festival expected to draw the world's largest gathering of humanity.

A controversy erupted on Sunday after a statue of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav was installed at a camp in the Maha Kumbh Mela area, with several seers objecting to it.

The grand 45-day Maha Kumbh Mela began at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on Paush Purnima, marking a significant confluence of faith and celestial mo

The Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Great Pitcher Festival, will bring more than 400 million people to Prayagraj city in northern India over a period of six weeks starting Monday, making it the largest gathering of humanity in the world.

While the Kumbh Mela festival is ordinarly held every three years, rotating between several holy cities on the banks of these rivers, the Maha Kumbh Mela occurs only once every 12 years. Maha means “great”, and the event attracts the most devotees because it is considered the most auspicious and holy in the cycle.

India set for Hindu festival Maha Kumbh Mela | REUTERS WARNING: May contain nudity The Maha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest gathering of humanity, begins in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, with millions of devout Hindus arriving to take a dip in the holy river Ganga.