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.

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.

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.

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.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering, begins on 13 January 2025, in Prayagraj, India. Over the course of six weeks, an estimated 40 crore devotees will gather to partake in this sacred event,

Organisers of India's Kumbh Mela have prepared to host a staggering 400 million devotees at the six-week Hindu festival that starts Monday and is expected to be the largest human gathering in history.

Millions of Hindu devotees and mystics have gathered in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on earth

Authorities in India are racing against time to get the city of Prayagraj ready to host the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela, described as humanity's biggest gathering. About 400 million pilgrims are expected to attend the 45-day spectacle,

Indian farmer Govind Singh travelled for nearly two days by train to reach what he believes is the "land of the gods" -- just one among legions of Hindu pilgrims joining the largest gathering of humanity.