Photo gallery: Pilgrims flock to the Ganges for world's biggest festival
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A Sadhu or holy man bathes with others like him at the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Hindu devotees pray as they attend the first "Shahi Snan" (grand bath) at the ongoing Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. Upwards of a million elated Hindu holy men and pilgrims took a bracing plunge in India's sacred Ganges river to wash away lifetimes of sins on Monday, in a raucous start to an ever-growing religious gathering that is already the world's largest. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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Pilgrims seek blessings from a Hindu holy man at Gangasagar, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims bathed at Gangasagar, the confluence of Hindu holy river, Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, 140km south of Kolkata, an act that is expected to help them wash off their sins on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, as it is called in northern and eastern India. The day marks the beginning of "uttarayana" or the suns northward movement, considered to be very auspicious astrologically. -- PHOTO: AP
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Indian Hindu holy men, or Sadhus, are silhouetted as they celebrate in the water at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation that lasts more than 50 days on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO: AP
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Pilgrims from the western Indian state of Rajasthan dance after taking a dip at Gangasagar, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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An Indian Hindu volunteer carries a life preserver as he watches the fence line in the bathing area at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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A Sadhu or Holy Man comes up after dipping in the waters of the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges at the start of the world's biggest religious festival. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Sadhus or holy men walk in a procession towards the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers to bathe before sunrise during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Thousands of Hindu devotees gather at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river on Makar Sankranti, the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, early Monday morning, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
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An Indian Sadhu or holy man leads a group of devotees during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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A Hindu devotee looks up as he joins a crowd of thousands after he dipped in the waters of the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Sadhus or holy men (left) carry a child adorned with marigold flowers on their shoulders as they all march towards the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
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Indian Hindu holy men, or Sadhus, arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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An Indian Hindu holy man puts vermilion paste after taking a dip at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, india, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh festival in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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A horse mount policeman guards as Hindu devotees pray and take a dip at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh festival in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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An Indian Hindu is helped after being overcome while taking a bath at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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An Indian Hindu prays before taking a bath at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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Indian Hindu devotees take a bath at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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Hindu devotees crosses a makeshift bridge over the river Ganges as they arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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Water police guards rescue an Indian holy man stuck in the mid flow of the River Ganges at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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A woman Hindu devotee arrives at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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An Indian Hindu holy man, or Sadhu, holds his bag on his head as he arrives at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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Hindu devotees cross a makeshift bridge over the river Ganges as they arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
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Thousands of Hindu devotees gather at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river on Makar Sankranti, the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, early Monday morning, Jan 14, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation, which falls every 12 years and lasts for a period of over a month, during which devotees wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges believing that it washes away their sins and ends the process of reincarnation. -- PHOTO: AP
A Sadhu or holy man bathes with others like him at the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Hindu devotees pray as they attend the first "Shahi Snan" (grand bath) at the ongoing Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival, in the northern Indian city of Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. Upwards of a million elated Hindu holy men and pilgrims took a bracing plunge in India's sacred Ganges river to wash away lifetimes of sins on Monday, in a raucous start to an ever-growing religious gathering that is already the world's largest. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
Pilgrims seek blessings from a Hindu holy man at Gangasagar, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims bathed at Gangasagar, the confluence of Hindu holy river, Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, 140km south of Kolkata, an act that is expected to help them wash off their sins on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, as it is called in northern and eastern India. The day marks the beginning of "uttarayana" or the suns northward movement, considered to be very auspicious astrologically. -- PHOTO: AP
Indian Hindu holy men, or Sadhus, are silhouetted as they celebrate in the water at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation that lasts more than 50 days on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO: AP
Pilgrims from the western Indian state of Rajasthan dance after taking a dip at Gangasagar, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
An Indian Hindu volunteer carries a life preserver as he watches the fence line in the bathing area at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, during the royal bath on Makar Sankranti at the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Monday, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
A Sadhu or Holy Man comes up after dipping in the waters of the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges at the start of the world's biggest religious festival. -- PHOTO: AFP
Sadhus or holy men walk in a procession towards the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers to bathe before sunrise during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Thousands of Hindu devotees gather at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river on Makar Sankranti, the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, early Monday morning, Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
An Indian Sadhu or holy man leads a group of devotees during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
A Hindu devotee looks up as he joins a crowd of thousands after he dipped in the waters of the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Sadhus or holy men (left) carry a child adorned with marigold flowers on their shoulders as they all march towards the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on Jan 14, 2013. -- PHOTO: AFP
Indian Hindu holy men, or Sadhus, arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
An Indian Hindu holy man puts vermilion paste after taking a dip at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, india, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh festival in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
A horse mount policeman guards as Hindu devotees pray and take a dip at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh festival in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
An Indian Hindu is helped after being overcome while taking a bath at the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
An Indian Hindu prays before taking a bath at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
Indian Hindu devotees take a bath at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
Hindu devotees crosses a makeshift bridge over the river Ganges as they arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
Water police guards rescue an Indian holy man stuck in the mid flow of the River Ganges at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
A woman Hindu devotee arrives at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
An Indian Hindu holy man, or Sadhu, holds his bag on his head as he arrives at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
Hindu devotees cross a makeshift bridge over the river Ganges as they arrive at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, for the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, Jan 13, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation of a period of over a month on the banks of Sangam during the Maha Kumbh Mela in January 2013, which falls every 12th year. -- PHOTO : AP
Thousands of Hindu devotees gather at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river on Makar Sankranti, the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, in Allahabad, early Monday morning, Jan 14, 2013. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation, which falls every 12 years and lasts for a period of over a month, during which devotees wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges believing that it washes away their sins and ends the process of reincarnation. -- PHOTO: AP
ALLAHABAD, India (AFP) - Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims led by naked ash-covered holy men begin entering the sacred river Ganges on Monday at the start of the world's biggest religious festival.
The Kumbh Mela in the Indian town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million Hindus gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.
