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The first ritual baths Monday morning in Prayagraj (north), India, kicked off the Hindu pilgrimage of the Kumbh Mela. This gathering is presented as the largest of all time with 400 million faithful expected in six weeks.
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January 13, 2025 – 02:20
(Keystone-ATS) Before dawn, the first clusters of pilgrims plunged into the cold waters of the confluence of the sacred rivers of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Sarasvati to, as required by Hindu tradition, wash away their sins.
“This is an unmissable opportunity for a Hindu,” summed up Reena Rai, a 38-year-old entrepreneur from the state of Madhya Pradesh (central), a thousand kilometers away. Organized every twelve years, this meeting promises to be one for all records this year, from January 13 to February 26.
The last religious celebrations held in the same place in 2019 brought together 240 million faithful, according to the government. For comparison, the great annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, only brought together 1.8 million faithful in 2024.
Processions
Organizers have installed 150,000 toilets, 68,000 street lights and a tent city that covers an area equivalent to two-thirds of the New York peninsula of Manhattan. A compact crowd of pilgrims from all over India and beyond took up residence there over the weekend.
Despite the rain, bathers began to flock along the banks of the rivers on Sunday, to the sound of drums and in the middle of processions of elephants and tractors loaded with statues of gods or goddesses.
In addition to washing away sins, baths taken at the confluence of sacred rivers during the Kumbh Mela also allow one to free oneself from the cycle of rebirth and reincarnation.
Hundreds of boats are ready to welcome those who are not satisfied with immersion on the banks by taking them in the middle of the water to the Sangam, the exact point of confluence of the three rivers.
The Indian police deployed large numbers of troops to ensure, according to a spokesperson, “maximum security” for the pilgrims. Everywhere, the alleys of the ephemeral town that grew up in Prayagraj (the former Allahabad) were adorned with posters glorifying the ultranationalist Hindu Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was announced on site.
