World's Largest Religious Gathering Begins in India

We're about to see the largest religious gathering on Earth ever recorded. Hundreds of millions of Hindus will be making the pilgrimage to a confluence of rivers in India over the next month and a half for a festival called Maha Kumbh Mela.

Tens of millions are already there. And over the next six weeks, Indian officials anticipate roughly 400 million Hindu devotees will descend on the Indian city of Prayagraj to bathe in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

What makes this year’s Kumbh Mela so special, and why are so many making the journey around the world?

What is Maha Kumbh Mela?

Maha Kumbh Mela, or the great festival of the sacred Pitcher, is the Hindu faith’s largest celebration. The gathering is based on an ancient Hindu legend where gods and demons fought over a pitcher containing an immortality-granting nectar. In the battle, the nectar was spilled in four sacred places.

Occurring every 12 years, Maha Kumbh Mela is hosted alternatively at each of these sacred sites along India’s holy rivers, where the legendary nectar is said to have been spilled. Smaller versions of this festival – called Kumbh Mela – occur every three years, and the ‘Maha’ prefix attached to this year’s festivities indicates its additional spiritual importance.

The event revolves around ritual bathing in these sacred rivers, believed to cleanse devotees of sins, purify the soul, and free them from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Alongside the holy baths, the Kumbh Mela also features spiritual discourses, religious rituals, and large assemblies of ascetics, monks, and devotees, making it one of the most significant expressions of Hindu spirituality and cultural heritage. 

Why is This Year’s Ceremony Special?

This year’s Maha Kumbh Mela holds exceptional spiritual significance because it coincides with a rare planetary alignment that occurs once every 144 years. In Hindu astrology, the timing of Kumbh Mela is determined by the positions of the Sun, Moon, and Jupiter, and it is believed that this year the stars are aligned exactly as they were during the initial pitcher spill in Hindu folklore. 

The rarity of this event makes this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Hindu devotees, and has thus drawn unprecedented attention from across the globe, with millions of pilgrims and spiritual seekers eager to take part in the sacred bathing rituals and other ceremonies.

For many, this is not just a spiritual gathering, but also a deeply transformative experience that connects them to ancient traditions. And because of technological advances in engineering and transportation, it’s anticipated that not only will this be the largest Maha Kumbh Mela ever, it will be the largest religious gathering ever, and likely even the largest human gathering on earth.

Naga Sadhus

Among the most anticipated events of the Kumbh Mela is the appearance of the Naga Sadhus.

These holy men are Hindu monks, primarily associated with the Shaivite tradition, who dedicate their lives to spiritual discipline, renunciation, and the worship of Lord Shiva. They walk naked with their bodies smeared with ash, have long matted hair, and garlands of rudraksha beads.

The Naga Sadhus often live in secluded areas such as Himalayan caves or forest hermitages, practicing intense meditation and yogic austerities. However, they emerge prominently during the Kumbh Mela, where they lead processions and take ritualistic dips in sacred rivers.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Event

Organizing the world’s largest human gathering doesn’t come easy or cheap, but Indian officials say they’re prepared. As you might expect, the infrastructure required to support 400 million visitors is staggering. 

The Indian government will reportedly spend some $70 billion rupees ($812 million USD). They've put it to use recruiting 40,000 police officers, 15,000 sanitation workers, 160,000 tents, 2,7000 security cameras, and 150,000 toilets across the festival’s 4,000 hectares.

It’s all in service of an unmissable opportunity for Hindus around the world to bathe in the holy waters and celebrate their faith with scores of their fellow believers. 

“I feel great joy,” said one attendee, Surmila Devi. “For me, it’s like bathing in nectar.”