Half-billion people attend Hindu festival in India

Devotees gather to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers during the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the Great Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, India, on Feb. 12, 2025. A pilgrim takes a holy dip in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, India, on Feb. 12, 2025. People sit inside a train coach at Prayagraj Junction station while returning after taking a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, during the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, on Feb. 18, 2025. A man seeks blessings from a sadhu, or Hindu holy man, inside his tent on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India, on Feb. 20, 2025. Laborers ferry Hindu pilgrims past a poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Uttar Pradesh state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the ongoing Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj on Feb. 1, 2025.

Even for the world’s most-populous nation, the scale of a Hindu religious festival being held in India’s northern city of Prayagraj since mid-January is staggering. Surpassing previous numbers, the Maha Kumbh Mela that wraps up Wednesday has drawn more than half a billion devotees in the last six weeks, according to officials.