In pictures: What is the Maha Kumbh Mela and why does it attract millions of Hindus?
Officials had been preparing for months for the world’s largest religious festival, with around 400 million Hindu pilgrims expected to take part
![Kumbh Mela 2025](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/08/SEI237761802.jpg)
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Your support makes all the difference.A “stampede-like situation” at one of the biggest religious festivals in India, the Maha Kumbh Mela, led to multiple casualties on Wednesday, police said.
A massive crowd, estimated to be 100 million, had gathered for a ritual early in the morning when a stampede occurred, leaving dozens of pilgrims dead and many more injured.
Ambulances were dispatched to the scene and the injured were taken to a makeshift hospital.
![Security officers carry a woman out from the site of a stampede at the Sangam](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/b7f082e94fb34b17aaadf73db5a6ee61.jpg)
![Pilgrims arrive to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga and Yamuna, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on 29 January 2025](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/GettyImages-2195906809.jpg)
What is Maha Kumbh Mela?
The Maha Kumbh Mela is one of Hinduism’s holiest festivals, held once every 12 years at Prayagraj in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh where the Ganga, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers meet.
The rivers are considered holy by Hindus and the Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi has spent millions of rupees trying to “revive” the Saraswati
![A policeman escorts a devotee after a stampede occurred before the second royal bath at the Maha Kumbh Mela](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/2025-01-29T024506Z_453502825_RC29JCAMFHOL_RTRMADP_3_INDIA-RELIGION-KUMBH.jpg)
The confluence of the rivers is called Sangam and a “holy dip” in the waters is regarded as one of the festival’s main rituals.
![A man stands in front of a poster featuring India’s prime minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath on the eve of the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on 12 January 2025](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/GettyImages-2192961831.jpg)
The dip, called Shahi Snan or royal bath, attracts millions of devotees and is led by Hindu priests and ascetics.
![Pilgrims gather on a floating pontoon bridge near the site of a stampede at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on 29 January 2025. To accommodate the influx of millions of pilgrims, the government of Uttar Pradesh constructed a temporary city along the banks of the Ganga, complete with tents, toilets, streets, pontoon bridges, and waste management systems.](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/GettyImages-2195898203.jpg)
The holy dip is supposed to lead to spiritual purification and moksha, or salvation.
![Pilgrims at the site of a stampede during the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela. Hindu priests and ascetics lead the Shahi Snan, or royal bath, which is the festival’s highlight attracting millions of devotees](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/GettyImages-2195907060.jpg)
Kumbh Mela and Ardh Kumbh Mela
In contrast to the Maha Kumbh Mela, the Kumbh Mela occurs every three years, rotating among four locations – Haridwar in northern Uttarakhand state, Ujjain in central Madhya Pradesh state, Nashik in western Maharashtra state, and Prayagraj. The Ardh Kumbh Mela takes place every six years in Haridwar and Prayagraj.
![A policeman makes an announcement to regulate the flow of pilgrims at Sangam on the occasion of ‘Mauni Amavasya’ during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on 29 January 2025](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/GettyImages-2195908427.jpg)
Prayagraj was earlier known as Allahabad. The name was changed by Adityanath’s Hindu nationalist state government in 2018.
![Security guards help a woman injured in a stampede during the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/03/255a1dd41066411aae67bcd759097c9e.jpg)
The 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela, running from 13 January to 26 February, is expected to draw around 400 million pilgrims, making it one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.
![A satellite image taken and published by Maxar Technologies on 17 January 2025 shows an overview of the Maha Kumbh Mela along the banks of Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, in Prayagraj, India](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/17/17/2193777754.jpg)
Preparation for grand religious festival
To accommodate and regulate the massive influx of pilgrims, the government of Uttar Pradesh constructed a temporary city along the banks of the Ganga river, complete with tents, toilets, streets, pontoon bridges, and waste management systems.
![](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/29/08/SEI237754658.jpg)
![Hindu devotees cross a pontoon bridge spanning the river Ganga as they arrive to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/12/10/SEI235714727.jpg)
Managing crowds has long been a challenge at the Kumbh Mela festivals. In 2013, a stampede at a railway station left 42 people dead and 45 injured as thousands of pilgrims arrived for the festival. Since then, authorities claim to have significantly improved safety measures.
Another stampede took place in 2001 when thousands of devotees gathered for the “holy dip” at a riverbank in Haridwar.
![A Hindu ‘holy’ man prepares to take a dip in the sacred waters of Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, during Shahi Snan at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on 14 January 2025](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/15/2193224960.jpg)
This year, the Uttar Pradesh government deployed advanced technology to track crowd movements, allowing police to regulate the flow of people more effectively.
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