Every twelve years, whole India shudder, the villages stir, monasteries empty, from the caves of the Himalayas down naked hermits smeared with ashes, from Malabar coast, Cape Comorin, Gulf Bengal, Vindhya Mountains, Thar Desert converge carts of all kinds, processions of monks, bands of tramps, troops of lepers, trains full of townspeople, a prodigious crowd thirsting for holiness: the pilgrims of the Kumbh Mela.

Maha Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather at a sacred river for a bath in the river. Kumbh means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Hindi. The festival is billed as the "world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims".

Mauni Amavasya traditionally attracted the largest crowds at the mela, held here every 12 years. The day marked the second and the biggest Shahi Snan (royal bath) of this event, with 13 akharas taking to the Sangam. This was the biggest bathing day, 10 Feb 2013 at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela and probably the largest human gathering on a single day. Over 30 million devotees and ascetics took holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.[3]

Here are my pictures of this incdredible event. Read Less