iPhone panoramas: Kumbh Mela festival in India
Believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth, some 100 million were said to have attended the 2013 Kumbh Mela festival, held on the banks of the Sangam in Allahabad. Hindus made the pilgrimage to bathe in the holy waters to wash away their sins at the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. The festival alternates between the cities of Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years.
Photos taken by Daniel Berehulak of Getty Images. You can read his account on Time’s Lightbox blog.
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- Hindu devotees walk through mist towards the banks of the holy Ganges river as people gather ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe on the banks of Sangam as people gather ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees dress themselves after having bathed on the banks of Sangam on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees dress themselves after having bathed on the banks of Sangam on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe on the banks of Sangam as people gather ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- A man sells peacock feathers as Hindu devotee hold out sarees to dry after having bathed on the banks of Sangam on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe on the banks of Sangam as people gather ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe on the banks of Sangam as people gather ahead of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 13, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Naga sadhus bathe in the waters of Sangam during the auspicious bathing day of Makar Sankranti of the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 14, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees dress themselves after having bathed on the banks of Sangam on January 15, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe in the waters of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 15, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu pilgrims beg for alms as they sit near the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 15, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- A Hindu devotee dresses himself after having bathed on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 15, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees hang out saris to dry after having bathed on the banks of Sangam on January 15, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees make their way to and from the banks of Sangam on January 16, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees make their way towards the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 16, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- A boy pauses whilst sweeping away rubbish on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on January 16, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Naga sadhus, naked Hindu holy men, take a break during an initiation ceremony on the banks of the Ganges river during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 8, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu pilgrims make their way over pontoon bridges near Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 9, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu devotees bathe on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 9, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Marching band members wait, in front of an Ambassador vehicle, to perform during a procession heading to the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the auspicious bathing day of Mauni Amavasya during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 10, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Naga Sadhus, naked Hindu holy men, walk in procession after having bathed on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the auspicious bathing day of Mauni Amavasya during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 10, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Devotees wait to participate in a procession to bathe on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the auspicious bathing day of Mauni Amavasya during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 10, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- HIndu devotees look on as Naga Sadhus, naked Hindu holy men (unseen), walk in procession to bathe on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the auspicious bathing day of Mauni Amavasya during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 10, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Naga Sadhus, naked Hindu holy men, walk in procession after having bathed on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the auspicious bathing day of Mauni Amavasya during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 10, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu pilgrims walk across a pontoon bridge as others bathe on the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 12, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
- Hindu pilgrims walk across a pontoon bridge from the banks of Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, during the Maha Kumbh Mela on February 12, 2013 in Allahabad, India. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)