Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women have gathered in India’s northern city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering.
The festival — site of a stampede on Wednesday — is held every 12 years at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Hindus take a series of ritual baths at the confluence to cleanse them of their past sins and free them from reincarnation.
