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Holy Bath
Photograph by Roberto Schmidt, AFP/Getty Images
The Hindu festival known as Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest gathering of humanity, peaked on Sunday at the meeting of the Yamuna, Ganges, and mythical Saraswati rivers. The festival in the northern Indian city of Allahabad sees tens of millions of pilgrims bathe in the Ganges to wash away sins. Pilgrims and saints pray as they soak.
Published February 11, 2013
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New Initiates
Photograph by Sheeraz Rizvi, Hindustan Times/Getty Images
Newly initiated Hindu ascetics perform rituals during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival happens every three years in one of four Indian cities, with the event in Allahabad considered the holiest. It’s also the biggest.
Published February 11, 2013
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Sacred Fire
Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images
Hindu priests perform a ceremony beside the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. The festival lasts 55 days.
Published February 11, 2013
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River Sitting
Photograph by Baciu Cristian, Demotix/Corbis
A Hindu ascetic performs a ritual last month during the 2013 Kumbh Mela.
Published February 11, 2013
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Bridge Crossings
Photograph by Manish Swarup, AP
Believers walk on pontoon bridges to take a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Saraswati Rivers, a site known as Sangam. The processions are led by heads of monasteries and by naked ascetics smeared with ash.
Published February 11, 2013
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Stampede Victim
Photograph by Manan Vatsyayana, AFP/Getty Images
A woman injured in a Sunday stampede that left 36 dead in Allahabad lies in a hospital bed in the city. There are conflicting accounts of what provoked the stampede.
Published February 11, 2013
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Train Rush
Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images
Hindu devotees at the Allahabad train station press toward an arriving train.
Published February 11, 2013
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Train Station Prayer
Photograph by Daniel Berehulak, Getty Images
A Hindu believer waits for a train at the Allahabad train station, the site of Sunday’s stampede.
Published February 11, 2013
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