Even for the world’s most-populous nation, the scale of a Hindu religious festival being held in India’s northern city of Prayagraj since mid-January is staggering. Surpassing previous numbers, the ...

In the sprawling width of Indian culture, Naga Sadhus stand as a fascinating enigma. Cloaked in ash, adorned with rudraksha ...

Letters from the Hindi alphabet in bold black Devanagiri script jumped out of a Naga sadhu’s ash-smeared back. The sea of ...

Pavitra Nandagiri is a Mahamandaleshwar—one of the highest-ranking monks of the Transgender Arena at the massive religious ...

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Channi Anand is based in Jammu, a strategic location not far from the India-Pakistan border that ...

The largest religious gathering in the world is taking place in India from Jan. 13 to Feb. 26. It is a significant test for ...

sharing both food and laughter. "We eat not just for sustenance butasa ritual of togetherness before we disperse,” says Swami Anant Giri, a sadhu from Juna Akhada. "This is our way of expressing ...

PRAYAGRAJ: The Naga sadhus are emblematic of Maha Kumbh - matted dreadlocks, bodies smeared in ash, and clutching tridents, swords, and wooden staffs, not as mere weapons, but as symbols of their ...

The Naga Sadhus are the highlight of the Maha Kumbh festival, the world’s largest religious gathering now underway in northern India. Worshipers jump over the barriers, running past police and ...

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Thousands of devotees jostle behind bamboo fences to get a glimpse of the grand procession of the ...

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Thousands of devotees jostle behind bamboo fences to get a glimpse of the grand procession of the naked, ash-smeared and armed Hindu holy men. The Naga Sadhus are the ...

Naga Sadhus are greatly revered, a rare sight outside the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival. Currently underway in the north Indian city of Prayagraj, it’s attended by tens of millions of the ...