Hindu holy men will bathe in the sacred Ganges river on the first major bathing day of Kumbh Mela festival. ... we have ...

Thousands of Hindu holy men have been arriving in Prayagraj to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival Millions of people have taken a holy bath at the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela (also known as ...

The first major bathing day, Tuesday, will see ash-smeared naked Hindu holy men with matted dreadlocks, known as Naga sadhus, take a dip in the northern Indian city at dawn.

PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Naked Hindu ascetics and pilgrims took dips in the freezing waters at the confluence of sacred rivers in northern India on Tuesday, in the first major bathing day of ...

Nude Hindu holy men or a Naga Sadhus of Maharirwani Akhara prepare for a dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati on one of the most auspicious day Makar ...

Ash-smeared Naga Sadhus or Hindu holy men arrive to take a dip in Sangam to mark the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, in Prayagraj on January 14, 2025. R.Satish Babu/AFP/Getty Images.

Authorities have built a sprawling tented city on the river banks to accommodate the holy men, pilgrims and tourists visiting the festival. The government has shelled out more than US$765 million for ...

Hindu holy men walk in a procession a day before the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival, at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, in Prayagraj, India, Sunday, 12 ...

DELHI, India (RNS) — For more than three decades, Mohammed Mehmood, a Muslim, had been hired by Hindu holy men to light their tents during celebrations of Kumbh Mela, a festival that every 12 ...

At a jungle shrine in Ceylon last week, a group of local sadhus celebrated a rite of Hindu holy men: walking barefoot over a bed of glowing coals. To the Rev. Eric Robinson, a British Methodist ...

A holy man receives a plastic cup to fill tea offered by a devotee at the Pashupatinath Hindu temple during Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan ...

Naked Hindu ascetics and pilgrims are taking holy dips in sacred rivers in the first major bathing day of the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth ...