It’s late evening in the city of Prayagraj and the roadside vendors selling snacks are packing up their wares to shut for the night.

Vast crowds of Hindu pilgrims in India bathed in sacred waters as the Kumbh Mela festival opened on Monday, with organisers expecting 400 million people -- the world's largest gathering of humanity -- to assemble over six weeks.India is the world's most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people, and so is used to large crowds.

Hari Om, a devotional OTT platform, offers free subscriptions at the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025. This spiritual gathering in Prayagraj highlights India's cultural heritage, drawing millions of devotees. Hari Om aims to blend tradition with modernity through its extensive devotional content available for free to attendees.

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.

The Maha Kumbh festival — held every 12 years — started Monday, with more than 15 million pilgrims bathing in the holy rivers, according to officials.

Over about the next six weeks, Hindu pilgrims will gather at the confluence of three sacred rivers where they will take part in elaborate rituals.

Hindu devotees gather for a dip at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers on the first day of the 45-day-long Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, India, Monday, Jan.