Massive religious gathering Kumbh Mela ends with last bathing on Maha Shivratri (gallery)

Naga sadhus, or Hindu holy men, bathe in the waters of Sangam during the auspicious bathing day of Makar Sankranti during the Maha Kumbh Mela in this Jan. 14, 2013 file photo taken with an iPhone panoramic application in Allahabad, India. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Allahabad, March 10 (IANS) The biggest religious congregation on Earth, the Kumbh Mela, ended this past weekend with more than seven million people taking a holy dip at Sangam on the occasion of the Maha Shivratri festival.

Sangam is the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers in India.

The Kumbh Mela, a mass pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river, began Jan 14. with Makar Sankranti. Over the following two months, six more major bathing dates passed peacefully. In the end, more than 100 million people visited the Kumbh Mela grounds in 55 days.

By Sunday evening, seers, saints and pilgrims had begun dismantling their tents and proceeding home. Several seers moved to Varanasi to further their religious journey.

On the site itself, police reported a middle-aged man drowned in the Ganges near Sector 14 of the Kumbh Mela. In addition, 37 people died in a stampede at a nearby train station Feb. 11 after departing the event.

Addressing the media, Devesh Chaturvedi, divisional commissioner of Allahabad and in charge of the Kumbh, said more than 100 million people had bathed during the Kumbh, at an average of 500,000 people each day.

Maha Shivratri was observed in other parts of the state with traditional gaiety and fervour. However, two people were killed during a stampede at the famous Lodheshwar Mahadev temple in Barabanki, 225 km from Allahabad.

Kumbh Mela iPhone photos

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A series of black and white photos taken with an iPhone panoramic application captures the massive Hindu event the Kumbh Mela in an epic way. The Maha Kumbh Mela, which just ended after 55 days, is believed to be the largest religious gathering on Earth. It takes place every 12 years at Sangam, the confluence of the holy rivers Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati in India while the Kumbh Mela alternates between the Indian cities of Nasik, Allahabad, Ujjain and Haridwar every three years. This year's event attracted more than 100 million people, who made the pilgrimage for the chance to take a holy dip in the water. Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

IANS 2013-03-10 21:44:01

Tags: Hindus, Kumbh Mela, religious gathering