While both festivals share deep religious significance and celestial connections, there are key distinctions that set them apart

The Kumbh Mela, which began January 13 in Prayagraj, northern India, is a 45-day Hindu pilgrimage during which millions of Hindus immerse themselves in the sacred Ganges River to cleanse their sins. The event featured spiritual rituals,

The Maha Kumbh Mela, a spiritual and cultural phenomenon, has begun in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, attracting an estimated 400 million visitors over six weeks. This extraordinary congregation, recognised as the world’s largest gathering of humanity,

Today, the Kumbh Mela stands as the largest religious gathering in the world, deeply intertwined with Hindu mythology.

While the Kumbh Mela festival is ordinarly held every three years, rotating between several holy cities on the banks of these rivers, the Maha Kumbh Mela occurs only once every 12 years. Maha means “great”, and the event attracts the most devotees because it is considered the most auspicious and holy in the cycle.

India's Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, is set to be the world's largest gathering of humanity, with 400 million visitors expected at the six-week event that began this week in the northern city of Prayagraj.

Hindu devotees from across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj yesterday as the world's largest religious festival began. Over the coming 45 days, an estimated 400 million Hindus are expected to come together for Maha Kumbh Mela.

Nearly 15 million Hindus, six times the number expected, took a dip in freezing waters seeking absolution of their sins on Monday, the first day of India's festival that could draw the world's largest single gathering of humanity.

Scores of naked Hindu ascetics smeared in holy ash charged into the water of holy rivers in northern India on Tuesday, dreadlocks flying, during the first 'royal bath' of the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival.

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.

Drone video shows thousands of devotees bathing in sacred waters as the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the festival of the Sacred Pitcher, begins in Prayagraj, India. The celebration is expected to draw 400 million visitors.