Overview

The Maha Kumbh festival is a large Hindu religious gathering associated with the Kumbh Mela, a pilgrimage celebrated at four traditional sites – Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik, and Ujjain – on cycles linked to the Hindu luni-solar calendar and the positions of Jupiter, the Sun, and the Moon. According to Puranic tradition, these sites are believed to have received drops of divine nectar during the churning of the ocean of milk. The festival lasts between one and three months and is centered on ritual bathing in sacred rivers. At Prayagraj, a full Kumbh Mela is held about every 12 years, while an Ardh Kumbh Mela is held about every 6 years; the 2025 event was officially termed a Maha Kumbh Mela.

Scale and significance

The Kumbh Mela attracts very large crowds, particularly on Amavasya days, and has been described as the largest religious gathering in the world. The 2025 Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela was held from 13 January to 26 February 2025 at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where the Ganges, Yamuna, and mythical Sarasvati rivers meet. Reported figures said more than 660 million people took a dip in the river during the 2025 event. The Kumbh Mela has been inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

2025 crowd crushes

On 29 January 2025, crowd crushes occurred at the Prayag Maha Kumbh Mela. Official reports said at least 30 people were killed and 60 others were injured. A second crush in the following hours killed seven people, including a three-year-old child. The death toll has been disputed, with some reports based on hospital and police records claiming a higher figure. The incident was described as the sixth crowd crush during the Kumbh Mela in the past 70 years, highlighting recurring crowd-management concerns at large religious gatherings.