Kumbha Fair Editorial Photo

Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. It is the world's largest religious gathering, with 80 million people expected in 2013. It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation: Haridwar, Allahabad (Prayag), Nasik and Ujjain. Thus the Kumbh Mela is held at each of these four places every twelfth year. Kumbh means a pitcher and Mela means fair in Hindi. The pilgrimage is held for about one and a half months at each of these four places where it is believed in Hinduism that drops of nectar fell from the Kumbh carried by gods after the sea was churned. The festival is billed as the "world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims". There is no scientific method of ascertaining the number of pilgrims even approximately and the estimates of the number of pilgrims bathing on the most auspicious day may vary widely, from 2 to 8 million depending upon the team(s) of persons making the estimate and the rough method of making the estimate. Mauni Amavasya traditionally attracted the largest crowds at the mela, held here every 12 years.