Leap of faith: Tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims take holy dip to celebrate India's Kumbh Mela festival
- The second bathing to mark Kumbh Mela or the Pitcher Festival took place in Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India
- Hindus bathe in a sacred river to cleanse their sins and honour a mythological battle for the nectar of immortality
- Nashik hosts the festival every 12 years and is expected to attract 8 to 10 million pilgrims during next two months
Dreadlocked
Indian holy men and Hindu pilgrims washed away their sins with a
religious dip during the second Kumbh Mela bathing or Pitcher Festival
at Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, India on Sunday.
Hindu
devotees take a holy dip in the waters of Godavari river to celebrate
the festival which honours the victory of gods over demons in a furious
mythological battle.
The
sadhus, or 'Godmen', naked and with their faces painted, danced and
chanted alongside tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrating the Shahi
Snan, meaning 'royal bath'.
Hindu
sects followed one another in shedding their orange robes before
splashing joyously into the sacred water at Nashik. Their time to bathe
lasted just seconds, however, as hundreds of police officers frantically
blew their whistles to signal for them to hastily make way for the next
wave of devotees.
The
Kumbh Mela -a celebration of faith in which Hindus bathe in a sacred
river - is held every third year and is rotated between four holy sites.
As
a result, it takes place at Nashik every 12 years and although it isn't
on the same scale as the editions on the Ganges at Haridwar and the
Saraswati at Allahabad, it still draws millions of pilgrims.
Nashik
is unique out of the four venues in that it has two main bathing sites,
the Godavari river in Nashik and nearby Trimbakeshwar temple ghat,
stretching the emergency services across a wide area.
The
Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology, which describes how a
few drops of the nectar of immortality fell on all of the places that
host the festival, the fourth being Ujjain in central India.
Between eight and 10 million pilgrims are expected to attend the two-month-long Hindu festival this year.
A Naga sadhu, or naked Hindu holy man, poses for a picture after taking a holy dip in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela
Hindu devotees give a holy dip to their Guru on the second 'shahi snaan' or royal bath in the river Godavari in Nasik, India
Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival, will cleanse them of their sins
According to Hindu mythology, the
Kumbh Mela celebrates the victory of gods over demons in a furious
battle over a nectar that would give them immortality
A Sadhu, or Hindu holy man walks through the festival amidst the hundreds of thousands of other pilgrims
A policewoman stands guard as hundreds of thousands of Hindu devotees wait for their turn to enter the River Godavari
The religious gathering at the banks
of the Godavari river this year, is on a smaller scale than the
festivals at the Ganges at Haridwar and the Saraswati at Allahabad but
is still popular
The event draws millions of attendees, pictured Indian Hindu holy men wait for their sect leader as the festivities ensue
Foreign Hindu devotees take to the streets to mark the holy occasion and greet their teacher during the celebration
High spirits: Indian men shout slogans
and a mood of revelry spreads through the crowds waiting for their turn
to enter the water
A Hindu holy man blows a conch shell (top) while an Indian woman (bottom) prays after her cleansing dip in the river
Hindu devotees
carry their Guru while officials watch on ensuring the popular event
doesn't turn into a stampede as it has done in the past
Devotees
wear yellow garlands and wait patiently for a chance to cleanse their
sins (left) a holy man gets involved in the celebration (right)
Between eight and 10 million pilgrims are expected to attend the event during the two month long Hindu festival
Nashik is unique in that it has two main bathing sites, the Godavari river in Nashik and nearby Trimbakeshwar temple ghat
The Kumbh Mela has its origins in
Hindu mythology, which describes how a few drops of the nectar of
immortality fell on all of the places that host the festival. Pictured
are holy men splashing in the waters.
Universal celebration: Pilgrims touch the feet of a holy man as the whole community get to get to honour the occasion
Young and old alike take to the streets to mark the occasion which takes place at Nasik every 12 years
A holy man waits for his chance to take a cleansing dip during Kumbh Mela which is due to be celebrated until November
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