Over 1.65 crore take holy dip on Paush Purnima:Mahakumbh begins amid flood of fervour, shower of petals

Spurred by zest and undeterred by the early morning chill, pilgrims from across the country and abroad bathe at Sangam

: Over 1.65 crore (16.5 million) pilgrims took a holy dip at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, as the 45-day Mahakumbh Mela began with the Paush Purnima Snan in Prayagraj amid a shower of flower petals on the faithful on Monday.

Over 1.65 crore take holy dip on Paush Purnima:Mahakumbh begins amid flood of fervour, shower of petals

After a cold and windy day on Sunday with light showers, the bright sun on Monday was a boon for the pilgrims who carried out the religious rituals with ease.

After the Paush Purnima bath by the devotees and pilgrims on Monday, the 13 Akhadas (recognised Hindu monastic orders) geared up for the first Amrit Snan (earlier known as Shahi Snan) at Sangam on Makar Sankranti on Tuesday.

Mahakumbh Nagar district magistrate Vijay Kiran Anand said, “The first bathing festival of Mahakumbh passed off peacefully. Around 1.65 crore devotees took the holy dip by Monday evening (6.30pm), while the first Amrit Snan of Makar Sankranti will be held on Tuesday.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath hailed the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj as the “Mahakumbh of Unity”.

In a post on X, Adityanath wrote: “All the revered sadhus, kalpvasis and devotees who have come to experience unity in diversity, to meditate and take a holy bath at the confluence of faith and modernity are heartily welcomed. May Maa Ganga fulfil all your wishes.”

For his part, PM Modi called it a “divine occasion” that brings together “countless people in a sacred confluence of faith, devotion and culture”.

The Paush Purnima Snan, which started in the early hours on Monday, saw over 40 lakh (4 million) taking the holy dip at the Sangam by 8am. However, with the sun becoming brighter after 11am, the devotees of varied age groups coming from across the country and even abroad rushed towards Sangam for the holy dip. By 2pm, the figure reached 1.5 crore (15 million) and went past 1.65 crore (16.5 million) by 6.30pm, according to the Mela administration.

Over 50,000 security personnel maintained strict vigil across the fair area, police officials said.

Director general of police (DGP) Prashant Kumar said that the police personnel remained deployed as the rush of devotees continued at Sangam and the police administration was surveilling the area via drones.

“Drone surveillance is also being done. Underwater drones have also been used for security,” he said.

Security forces kept regulating movement of heavy rush of devotees all through the day, diverting crowds from one pontoon bridge to another in case of bottlenecks.

Shouting religious slogans in groups and trekking on long roads, pilgrims kept on arriving in the mela area, almost round the clock. After the snan, pilgrims performed other rituals including ‘Dugdh Abhishek’ (offering milk to Ganga).

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that flower petals would be showered on devotees on all major bathing days at the Sangam, but owing to fog in the morning, it was postponed for a while. With sunshine becoming stronger after 11am, government helicopters showered flower petals on the bathers.

Flowers were showered on the devotees at all ghats and on akhadas from helicopters. Seeing the shower of rose petals, the devotees present on Sangam banks were overwhelmed and shouted slogans of “Jai Shri Ram.”

Shanti, who travelled from Chennai to Prayagraj by road to take the holy dip at the Sangam on Monday, said, “We feel safe and the water is clean. If one is Indian, one should come here at least once.”

Shubha Lakshmi, also from Chennai, said, “This is my second Kumbh. It is the grand visualization of the Sanatan Dharma. I feel very nice here.”

Uttama Shukla, a teacher who was also a volunteer, said, “The Kumbh is full of culture. I feel very blessed to be a part of this event. Every time I got to learn from Kumbh.”

Rajdeep from Silchar, Assam, said, “My dream was to come here which has been fulfilled. I feel very proud.”

A devotee from Spain Natalia aka Yamuna Devi said, “As you know this is an auspicious occasion. Today, a lot of sadhus will bathe here in Mahakumbh and today is also Paush Purnima. So, we are fortunate to be able to take a holy dip in the Sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers.”

In view of the increasing number of devotees arriving in Mela area owing to the first Amrit Snan on Tuesday, senior mela officials kept visiting different sectors.

With Paush Purnima, the month-long Kalpvas commenced on banks of Sangam on Monday. Over 25 lakh (2.5 million) Kalpvasis began their rigorous schedule of meditation and other spiritual practices in different sectors of the Mela as part of their observance of austerity.

According to additional mela officer Vivek Chaturvedi, the Mela administration has made proper arrangements for about 2.5 million Kalpvasis and around 160,000 tents have been set up for them along the banks of the Ganga.

During Kalpvas, devotees live on the banks of the Sangam for a month with discipline. They take three holy dips in the Ganga, engage in chanting, meditation, worship, and attend spiritual discourses.

According to the faithful, the Mahakumbh this year holds special significance due to a rare astronomical alignment occurring after 144 years, drawing spiritual significance beyond planetary influences.

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Peethadheeshwar of Siddha Mahamrityunjay Sansthan, emphasised that the Mahakumbh transcends mere cosmic alignments. Rooted in the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family), the festival obliterates caste discrimination, untouchability, and social hierarchies, he said.

For the first time, Akhadas have also integrated concerns for environmental conservation into their spiritual discussions. Their inclusion of environmental issues in meetings and the Chavni Pravesh Yatra underscores the evolving consciousness of the Mahakumbh—celebrating faith while embracing global responsibility.

A total of 2,000 Ganga Sevadoots remained deployed across the stretches of ghats to ensure safety, convenience, and cleanliness during the Paush Purnima bathing festival.

As devotees offered flowers during worship, the Sevadoots promptly collected and disposed them of to maintain the purity of the river and the ghats.