Maha Kumbh Mela saw record 120 million devotees (PHOTOS)
Bihari Hindu priests smear coloured powder on each other after the completion of a ritual at the Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati during the Maha Kumbh festival in Allahabad on March 6, 2013. The Kumbh Mela in the town of Allahabad saw up to 100 million worshippers gather over 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings.
The 2013 Maha Kumbh Mela, which ended on Sunday, saw a record 120 million devotees wash their sins away in the holy waters near Allahabad.
The festival is celebrated every 12 years, where the Ganga and Yamuna rivers meet the mythical Saraswati.
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"Over 60 million people attended the festival in 2001 and this time we believe 120 million people have participated," festival chief Mani Prasad Mishra told Agence France Presse.
"We built a tent city to celebrate the Kumbh Mela and now we are tearing it down."
More on GlobalPost: Maha Kumbh Mela festival, 'greatest show on earth,' draws millions of Hindu pilgrims (PHOTOS)
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