In pictures: Millions of Hindus take to the Ganges

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  Hindu men pray as they bathe in the waters of the Sangham or the confluence of the the Yamuna and Ganges rivers during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on January 14, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims led by naked, ash-covered holy men streamed into the sacred river Ganges on Monday at the start of the world's biggest religious festival. The Kumbh Mela in the Indian town of Allahabad will see up to 100 million worshippers gather over the next 55 days to take a ritual bath in the holy waters, believed to cleanse sins and bestow blessings. Before daybreak on Monday, a day chosen by astrologers as auspicious, hundreds of gurus, some brandishing swords and tridents, ran into the swirling and freezing waters for the first bath, signalling the start of events.AFP PHOTO/ROBERTO SCHMIDT *** Local Caption *** 253426-01-08.jpg

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  During the festival, Hindus take part in a religious gathering on the banks of the river Ganges. The festival will again return to Allahabad in 12 years. Ahmad Masood / Reuters

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  Devotees arrive to attend the Royal Bath at the festival. The bath was timed to match an auspicious planetary alignment, when believers say spiritual energy flows to earth. Jitendra Prakash / Reuters

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  Pilgrims seek blessings from a Hindu holy man at Gangasagar, India.The festival has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says the god Vishnu wrested from demons a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality. Bikas Das / AP Photo

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  A Hindu holy man, or Naga Sadhu, swings his head as he bathes at Sangam, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. Kevin Frayer / AP Photo

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  After a slow start, police said 1.5 million people had gathered by 8am, with more on their way. Kevin Frayer / AP Photo

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  Officials believe that over the next two months as many as 100 million people will pass through the temporary city that covers an area larger than Athens on a wide sandy river bank. Manish Swarup / AP Photo

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  Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation, which falls every 12 years and lasts for a period of over a month, during which devotees wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges believing that it washes away th???