Hindu Kumbh Mela festival - in pictures

Hindus believe that sins accumulated in past and current lives require them to continue the cycle of death and rebirth until they are cleansed. Bathing in sacred waters on the most auspicious day of the Kumbh festival, believers say rids them of their sins. Bernat Armangue / AP

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. As one of the gods fled with a pitcher of the nectar across the skies, it spilled on four Indian towns- Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar. Bernat Armangue / AP

Hindu devotees bath a sadhu, or Hindu holy man, center, in the Godavari River during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival in Nashik, India, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Hindus believe taking a dip in the waters of a holy river during the festival will cleanse them of their sins. Tsering Topgyal / AP

Indian Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, surround their guru, center, during a bath in the Godavari River. Tsering Topgyal / AP

An Indian Sadhu, or Hindu holy man, takes a bath in the Godavari River. Tsering Topgyal / AP

Sadhus, or Hindu holy men, jump in a holy pond during the first “Shahi Snan” (grand bath). Shailesh Andrade / Reuters

Indian sadhus or holy men sit in front of closed shops on the roadside on the banks of Godavari river. Divyakany Solanki / EPA

An Indian Hindu holy man reacts after his first holy dip at the Kumbh Mela. AFP

Tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims and holy men washed on the first main bathing day of India’s Kumbh Mela festival on August 29. Punit Paranjpe / AFP PHOTO

Millions of people, most of them devout Hindus from India and across the world and some curious tourists, gather for Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher Festival spread over several weeks/months.