Hindus plunge into Ganges River
Reuters
2013-03-10
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(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Millions of devotees and ascetics took a dip in the holy waters of the Ganges River on Sunday (March 10) for the Hindu festival of Mahashivratri, which marks the end of the Maha Kumbh Mela religious fair in northern India.
An estimated 5 million people took the plunge into the chilly waters in the northern Indian city of Allahabad at the end of the 55-day festival.
The festival of Kumbh Mela has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says that the god Vishnu wrested from demons a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality.
In a 12-day fight for possession, four drops fell to earth, in the cities of Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.
Every three years a Kumbh Mela is held at one of these spots, with the festival in Allahabad the holiest of them all.
Millions of devotees and ascetics took a dip in the holy waters of the Ganges River on Sunday (March 10) for the Hindu festival of Mahashivratri, which marks the end of the Maha Kumbh Mela religious fair in northern India.
An estimated 5 million people took the plunge into the chilly waters in the northern Indian city of Allahabad at the end of the 55-day festival.
The festival of Kumbh Mela has its roots in a Hindu tradition that says that the god Vishnu wrested from demons a golden pot containing the nectar of immortality.
In a 12-day fight for possession, four drops fell to earth, in the cities of Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.
Every three years a Kumbh Mela is held at one of these spots, with the festival in Allahabad the holiest of them all.
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