By Saurabh Sharma PRAYAGRAJ, India (Reuters) -Naked Hindu ascetics smeared in holy ash charged into the waters of sacred rivers in India on Tuesday, part of a large crowd of 35 million devotees who took the holy dip on the second day of the Maha Kumbh Mela,

Millions of Hindus take a dip in freezing watersas India's Maha Kumbh festival begins :::: Prayagraj, IndiaHeld every 12 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival, as the religious event in the city of Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is called,

Scores of naked Hindu ascetics smeared in holy ash charged into the water of holy rivers in northern India on Tuesday, dreadlocks flying, during the first 'royal bath' of the Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival.

India's Mahakumbh Mela, which is the world's largest religious gathering, entered its second day. Over the next six weeks, 400 million visitors are expected to attend the festival. Thousands of religious leaders and pilgrims could be seen charging into the icy waters in a ritual they believe will cleanse them of sin and help them achieve salvation.

Hindu devotees from across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj yesterday as the world's largest religious festival began. Over the coming 45 days, an estimated 400 million Hindus are expected to come together for Maha Kumbh Mela.

India's Maha Kumbh Mela, or Great Pitcher Festival, is set to be the world's largest gathering of humanity, with 400 million visitors expected at the six-week event that began this week in the northern city of Prayagraj.

Millions of Hindu pilgrims are gathering in India to bathe in sacred waters for the six-week-long Kumbh Mela festival -- from the very old to babies, cave-dwelling monks to science teachers.The millennia-old Kumbh Mela,

A six-week Maha Kumbh Mela or Great Pitcher Festival begins in India on Monday, a Hindu sacred event that will be the world's largest gathering of humanity as it showcases religion, spirituality, tourism and crowd management.