Millions of Hindu devotees, mystics and holy men and women from all across India flocked to the northern city of Prayagraj on Monday to kickstart the Maha Kumbh festival, which is being touted as the world's largest religious gathering.

Millions of people are gathering in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh state to participate in the Mahakumbh Mela, the world's largest gathering of humanity. Devout Hindus from all parts of the world have arrived here (and will continue to do so) over the course of six weeks to take a holy dip at Sangam - the confluence of India's most sacred Ganges river with the Yamuna river and the mythical Saraswati.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, or Hindu pitcher festival, begins Monday in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj. Officials expect at least 400 million attendees over the next 45 days.

Indian refiners have stopped dealing with U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers and entities but the country does not expect disruption to Russian crude supplies during a two-month wind-down period, a government source said on Monday.

Oil prices rose to their highest in more than four months as wider U.S. sanctions against Russia’s energy industry threaten to disrupt global supplies.

India intends to abandon oil tankers that have been sanctioned by the United States because of their role in transporting goods for Russia, which is another example of the impact of Washington's measures on the global oil market.