More than 10 million devout Hindus seeking absolution from their sins took a dip in holy waters in northern India during a span of four hours on Wednesday, authorities said, as they braced for millions more to swarm the site of the Kumbh Mela.

Who was Emperor Harshavardhan, who donated all his wealth at Kumbh every five years? It is said that he gave until his royal treasury was completely empty.

More than 500 million people have taken a "holy dip" in sacred river waters in north India over the last four weeks as part of the Hindu Maha Kumbh festival, authorities said on Friday, greater than the population of most countries.

The Hindu festival that turned deadly in northern India on Wednesday is a religious gathering with deep spiritual meaning for devotees who come by the millions to take a cleansing dip in waters they consider sacred.

The unfathomable scale of the world’s largest religious festival in India overshadows many nations in size — and for the economy, its impact is just

Officials expect visitor count at Kumbh Mela to exceed 550-600 million, with 12 days left in the six-week event.

As the Amrit Snan began at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela on Maghi Purnima on Wednesday morning, lakhs of people reached the Triveni Sangam ghat in Prayagraj to take the holy dip on the special occasion.