Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj: NASA astronaut shares stunning images of mega event from space

NASA astronaut Don Pettit, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), shared two stunning images of the event, currently taking place in the north Indian city of Prayagraj, from space.

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Sharing the images, Pettit wrote on X: "2025 Maha Kumbh Mela Ganges River pilgrimage from the ISS at night. The largest human gathering in the world is well lit."

The tent city, which is located close to the Sangam, the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, dazzled in the images.

Thousands of people from across India and even international pilgrims have been visiting the Maha Kumbh since it began on January 13.

The 45-day-long spiritual and cultural event celebration will continue till February 26.

The Uttar Pradesh government has been promoting the event not just as a religious gathering but as a cultural spectacle that in the past has attracted both Bollywood and Hollywood stars.

The mega tent city

Around 160,000 tents, 150,000 toilets and a 776-mile (1,249-kilometer) drinking water pipeline have been installed at a temporary tent city covering 4,000 hectares, roughly the size of 7,500 football fields.

Mythology and legend connected with Maha Kumbh

The Kumbh draws upon Hindu mythology and the legend of demons and gods fighting over a pitcher containing the elixir of immortality.

During the fight, four drops from the pitcher fell on Earth, in Prayagraj, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain, which host the festival in rotation.

Kumbh is mainly held at four riverside pilgrimage sites, namely: Prayagraj (Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra).

The other rejuvenated Kumbh Mela is celebrated at Bansberia Tribeni Sangam in West Bengal at the confluence of Hooghly and Saraswati rivers, which dates back thousands of years but was stopped 700 years ago.

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However, this Kumbh Mela has been reopened since 2022.

The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment.

The seekers believe that bathing in these rivers is a means to prāyaścitta (atonement, penance, restorative action) for past mistakes and that it cleanses them of their sins.