Lakhs of devotees took a dip in the Sangam on the last shahi snan (royal bath) at the Kumbh in the wee hours of Monday which coincided with the Hindu religious festival of Mahashivratri.
Devotees including sadhus had started gathering at the ghats since before daybreak for the shahi snan which marks the end of the 50-day long religious event known as the largest human congregation anywhere on Earth.
The devotees also offered prayers to Lord Shiva. Across the country, thousands of devotees thronged various temples of Lord Shiva including the 12 Jyotirlingas.
According to reports, approximately one crore devotees took a dip at the confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati today.
Today’s shahi snan was the fourth at the Kumbh this year. The previous three were held on the occasions of Makar Sankranti on 15 January, Mauni Amawasya on 4 February and Basant Panchami on 10 February. Approximately 22 crore devotees have taken a dip in the Kumbh.
Two other events, called parv snaans, were held on the occasion of Paush Poornima on 21 January and Maghi Poornima on 19 February.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, had taken a dip at the Sangam during the Kumb on 24 February.
Read More: PM Modi takes dip in Sangam at Kumbh, praises sanitation workers
Accompanied by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the PM was seen performing the aarti and the ceremonial puja on the occasion.
On 22 February, Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh led a group of around 200 delegates of more than 185 countries to the Kumbh Mela 2019 in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.
Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019, which started on 14 January, has secured place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest crowd management, largest sanitation drive and largest painting exercise of public sites.
The Ministry of Culture said on Sunday that a three-member team from the Guinness World Records visited Prayagraj and conducted large-scale exercises for four days from 28 February to 3 March.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will later today officially announce the Kumbh closed.