Over 50 crore devotees have taken a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam during the ongoing Maha Kumbh till Friday evening, which is more than the combined population of the US and Russia, the government said.
The participation marks the “largest congregation” in human history for any religious, cultural, or social event, said the state government, which is hosting the mega fair in Prayagraj.
The statement from the Uttar Pradesh government added that the footfall at the Hindu pilgrimage has surpassed the population count of all countries except India and China.
Being held after 12 years, the Maha Kumbh started on January 13 and will continue till February 26 on the banks of the Triveni Sangam — the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, considered holy among Hindus.
Despite a deadly stampede on January 29, the fair continued to draw millions of pilgrims from India and the world daily.
According to the government, over 92 lakh devotees had taken a dip till 6 pm on Friday alone, pushing the overall footfall at Maha Kumbh past 50 crore (till February 14).
“Nations like the United States, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh all have smaller populations than those who have immersed themselves in the sacred waters of Sanatan Dharma,” the government said in the statement.
According to the US Census Bureau, the world’s top 10 most populous countries are India (1,41,93,16,933), China (1,40,71,81,209), the US (34,20,34,432), Indonesia (28,35,87,097), Pakistan (25,70,47,044), Nigeria (24,27,94,751), Brazil (22,13,59,387), Bangladesh (17,01,83,916), Russia (14,01,34,279) and Mexico (13,17,41,347), it noted.
“Only India and China surpass the number of devotees at Maha Kumbh. In contrast, nations like the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Brazil fall significantly behind,” the government added.
Shortly after the record milestone, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took to social media and said the Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj, a living symbol of India’s spirituality, unity, equality, and harmony, has seen over 50 crore devotees take a holy dip in the sacred Triveni so far.
“Of India’s total population of 1.1 billion, over 500 million citizens follow Sanatan Dharma. The fact that more than 50 crore citizens have taken a holy dip at the Sangam is a supreme expression of the highest human values and reflects a deep-rooted faith in the great Sanatan. In true sense, this is the Amrit Kaal of India’s public faith,” he said on X in Hindi.
“I offer my heartfelt greetings to all the revered seers, religious leaders, ascetics, and devotees who have earned the merit of a holy bath in this great ‘Yajna’ of unity and faith.
“I sincerely thank all those involved in the successful organisation of this grand festival of humanity, including the Maha Kumbh Mela administration, local administration, police, sanitation workers, voluntary organisations, religious institutions, boatmen, and all departments of the central and state governments associated with the Maha Kumbh,” Adityanath said.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said the “inadequate infrastructure” for the grand event has exposed the tall claims of the Adityanath government.
“If the infrastructure had been as strong as they claimed, and if they were truly preparing for a crowd of 100 crore people, there wouldn’t have been so many transportation issues.
“Lives were lost, people suffered immensely, and several devotees were stuck in traffic jams. It wasn’t just the visiting pilgrims; even the local residents faced severe difficulties,” he alleged while speaking to reporters in Varanasi.
The former chief minister also accused the government of hiding the actual number of deaths during the fair, saying, “It’s not just the stampede-related deaths; even many pilgrims visiting for darshan and aarti have lost their lives, but the government is concealing this information.”
When journalists asked Yadav about the state government’s claim that over 50 crore pilgrims had visited Kumbh, he sarcastically responded, “Mark my words, in a few days, they will increase the figure to 60 crore, but they still haven’t released an official list of those who died in the stampede”.
Before the onset of the Maha Kumbh, the government had estimated the footfall to be around 40 crore to 45 crore. On Friday, it said the numbers may go beyond 60 crore as the fair has 12 more days and one special bathing date (February 26) to go.
On January 29, a record eight crore devotees turned up for the holy bath at Maha Kumbh in a single day on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
The early hours of January 29 were also marked by a stampede at Sangam in which 30 pilgrims lost their lives while another 60 were left injured, according to an official declaration.
On Makar Sankranti, 3.5 crore devotees participated in the Amrit Snan. More than two crore devotees bathed on January 30 and February 1. Paush Purnima witnessed 1.7 crore devotees taking the sacred dip. On Basant Panchami, 2.57 crore devotees participated in the ritual bathing.
The significant bathing festival of Magh Purnima also saw over two crore devotees at Triveni Sangam, the government said.
Meanwhile, officials claimed that the Maha Kumbh was set to create a world record for cleanliness as over 300 sanitation workers took part in cleaning the Ganga at various ghats on Friday.
Representatives from the Guinness World Records will verify the entire process and once the record is certified, they will issue a certificate, according to the officials.
After the certificate is issued, this will become a unique record, as it will mark the first time when such a large number of sanitation workers have cleaned various ghats for more than half an hour, they said.
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