Millions of Hindu pilgrims followed them into the confluence. The Maha Kumbh festival — held every 12 years — started Monday, with more than 15 million pilgrims bathing in the holy rivers ...

Authorities in India say more than 20 million people are expected to take part in the first major bathing day at the Hindu ...

Pope Francis highlights the symbolism of ashes during Lent as a reminder of our mortality and humility. In Hinduism, sacred ash signifies purity and detachment from physical existence, while in ...

At some temples, Hindu holy men, also known as Sadhus, smoke marijuana — a practice that is normally illegal but is permitted during the Shivaratri festival — and smear their bodies with ash ...

Holding tridents, swords, spears and small two-headed drums, ash-smeared Hindu holy men marched and rode chariots at sunrise toward the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati ...