A vermilion dot on the forehead is one of India’s most widely accepted Hindu cultural insignias. But at the festival, where millions are flocking to pray and bathe at the confluence of India’s holy rivers, it morphs into a major display of Hinduism in various forms and designs.
Vālmīki’s epic poem “The Rāmāyaṇa” is a great work of literature and a treasure of Indian culture — but its political and religious appropriation has entrenched divisions and exclusion in Indian society.
Bodies, clothes and bags lay scattered on the ground after a deadly stampede at the world's largest gathering of humanity, the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India, on one of the most auspicious days in Hinduism.
A reporter’s trip to the world’s largest holy festival was interrupted by a deadly stampede. His account reveals both the risks and spiritual importance of the Kumbh Mela, and how India’s relationship with Hinduism is changing.
Hindu devotees and mystics have gathered in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh festival, which is the largest religious congregation on Earth.
People were trampled as pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest gatherings, gathered where the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers meet, officials said.
India — a famous town known for its 7th- and 8th-century Hindu monuments — and located in the rural community of Southwest Ranches, the ornate temple offers a portal to South Indian religious rituals and centuries-old cultural traditions. Hinduism is a ...
This year’s Maha Kumbh Mela is particularly significant. The alignment of stars and planets is said to be the same as when drops of celestial nectar fell on the earth.
NEW DELHI — Tens of thousands of people at a massive religious gathering in India rushed to take a holy bath in the country's northern Prayagraj city, setting off a stampede early Wednesday that ...
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who has been picked by President Donald Trump to oversee spy agencies, on Thursday alleged that Democratic senators are trying to foment religious bigotry against Hindus and Hinduism.
But when they leave — believing their sins have been cleansed by the redemptive bath — they leave with one thing in common: their foreheads display a sacred stroke of color. (AP Video by Rishi Lekhi and Shonal Ganguly) 365 Bloor Street East,
Pew study explores how people view the role of religion in national identity and policymaking. It surveyed nearly 55,000 people in three dozen countries from January to May 2024.