Drone video from India’s northern city of Prayagraj showed thousands of Hindu devotees at the “Sangam” river confluence to mark Mauni Amawasya, the most auspicious day of the “Kumbh Mela”, or Pitcher Festival.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Yogi Adityanath among others also took the holy dip.

The man appears in a silhouette after rising from the river. His dreadlocked hair is flicked backwards, sending a stream of water in a clockwise swirl. Others surround him, with some holding the saffron flag of Hinduism,

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took holy dips in sacred river waters in the northern city of Prayagraj on Wednesday as he joined millions of people at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a week after dozens died in a stampede at the event.

At least 17 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at India's Maha Kumbh festival, the world's largest religious gathering, a doctor at a government hospital said, as tens of thousands of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred river waters during the Hindu event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam and said he felt "blessed to be at the Maha Kumbh" where he was "filled with a spirit of devotion"