Devotees perform rituals on the occasion of Makar Sankranti during Ganga Sagar Mela at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.
Pilgrims at Sagar Island to celebrate 'Makar Sankranti' festival, in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
A pilgrim seeks blessings from a priest after a holy dip in the Ganga river during 'Gangasagar Mela', at Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district.
Pilgrims stand in a queue to offer 'puja' at Kapil Muni temple at Sagar Island, in South 24 Pargana district.
Pilgrims stand in a queue to offer 'puja' at Kapil Muni temple at Sagar Island, in South 24 Pargana district.
Pilgrims on the way to Gangasagar Island for Makar Sankranti, prepare food in a transit camp of Gangasagar, in Kolkata.
Pilgrims headed for the Gangasagar pilgrimage wearing face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus at transit camp, ahead of the Ganga Sagar Mela, in Kolkata.
A pilgrim, left, headed for the Gangasagar pilgrimage makes enquiry at a transit camp in Kolkata.
Pilgrims headed for the Gangasagar pilgrimage wearing face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus stand in a queue for mid-day meal at a transit camp in Kolkata. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities are anticipating less number of pilgrims during the annual pilgrimage that coincides with the Makar Sankranti festival that falls on Jan. 14.
In this photo released by Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Muslims practice social distancing while praying around the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque during the first day umrah pilgrimages were allowed to restart, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The umrah pilgrimage, or smaller pilgrimage, can be undertaken at any time of the year. A very small, limited number of people donning the white terrycloth garment symbolic of the Muslim pilgrimage circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday after Saudi Arabia lifted coronavirus restrictions that had been in place for months.
A woman squirts alcohol onto a statue of the "Santa Muerte," or Death Saint, whose mouth holds two lit cigarettes left by other devotees, outside her altar in Mexico City's Tepito neighborhood. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, thousands of devotees, few wearing face masks amidst the dense crowd, made the monthly pilgrimage Monday to pray or give thanks to Santa Muerte, one of several unofficial folk saints worshipped in Mexico.
Stranded pilgrims of Mata Vaishno Devi wait to leave for their native places, amid COVID-19 lockdown, in Jammu.
A Saudi policeman stands guard in front of the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's Deputy Health Minister Abdel-Fattah Mashat was quoted on the state-linked news site Al-Yaum saying that groups of visitors to Mecca from inside the country would now also be barred from performing the pilgrimage, known as the umrah.
A Muslim prays from a hotel overlooking the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Health Minister Abdel-Fattah Mashat was quoted on the state-linked news site Al-Yaum saying that groups of visitors to Mecca from inside the country would now also be barred from performing the pilgrimage, known as the umrah.
Pilgrims from Pakistan arrive to take part in celebration of the 808th Urs festival of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, in Ajmer.
Pakistani pilgrims arrive to take part in celebration of the 808th Urs festival of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, in Ajmer.
Pilgrims leave for their homes after taking holy dip in River Ganga on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti', in Kolkata.
A view of tents for pilgrims on the eve of Paush Purnima bath, during 'Magh Mela' at Sangam in Prayagraj.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu addresses during the inauguration of the 87th Sivagiri Pilgrimage at the Sivagiri Madhom, in Varkala
A pilgrim touches in obeisance an image of god Rama his wife Sita and his brother Lakshman in Ayodhya. The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 its verdict in the politically sensitive case of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.
Pilgrims wait in a queue to board a bus as authorities turned back thousands who were congregating for a religious event on Tuesday in Ayodhya. The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019 its verdict in the politically sensitive case of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team helps pilgrims cross damaged path on the route of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, in Pithoragarh district.
Devotees carrying holy Ganga water from Kalighat Temple to LordShiva temple in Tarakeswar ShravanMela
Devotees carrying holy Ganga water from Kalighat Temple to LordShiva temple in Tarakeswar ShravanMela
Pilgrims dance and chant religious slogans outside a base camp even as the Amarnath Yatra was suspended due to bad weather, in Jammu.
Sikh devotees raise religious slogans as they leave in a bus for Pakistan to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (first Sikh guru) at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, in Amritsar.
Hajj Pilgrims from three states namely Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra pose for a group photo before leaving for Mecca in Saudi Arabia, outside Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad.
Devotees of Lord Shiva collect water from river Ganges for their walk towards Kashi Vishwanath Temple during the holy month of Shravan, in Prayagraj (Allahabad).
Pilgrims on their return at Safdarjung Railway Station after visiting the Vaishno Devi shrine under Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana of the Delhi Government, in New Delhi.
Devotees, with steel hooks pierced through their back, pull a car during an annual pilgrimage to the temple of Hindu goddess Sheetla Mata in Jammu.
Devotees, with steel tridents pierced through their cheeks as part of a ritual, prepare to start off on an annual pilgrimage to the temple of Hindu goddess Sheetla Mata in Jammu.
Pilgrims stand in queues to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra, at a base camp, in Jammu.
Hindu devotees on their way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, at Pahalgam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hindu devotees on their way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, near Mahagunas Top in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hindu devotees with religious symbols painted on their heads leave for Amarnath Yatra on the first day of the holy month of Shravan, at a railway station in Prayagraj (Allahabad).
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with his deputy Manish Sisodia flags off the first train with pilgrims on Delhi-Amritsar-Wagha Border-Sri Anandpur Sahib-Delhi route, from New Delhi
Pilgrims seen near the Chandrabhaga river on the occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi, in Solapur district.
Pilgrims chant religious slogans as they stand in a queue to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra, at Ram Mandir base camp in Jammu.
Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi receives blessings from a Haj pilgrim during the flag off ceremony for the first Haj flight, from New Delhi.
Sadhus wait in a queue to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra, at a base camp in Jammu.
Sadhus queue up to board a bus as another batch of pilgrims leave for Amarnath Yatra from Jammu base camp.
People chant religious slogans as they wait at Ram Mandir during the registration for annual Amarnath Yatra, in Jammu.
Sadhus chant religious slogans as they wait in a queue at Ram Mandir during the registration for annual Amarnath Yatra, in Jammu.
A view of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway as another batch of Amarnath pilgrims leave for Kashmir, in Jammu.
Pilgrims stand in queue and as they wait to enter a base camp for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Jammu.
Devotees walk on a mountain trail on their way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, in Baltal, Jammu and Kashmir.
A woman devotee is carried on a palanquin as pilgrims move towards the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, in Baltal, Jammu and Kashmir.
Sadhus take their pictures with mobile phones during their pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath, in Baltal, Jammu and Kashmir. The first batch of 2,234 pilgrims left for the Amarnath Yatra that commenced Sunday.
Paramedical staff members examines a sadhu on the first day of registration for Amarnath Yatra at Ram Mandir Base Camp, in Jammu.
Sadhus wait in a queue to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra, at a base camp in Jammu.
Pilgrims wait in a queue outside a counter to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra at a railway station in Jammu.
Sikh pilgrims wave as they leave in a bus for Pakistan, to observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, in Amritsar.
Pilgrims on their way to the Vaishno Devi shrine rest under under the shade of trees and wait for transport outside a railway station on a hot day in Jammu. Intense heat wave continues to plague northern India, with several areas across the region, hitting temperatures above 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit).
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with the pilgrims of the first batch of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra - 2019 during its flag-off ceremony, in New Delhi.
First batch of pilgrims for the 2019 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra wave after the flag off by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in New Delhi.
Applicants pray during an online computerized draw for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra 2019, in New Delhi.
Pilgrims who were selected from an online computerized draw for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra 2019, in New Delhi.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (2nd R), Dy. CM Manish Sisodia (3rd R) and others during the announcement for free pilgrimage by Delhi Government under 'Tirth Yatra Yojna', in New Delhi.
Believers honour St. Mary with a procession of lights at the pilgrimage church Maria Vesperbild during the Assumption Day, in Ziemetshausen, Germany.
Sadhus wait in a queue to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra, at a base camp in Jammu.
Stranded Amaranth pilgrims prepare food at their base camp, in Jammu. Yatra remained suspended for the third consecutive day from both Pahalgam and Baltal routes due to landslides and shooting stones.
Pilgrims cross mountain trails during their religious journey to the Amarnath cave temple, at Pahalgam in Anantnag district of J&K.
Pilgrims cross mountain trails during their religious journey to the Amarnath cave temple, at Pahalgam in Anantnag district of J&K.
Indian pilgrims being evacuated from Simikot to Surkhet and Nepalganj, as authorities stepped up efforts to rescue those stranded there due to heavy rain while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in Tibet in Simikot.
Indian pilgrims being evacuated from Simikot to Surkhet and Nepalganj, as authorities stepped up efforts to rescue those stranded there due to heavy rain while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in Tibet in Simikot.
Sadhus wait in a queue to get themselves registered for Amarnath Yatra at a base camp, in Jammu. The Amarnath yatra to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas remained suspended for the second consecutive day from both Pahalgam and Baltal routes due to landslides and shooting stones.
Amarnath pilgrims chant 'Bhajans' (religious songs) at their base camp after the yatra was suspended due to bad weather, in Jammu.
Devotees (Kanwariyas) carry holy water of river Ganga to perform 'abhishek' at Padilla Mahadev temple, on the 1st day of Purshottam (Adhimas) of Hindu calendar, in Allahabad.
