The Maha Kumbh Mela, India's largest religious gathering, attracts millions of devotees. This over month-long festival features the creation of an extensive tented city, complete with cottages, huts, platforms, and a full range of civic, administrative, and security services, meticulously organized by the government, local authorities, and police. The event is especially famous for its remarkable assembly of religious ascetics—sadhus and mahants—drawn from secluded retreats in forests, mountains, and caves. Once astrologers determine the auspicious bathing moment, known as Kumbhayog, the first to immerse themselves are the Naga Sadhus, or Naga Babas. These ascetics, with bodies covered in ash and hair in long dreadlocks, see themselves as guardians of the faith. They approach the river's confluence with the grandeur and intensity of a marching army. The last Maha Kumbh Mela took place in 2013, and the next is scheduled for 2025.