Large crowds turned out in India on Wednesday for the last day of the six-week Maha Kumbh Mela, with authorities saying it drew a total of 663 million people seeking absolution of their sins by taking a dip in waters that devout Hindus consider sacred.

Maha Kumbh Mela concludes. Forbes India is your destination for business, stock market, startup and technology news, and a peek into the lives of India's richest and most famous.

After six long weeks, India's Maha Kumbh Mela has wrapped up, drawing close to 650 million devotees in total. On the last day of the world’s largest religious gathering, additional forces were deployed along the river banks,

Prayagraj: The 45-day-long Maha Kumbh Mela, one of the largest and most spiritually significant events in the world, came to a spectacular close Wednesday as millions of devotees gathered at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj for the final ‘Amrit Snan’ (holy dip) on the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri.

Every 12 years, hundreds of millions of Hindu pilgrims gather in northern India for a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. This year, even a deadly stampede proved no deterrent to believers.

India's Kumbh Mela festival wraps up Wednesday, with final ritual river bathing ceremonies ending six weeks of celebration that organisers say have been attended by hundreds of millions of devotees.

Huge crowds cover the shores of the Indian Ganges river as devotees take a final sacred dip of the Kumbh Mela festival. According to the Uttar Pradesh state government, more than 640 million people took part in the festival,