A young child dressed as the Hindu deity Shiva looks at a cow while waiting for alms from pilgrims in Pushkar in the western Indian state of Rajasthan on October 24, 2019. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)

An Indian sadhu (Hindu holy man) sits on the banks of Sangam – the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers – on the auspicious bathing day of 'Maghi Purnima' during the Kumbh Mela festival in Allahabad on February 19, 2019. Millions of Hindu pilgrims took the plunge in holy rivers on the most auspicious bathing days of the Kumbh Mela festival, led by naked, ash-smeared holy men and accompanied by chants from Hindu holy texts. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

Naga Sadhus or Hindu holy men, smeared with ash, drink tea inside their makeshift camps near the confluence of river Ganges and the Bay of Bengal, ahead of Makar Sankranti festival at Sagar Island, south of Kolkata January 13, 2015. Hindu monks and pilgrims are making their annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of “Makar Sankranti” on Wednesday. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A sadhu, or a Hindu holy man, blesses a devotee as he smokes marijuana at a transit camp on the way to Gangasagar, in Kolkata, India, Sunday, January 7, 2018. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take the annual holy dip at Gangasagar, where the Ganges River reaches the Bay of Bengal, on the auspicious Makar Sankranti festival day that falls on Jan. 14. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)

A child dressed as Hindu God Shiva begs for alms from devotees at the Sangam, the confluence of three rivers – the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati, on the Makar Sankranti festival during the annual traditional fair of Magh Mela in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Sunday, January 14, 2024. Hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take dips in the confluence, hoping to wash away sins during the month-long festival. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Photo)

A Sadhu or a Hindu holy man performs to receive money from pilgrims at a makeshift shelter, before heading for an annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of “Makar Sankranti”, in Kolkata, India, January 10, 2018. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Indian holy men, or Naga Sadhu, ride a motorbike on their way to take a holy dip in the Ganges River during the Kumbh Mela at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, 14 April 2021. Thousands of pilgrims gather for the mass Hindu pilgrimage which occurs every twelve years and rotates among four locations. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)

A Hindu holy man on his way to the annual holy dip at Gangasagar, gestures towards a visitor as he rests at a transit camp in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, January 6, 2016. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take the annual holy dip at Gangasagar, where the Ganges River reaches the Bay of Bengal, on the auspicious Makar Sankranti festival day that falls on Jan.14. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)