A Hindu pilgrim feeds biscuits to an ox to seek blessing before heading for an annual trip to Sagar Island for the one-day festival of “Makar Sankranti”, in Kolkata, India January 10, 2017. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A Hindu pilgrim takes a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj on February 5, 2025. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/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)

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)

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 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)

Members of Panchayati Akhara Bada Udasin take part in a religious procession as they head towards the Kumbh Mela festival ahead of the royal bath near the Sangam, the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati – in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, 12 January 2025. Every 12 years, Hindu pilgrims gather for ritual baths at the river's banks during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA)