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On August 17, under clear blue skies over 70,000 sadhus took a holy dip in Ramkund on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik as part of the shaahi snan of the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Sinhastha Kumbh Mela.
Sadhus and mahants belonging to three akhadas of the Vaishnav sect -- Nirvani, Digambar and Nirmohi -- proceeded in a royal procession for the bath from the Lakshmi Narayan temple. Some sadhus, dressed up in garlands, rode horses and elephants, while others rode in jeeps. They danced, showed off their prowess with swords, sticks and other weapons and chanted mantras.
The procession was delayed by 45 minutes and the first akhada -- Nirvani -- entered the holy waters only at 9.15 am.
The delay was caused by some overenthusiastic devotees attempting to enter the procession, and the State Reserve Police Force had to weed the intruders out.
Two constables and a couple of sadhus take a well-deserved break at Ramkund after the snan went off without a major hitch.
Photograph: Sanjay Sawant