By Madhusree Chatterjee

Haridwar (Uttarakhand), Jan 14 (IANS) It was a sight for the gods to behold. Amid Vedic chants and temple bell chimes, wave upon wave of pilgrims tumbled into the freezing waters of the Ganga river for a holy dip, marking the beginning of the Mahakumbh Mela here Thursday.

Cries of "Jai Ganga Maiya" and "Har Har Mahadev" could be heard as the bathers arrived in groups, offering ceremonial water to the sun in brass and copper pitchers. At least five million devotees from India and across the world are believed to have taken part in the ritual bath that is believed to cleanse people of their sins and lead them towards immortality.

The Mahakumbh, a three-month long affair, comes around once every 12 years.

"The water was cold, but it was sheer bliss with the sun shining down on me. It makes the pull of religion stronger," said Ramesh Sharma, a native of Shimla and a first-time visitor to the fair.

The bathers mostly comprised lay devotees. They flocked to the Brahma Kund, a stretch of the river at the foot of a shrine of Lord Shiva and Ganga Maiyal. The morning bath ended at noon but resumed in the afternoon.

Gender walls crumbled as men and women sprinkled water on each other in a show of bonhomie.

"Mother Ganga, deliver me, Jagdambe mata, command my ship through the sea of life," chanted Krishnapyari, a resident of New Delhi, who bathed with a group of five women in the morning.

The bathing ritual will continue Friday on the day of the solar eclipse and the Mauni Amavasya.

Seers, including ash-smeared Naga sadhus, will begin their bathing rituals Jan 20, the day of the Basant Panchami, said Srinivasji, a priest at the Ganga Maiya temple in Har-ki-Pauri.

"The crowd will peak around Jan 20 when the seers owing allegiance to various Shaivite and Vaishanvite sects will descend on the Brahma Kund to bathe and pray," Srinivasji told IANS.

Security was tight. Personnel of the Rapid Action Force, an anti-riot squad, the state police and the army patrolled the venue herding bathers out after the ritual dips to avoid crowding.

"We cannot afford to take chances though we do not apprehend any threat to security," a senior state police officer said. Life guards lined the banks to rescue bathers if they got carried away in the swift current.

According to Indian Vedic myths, it is believed that Haridwar is one of the places where a drop of the nectar of immortality or 'amrit' fell from the pitcher or 'kumbh' when Garuda, the divine bird of Lord Vishnu, was spiriting it away from the demons after a pitched battle.

Since then, Haridwar, along with Allahabad, Nasik and Ujjain - the four places on earth where a drop of nectar dropped down from the pot - have been celebrating the Kumbh Mela.

"We were expecting more pilgrims and holy men but many have gone to Haryana and south India to witness the solar eclipse. They will flock to Haridwar Jan 16," Hari Prasad, the priest of a Shiva temple at Har-ki-Pauri told IANS.

The religious gathering that began Thursday will end April 28 after the Baisakhi Shahi Snan - one of the most important bathing dates April 14.