More than 500 million people have taken a "holy dip" in sacred river waters in north India over the last four weeks as part of the Hindu Maha Kumbh festival, authorities said on Friday, greater than the population of most countries.

Who was Emperor Harshavardhan, who donated all his wealth at Kumbh every five years? It is said that he gave until his royal treasury was completely empty.

Officials expect visitor count at Kumbh Mela to exceed 550-600 million, with 12 days left in the six-week event.

More than 10 million devout Hindus seeking absolution from their sins took a dip in holy waters in northern India during a span of four hours on Wednesday, authorities said, as they braced for millions more to swarm the site of the Kumbh Mela.

A video spread online shows an annual stone-pelting ritual in northern India, contrary to claims by social media posts that presented it as Hindu pilgrims attacking each other at the Kumbh Mela mega-festival.

Over 110 million individuals have taken a holy dip in the sacred waters of Prayagraj within the first 14 days alone

India's Kumbh Mela festival attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful to Prayagraj in northern Uttar Pradesh state, but footage of an elderly monk making an offering at a shrine that circulated online is unrelated.

As the Amrit Snan began at the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela on Maghi Purnima on Wednesday morning, lakhs of people reached the Triveni Sangam ghat in Prayagraj to take the holy dip on the special occasion.