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The Ganges River in India is awash with brilliant color as millions of Hindu pilgrims dressed in tangerine, fuchsia, and watermelon wade into the green waters, dropping marigolds in their wake as a sign of devotion.
印度的恒河一片絢爛多彩，數百萬身著橘色、紫紅色和西瓜紅服飾的印度教朝圣者踏入碧綠的河水中，身后留下萬壽菊，以此表達虔誠。
At dusk, chiming, mesmerizing music floats out over the crowds, and each day at dawn, the chanting begins anew.
黃昏時分，悅耳迷人的音樂在人群上方飄蕩，每天黎明時分，誦經聲又再次響起。
Across the labyrinthian tent city, the sound of chanting and the scent of ritual fires fill the air in equal measure.
在這座迷宮般的帳篷城市中，誦經聲和祭祀篝火的氣味同樣彌漫在空氣中。
This is the Kumbh Mela the largest religious gathering on Earth.
這就是大壺節--地球上規模最大的宗教集會。
Around 400 million pilgrims are expected to attend this year's pilgrimage, bathing in the rivers and washing away their sins.
預計今年將有約4億朝圣者參加這次朝圣活動，在河中沐浴，洗去他們的罪孽。
Though they are seeking absolution, this is not a somber affair. The Kumbh Mela is a massive, joyful celebration, an astonishing convergence of human life.
盡管他們是在尋求赦免，但這并非一場沉悶的活動。大壺節是一場盛大而歡樂的慶典，是人類生活令人驚嘆的大匯聚。
It's also an inherently precarious feat of engineering and ingenuity, one that Indian officials have only a few short months to prepare for as hundreds of millions of people that will come to the festival over its course of 45 days, between January 13 to February 26.
它也是一項本質上充滿挑戰的工程與智慧之舉，因為在1月13日至2月26日為期45天的節日期間，將有數以億計的人前來參加，而印度政府只有短短幾個月的時間來籌備。
The festival happens every twelve years and takes place in the northern Indian city of Prayagraj, at a site made sacred by the convergence of two major rivers: the Ganges and the Yamuna.
這個節日每十二年舉辦一次，舉辦地點在印度北部城市普拉亞格拉杰，這里因兩條主要河流--恒河和亞穆納河的交匯處而成為圣地。
During much of the year, this piece of land is inaccessible, submerged by the floods of monsoon season, which lasts from June to September.
一年中的大部分時間，這片土地無法進入，因為它被6月至9月的季風季節洪水淹沒。
But as the season recedes, so too do the waters, revealing a nearly 10,000-acre empty floodplain.
但隨著季風季節過去，河水也隨之退去，露出了一片近1萬英畝的空曠洪泛平原。
This year's pilgrimage is particularly significant, bringing a historic number of worshippers to the Ganges.
今年的朝圣活動尤為重要，來到恒河的朝拜者數量創下了歷史新高。
"It is a matter of astrological conjunction," says Diana L. Eck, co-author of The Kumbh Mela: Mapping the Ephemeral Mega City and professor emerita at the Harvard Divinity School.
“這與星象會合有關，”《大壺節：繪制這座短暫的巨型城市》的合著者、哈佛神學院名譽教授戴安娜·L·?？苏f。
Jupiter, the sun, and the moon have entered a period of alignment that Hindus believe brings vitality to the river water.
木星、太陽和月亮進入了一個對齊的時期，印度教徒相信這會給河水帶來生機。
"The river is the deity in this case. It is the temple," says Eck.
“在這種情況下，河流就是神靈。它就是神廟?！卑？苏f。
According to Vedic scripture, the central text of Hinduism, there is a third, mystical body of water that joins with the Ganges and the Yamuna at this location, the heavenly Sarasvati River, which exists in metaphysical form, granting further holiness to the flowing waters.
根據印度教的核心經典《吠陀經》，在這個地方還有第三條神秘的河流，它與恒河和亞穆納河交匯，那就是神圣的薩拉斯瓦蒂河，它以形而上的形式存在，讓流淌的河水更加神圣。
Hence, this year's Kumbh Mela is called the Maha Kumbh Mela, indicating its unusual importance ("maha" translates roughly to great).
因此，今年的大壺節被稱為“偉大大壺節”，表明了它非同尋常的重要性（“maha”大致翻譯為“偉大的”）。
