Maha Kumbh Mela is being held at Prayagraj. The mega religious event started on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
A video claiming to show saffron-clad men travelling to the ensuing Maha Kumbh Mela in a dragon-shaped vehicle at a high speed has gone viral.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “Going to Kumbh Mela in Pushpak Viman of Kalyug. You should also go to Kumbh Mela. Jai Jai Shri Ram Jai Jai Shri Ram.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is from Thailand, not Maha Kumbh Mela.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the viral video was shared by an Instagram user on November 9, 2024. Since Maha Kumbh Mela started on January 13, 2025, it hinted that the video is old.
We found similar images of the vehicle and the driver on Shutterstock. The images can be found here and here. We compared the viral image with the image shared on Shutterstock and found them to be the same. There was same God on the front of the boat and the tail of the boat was also same. We also found the wheel in the centre of the vehicle as seen in the viral video.
The same video was also shared on a Chinese news website on November 10, 2024 The website suggests that a dragon boat loaded with statues oi Thao gods, Buddha statues and monks garnered a lot of praises among the netizens. The incident was believed to have occured on the highway in Chai Nab provice in Thailand.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is not of India but Thailand.
