The Kumbh Mela of the South

Ref ironman #15

[Just to satisfy my curiosity I checked these dates with an astro software I have.

14/2/68, 1/3/80 and 3/6/2004 are OK. Sun is in aquarius, jupiter in Leo and Moon crosses Regulus around the appointed time.

But 22/2/92 is way off. Are you sure of this date?]

The festival WAS celebrated in February of 1992. I will have to pull out old videotapes (a near-impossible task) to verify the date, which would also assume that the camcorder was properly programmed with the correct date!

#10,

``The Mahamaham Festival occurs when the sun is in the Zodiacal sign of Aquarius (Khumbha), Jupiter transists Leo (Simha) and the Moon is in conjunction with the constellation Maham. The festival comes off once in 12 years. The festival was celeberated on 14/2/68, 1/3/80, 22/2/92. This year, the precise moment of that was around 10:30am on March 6, 2004 ...``


Harimau, Thanks for the feedback.

I guess what you guys call Maham is local dialect for sanskrit Magha/Magham...which is the bright star Regulus, at the feet of Leo.

Just to satisfy my curiosity I checked these dates with an astro software I have.

14/2/68, 1/3/80 and 3/6/2004 are OK. Sun is in aquarius, jupiter in Leo and Moon crosses Regulus around the appointed time.

But 22/2/92 is way off. Are you sure of this date?


- - - - - - - -

Here`s an intersting point:

Jupiter stays in a zodiac sign for one full year...whereas in the same period, the moon crosses that same sign 12 times. So really during the mahamaham year, there will be 12 such Mahamahams (jupiter in Leo and moon crosses Magham).

So in these 12 Mahamahams, whats so special about the one Mahamaham where the sun is in aquarius (kumbha) ???

To answer that, we look up the astronomical rule that we see a full moon ONLY when the Sun and Moon are 6 signs apart.
Kumbha (aquarius) and Magham (Leo) are 6 signs apart.

That is, of the 12 Mahamahams in that year, only that one Mahamaham will be a full moon when the sun is in kumbha.

(Man, I shoulda been a astrologer!)

re: this article
A fascinating account of the Mahamaham festival in Kumbhakonam. I have visited many temples in Tamil Nadu but somehow missed Kumbhakonam completely. My father warns me that this is a seperate trip in itself as the place is dotted with temples and legends. Next time when i visit India and chennai, i will reserve a few days for Kumbhakonam and skip visiting Thirupati.
It is fascinating how tribal legends and the brahminical legends blend effortlessly to create an aura in most of the temples of the south. I usually hire a guide when i visit any temple to know its legend and the local customs and beliefs.

Another fascinating thing is the faith of poor people in the Universal spirit that embodies these festivals, be it Kumbha mela or Mahamaham. It is really a humbling experience for the ``so called intellectuls`` (which some of us are) to see the poorest of the poor have a child like faith in the divinity (in whatever form it may be). I believe with increasing education, rationality creeps in and such faith is lost.
Anyway, great to read this article.
Sridhar

Reading the replies here I realise how little I know about the mythology and stories of Hinduism....it is just such a vast and complex religion.

Ref ironman #5

[I thought the kumbh was related to an astronomical phenom...jupiter entering aquarius (kumbha). Happens once in 12 years approx.]

The Mahamaham Festival occurs when the sun is in the Zodiacal sign of Aquarius (Khumbha), Jupiter transists Leo (Simha) and the Moon is in conjunction with the constellation Maham. Generally all the these astronomical combination take place on a full moon day of the Tamil Month of Masi (Solar Kumbha Month) i.e. either in the latter half of February or in the first half of March. The festival comes off once in 12 years. The festival was celeberated on 14/2/68, 1/3/80, 22/2/92. This year, the precise moment of that was around 10:30am on March 6, 2004 and that was when the `theerthavari` (symbolic immersion of the idols in the tank) took place.

[But how come the north and south kumbhs take place 3 years apart ???]

You yourself provided one answer by saying [(I checked and found that during the 2001 kumbh, jupiter was actually in taurus, not aquarius)].

Secondly, a lesser-known fact is that the North celebrates the Kumbh every 3 years, at Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Nasik by rotation. So, once every 12 years each one of these cities has a Kumbh Mela. Around April 7 of this year, the Simhastha Kumbh began at Ujjain and will run for a month. It is just that the Kumbh at Prayag is the most famous and the grand-daddy of them all and draws the largest crowds. The Simhastha Kumbh is expected to draw 30 million pilgrims over 30 days. The Prayag Kumbh 3 years ago drew crowds in excess of 70 million over 45 days.

Still, the Mahamaham does not agree with the date of the Simhastha Kumbh either. All I can say is that South Indian brahmins top in Math and so you guys really need to check your calculations!

- - - - -

[Well, jupiter`s revolution is not an exact 12 years, but 11 years and 315 days.

After 7 kumbhs this 50-day difference builds up to one full year...and the 7th kumbh is after 11 years, not 12. ]

Again, you are correct. I believe the Mahamahams were held in 1945, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and now in 2004. The gap was 11 years between 1945 and 1956.

Ref FarzanaVersey #6

[This brought back memories...have seen people walking through villages barefoot for miles to reach their pilgrim centres...I recall my visit to Courtallam (sp??), the famed waterfall which is more than a tourist attraction. I was fascinated to watch the women, hair dripping, completely oblivious to everything else but their faith.]

My family went to the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad 3 years ago. They were shocked at the level of poverty which exceeded anything they have seen in the South. There were millions there with a couple of pots, some atta and dal, a few sticks for firewood, who had walked god-knows-how-far. Yet there were no robberies, no crimes, and everybody felt safe. Faith does seem to make India move.

[I am curious to know why while I could enter temples in TN wearing a salwaar kameez (yes, even in Meenakshi and Tirechendur temples), in some temples in Kerala women cannot show their `legs`, as in even covered legs...at Padmanabha I was given a lungi to wear; I was therefore quite prepared when I went to Guruvayoor draped in a saree...

Do you know why?]

Some of the temples in Kerala are much more strict in their interpretation of what is acceptable dress. As far as the Kerala temples are concerned the only thing acceptable in a man is a dhoti (and bare upper body, no shirt) and a sari or a `mundu` (not a lungi!) in a woman. At Guruvayoor, I don`t believe men are allowed to cover their upper bodies... it has been a while since I went there. Temples in Tamil Nadu will let one in so long as one wears normal street clothes, such as trousers or salwar-kameez. However, I have been thrown out of the temple in Courtallam for wearing shorts! A young boy would be allowed to wear shorts but not a man!

I found the same to be true in the Hindu temples in Bali. One must wear a Balinese sarong to enter the temples there. I was able to convince the first temple to let me in with a dhoti tied South Indian style but a few others refused me entry and I ended up getting a complete Balinese outfit.

The Vatican and most of Italy is the same way. As you line up, the guards tell you that men cannot wear shorts, women cannot be in shorts or short skirts or sleeveless blouses/T-shirts/tank tops. The shops outside St. Peter`s sell you paper trousers for 5 euros so that you don`t have to return to your hotel to change. No such luck in Venice, Florence or other cities.

Ref jang #2

[The kumbh of north (and nasik) happen because of ``amrit`` (heavenly nectar) presumably fell here during the great churning of the seas, as a result, attending kumbh guarantees immortality (not yet proven). In that sense the southy production is different]

The stories are different for the Kumbh Melas of North India and Mahamaham.

Brahma was advised by Lord Shiva to put the Germs of all creation into a pot or vessel, cap it with a coconut, and save it. When the Pralaya (Great Flood) destroyed the earth and covered it with water, the pot alone survived and settled in what later became Kumbha Konam. The festival occurs once in 12 year, when the Maham star, falls on Simha rasi. All the sacred rivers of India are said to come here during the auspicious hours and cleanse themselves. One can judge the age of the festival by the fact that it mentions the long bygone rivers like Saraswati and Kumari. Saraswati was in the North while Kumari river was beyond the present Kanyakumari i.e. in the Indian Ocean, when that part of India was still intact and not swallowed by the sea.

[...also no nanga sadhus I presume.]

Nope. The South does not import crazies from the North.

[Was the hotel A/C and did the A/C work?]

Yes and yes again. We are not talking Bihar or UP here.

harimou:
I see my error of missing ``that``.

Ref nazarhayatkhan #3

Yes, women also came in equal numbers. Most families stayed together as a group and entered the tank together. While there was jostling around each of the 20 springs inside the Mahamaham Tank to get at the water from the spring, there was no groping of the women. Our own party included a young woman of 23 and an older one in her sixties. They never had any problems. As men and women walked through the town to the Cauvery river in their dripping wet clothes, they were not embarrassed by any unwelcome glances. Only at the Cauvery river do I remember the policemen segregating the bathers by sex and directing them to separate bathing ghats (stone steps leading into the river).

As to those naked Sadhus... puhleeeze, the South is a little more civilized (and advanced) than the North. And the Vindhya range of mountains does seem to hold those naked Sadhus in check. All the holy men who showed up for Mahamaham were highly respectable heads of various monasteries, dressed in saffron robes.

The pig has no great significance except as a sacrificial animal in some rural temples. Pig-sticking is where they tie the pigs down on their backs and spear them with sharpened poles or lances. I think it is particularly cruel... if you are going to kill an animal, the least one could do is to make it as quick and merciful as one can. I was surprised to hear about sacrificing pigs because the only persons I have seen eating pork in my younger days were nomadic tribes. Most pigs running free in India are scavenging animals and God only knows how contaminated they might be with disease.

Ref dost-mittar #4

[``In the case of one such rath, priests are performing a dance similar to the dandiya-ras of Gujarat, an unusual spectacle since that dance in the South is confined to women only.``
Are you consigning Kathakali and Kerala to the North? :-) ]

I meant that the dance similar to dandiya-ras is performed in the South only by women. A bunch of brahmin men in ceremonial attire performing the dance in front of the rath`s was something unusual even for me.

Mr. Iyer:

This brought back memories...have seen people walking through villages barefoot for miles to reach their pilgrim centres...I recall my visit to Courtallam (sp??), the famed waterfall which is more than a tourist attraction. I was fascinated to watch the women, hair dripping, completely oblivious to everything else but their faith.

I am curious to know why while I could enter temples in TN wearing a salwaar kameez (yes, even in Meenakshi and Tirechendur temples), in some temples in Kerala women cannot show their `legs`, as in even covered legs...at Padmanabha I was given a lungi to wear; I was therefore quite prepared when I went to Guruvayoor draped in a saree...

Do you know why?

nazarhayatkhan:
[Do the women also take those dips? And those hairy Sadhus without the benefit of clothes make it even more colourful.]

I have seen women take those dips in Varanasi (Benares)...and sadhus without clothes...colourful? Kaise?? They don`t paint their bodies :)

Harimau,

Very good read.

I thought the kumbh was related to an astronomical phenom...jupiter entering aquarius (kumbha). Happens once in 12 years approx.

But how come the north and south kumbhs take place 3 years apart ???

- - - - -

Well, jupiter`s revolution is not an exact 12 years, but 11 years and 315 days.

After 7 kumbhs this 50-day difference builds up to one full year...and the 7th kumbh is after 11 years, not 12.

(I checked and found that during the 2001 kumbh, jupiter was actually in taurus, not aquarius).

Learnt a lot of new info. from the article, as expected from you. Hope to see some more similar nuggets.
``In the case of one such rath, priests are performing a dance similar to the dandiya-ras of Gujarat, an unusual spectacle since that dance in the South is confined to women only.``
Are you consigning Kathakali and Kerala to the North? :-)

Very interesting and very informative.

Do the women also take those dips? And those hairy Sadhus without the benefit of clothes make it even more colourful.

Some things are familiar - like holy water & goat killing.

What is Pig-sticking? Does the Hinduism also treat the Pig as something bad?

I am attracted to such mild social-cultural-religious activities of all religions - Eid, Christmas, Holi - while not interested in praying in any one of them. I guess Hinduism provides maximum of these and is user-friendly with no danger of getting killed for blasphemy.

Harimau,

Good article.
Keep writing with interesting details and observations like this one.
Glad that ASI is trying to take care of so many ruined temples. Near my hometown (Udaipur), temples belonging to the Nagaditya dynasty (11th century) have been looted down to the last deity. Recently a guy from jaipur was caught smuggling items from these and other temples. The destination of these smuggled goods is usually Sotheby`s, who care least about vandalism and theft.

Adios

Harimau
Why dont you write about your breakfast and other meals in the travelogue? Seems incomplete without. The kumbh of north (and nasik) happen because of ``amrit`` (heavenly nectar) presumably fell here during the great churning of the seas, as a result, attending kumbh guarantees immortality (not yet proven). In that sense the southy production is different...also no nanga sadhus I presume. Was the hotel A/C and did the A/C work?