| Mahamaham மகாமகம் | |
|---|---|
 Mahamaham tank during the festival in 2016 | |
| Genre | Religious festival |
| Frequency | 12 years |
| Location(s) | Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Coordinates | 10°57′21″N 79°22′54″E / 10.9558°N 79.3817°E |
| Country | India |
| Most recent | 2016 |
| Next event | 2028 |
| Attendance | >1 million (in 2016) |
Mahamaham, also known as Mahamagham or Mamangam, is a Hindu festival celebrated every 12 years in the Mahamaham tank located in the city of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu in the south of India. This 20-acre square tank surrounded by Shiva mandapams is believed by Tamil Hindus to be ancient, and the holy confluence of nine Indian river goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Kaveri, and Sarayu, states Diana Eck – a professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies.[1] On the day of the Mahamaham festival, the river goddesses and Shiva gather here to rejuvenate their waters, according to a legend in the Periya Purana.[1] The Hindus consider taking a pilgrimage and holy dip at the Mahamaham tirtha on the day of Mahamaham festival as sacred. The event attracts chariot processions, street fairs and classical dance performances in temple mandapas. The 12-year cycle Mahamaham festival in Tamil Nadu is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Magha, and is a symbolic equivalent of the Kumbh Mela.[1]
The Mahamaham festival – also referred to as the Maha Magam festival – and the holy dip tradition of the South Indian Hindus was documented by the British colonial era writers in the 19th century.[2] The last Mahamaham was celebrated on 22 February 2016 with over a million[citation needed] people from various places taking the holy dip in the Mahamaham tank.[3] The festival with its dip-in-the-tank-waters tradition extends over 10 days (Brahmothsavam). The 10-day festivities are also observed with lesser crowds in the Magha month (about February) every year between the 12-year Maha (major) cycle. In the interim years, the event is called the Masi-maham festival.[4]
- ^ a b c Diana L. Eck (2012). India: A Sacred Geography. Harmony Books. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-0-385-53190-0.
- ^ See e.g. Indian Antiquary (May 1873), Volume 2, pages 151-152, Harvard University Archives
- ^ On 25 February 1955, the festival attracted about a million Hindu bathers in a single day, where the festival is observed according to the Tamil Hindu calendar approximately once every 12 years (Georgian calendar). – A History Of Dharmasastra V 5.1, PV Kane (1958), page 375
- ^ "Devotees take holy dip in Mahamaham tank". The Hindu. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.