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The Mahamaham festival is celebrated in the honour of Lord
Adi Kumbeswara at the Mahamaham tank, which is situated to the southeast
of the Adi Kumbeswara shrine, the principal ancient Lord Shiva shrine at
Kumbakonam. This festival
attracts lakhs of people from far and wide and takes place once in 12
years.
The Mahamaham Tank
The center of the Mahamaham festival is the Mahamaham Tank, a holy pool
of nectar that flowed out of Lord Brahma's Kumbha after it was broken by
Lord Shiva's arrow shot. The Mahamaham tank, trapezoidal, (looking
rectangular) in shape covers roughly an area of about five acres and a
half with a full capacity depth of ten feet.
Previous Occurrences Of The Festival
The Mahamaham festival celebrated on the conjunction of the moon with the
'Maha nakshatra' and Jupiter crosses one 'Rashi' or sign in about one
year. It comes to 'Simha (Singh or Lion) Rashi' or Leo every 13th year and
it is considered especially sacred. Generally all these astronomical
combinations 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.
It is believed that on this auspicious day the tank receives supplies of
water from the Ganges and eight other holy rivers and all the deities are
said to remain present here on that occasion. The festival was previously
celebrated on 14/2/68, 1/3/80, and 22/2/92. The next Mahamaham festival
will be held in the year 2004.
A Single Day Celebration
Mahamaham bathing festival is concentrated on a single day, the concourse
of pilgrims being all the more. The festival at
Haridwar
, Allahabad
, Nashik
and those in Andhra
Pradesh happen to be bathing in river while the Mahamaham is bathing
in a tank, generally followed or preceded by a dip in the River Cauvery at
Kumbakonam.
Air: The nearest airport is at
Trichy (95-km).
Rail: Kumbakonam has
a railway station, which is well connected by rail with the neighbouring
cities and towns of the state.
Road: Kumbakonam is
just five and a half hours drive from
Chennai and two and
half hours drive from Trichy. It
is well connected by road with the major towns and cities of the state.
Accommodation is available at the hotels in Kumbakonam.