Monday, June 8, 2020

Maha Magam Tank, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur

Maha Magam Tank, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur
Mahamaham Tank is a huge temple tank located in Kumbakonam Town in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu. It is considered to be the foremost and one of the largest temple tanks in Tamil Nadu. It covers an area of 6.2 acres and is trapezoidal in shape. The tank is surrounded by 16 small Mandapams (shrines) and has 20 wells inside the tank. Maha Maham Festival is an annual event that occurs in the Tamil month of Masi (February–March) in the star of Magam. Once in twelve years, when the planet Guru (Jupiter) enters the sign Simha (Leo), the Kumbh mela festival of South India is celebrated at Mahamaham tank. It draws close to 2 million visitors.





Legends
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History
The antiquity of the Mahamaham is deduced from the architectural and epigraphical patterns. In the northern bank mandapa, there is an inscription of Tulapurshadana, a practice of weighing oneself against gold. The ceremony is observed during various times like equinoxes, commencement of an era (Yuga) and its ending, eclipses and Makara Sankranti. The ceremony is usually performed in sacred places like temples, rivers and tanks. The amount of gold thus weighed is distributed among deserving men. Govinda Dikshitar, the chieftain of Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur, constructed the sixteen Mandapams and stone steps around this tank. The visit of Krishandevaraya during 1445 to attend the Maha Magam festival is recorded in an inscription in the gopuram of Nagalapuram and is also recorded in the inscription found in the Shiva temple in Kuthalam.





The Tank
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Festivals
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Religious Significance
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Literary Mention
Bhavishya Purana mentions the importance of Mahamaham and the importance of the festival as a narrative of Shiva to all celestial deities as under:
“Let all of you this very day go to Kumbakonam, a spot dear to me and to Vishnu and bathe there is the nectar full tank created by the directions of the Parabrahman. Do bathe in the presence of Kumbesvara in Vrishabha lagna on this Mahamagam day, the full-moon day combined with Mahga star with Jupiter in the sign of Leo. Thereby you will get rid of all your accumulated sins and regain power to wipe off the sins of others”
Sekkizhar, saint author of Periyapuranam notes the holy rivers as;
பூமருவும் கங்கை முதல் புனிதமாம் பெருந்தீர்த்தம்
மாமகந்தான் ஆடுவதற்கு வந்து வழி படுங்கோவில்”
meaning a dip in the holy tank on the Mahamaham day is equivalent to dip in all holy rivers and leads to worldly prosperity. 
Appar, the 7th-century saint poet mentions the subtle presence of holy rivers like the Ganges in the Mahamaham tank in Thiruthandakam.
“தாவிமுதற் காவிரிநல் யமுனை கங்கை
சரஸ்வதிபொற் றாமரைபுட் கரணி தெண்ணீர்க்
கோவியோடு குமரிவரு தீர்த்தஞ் சூழ்ந்த
குடந்தைக்கீழ் கோட்டத்தெங் கூத்தனாரே"
Connectivity
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Location