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By Meera Sashital
Source: Free Press JournalThis Mauni Amavasya (24th January) coincides with the famous Kumbh Mela. That makes it double special. Kumbh Mela most important fairs of India comes once in twelve years. On this day, at the confluence of these three great rivers (Ganges, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati the biggest confluence perhaps devotees from all over will emerge at Sangam. Devotees attend this mela not only for dip but also for `darshan' of the religious heads, philosophers, eminent sages.
The Mauni Amavasya is named after the Amavasya which comes in the month of Magh. The Amavasya is the day of the conjunction of the sun and the moon, the fifteenth day of the dark half of a lunar month.
Like Somavati Amavasya, Mauni Amavasya is considered auspicious. Somavati Amavasya is the name of the Monday on which a dark night or amavasya falls. It is observed by a fast. Similarly, Mauni Amavasya is observed by maintaining silence and fasting and, bathing in a Triveni Sangam (confluences of three rivers). Allahabad or Prayag specially holy.
`Kumbh' means, pot or jar. Legend has it that the Cods to recoup their vigour after being emaciated under the curse of a sage, wanted to obtain the Amrit or nectar of immortality from the milky ocean. Unable to churn the ocean alone, they take the help of the Asuras promising the give them a share of the ambrosia. While churning, many treasures turn out and lastly Dhanvantri, the divine healer, appears with the Kumbh or the pot of nectar. The asuras, being stronger, seize the Kumbh containing the nectar, but one of the Gods assuming the form of a rook whisks away the jar with the Asuras pursuing the rook. The bird on its flight is said to have taken rest at Nasik, Ujjain, Prayag and Hardwar thus hallowing the places with its contact. The rook took twelve days to reach heaven from the milky ocean and as each divine day is reckoned equal to an earth year, the Kumbh Mela is celebrated once in twelve years at each of these four places.
Another version has it that during the tussle between the Gods and the Asuras to grapple with the pot, some nectar split at the four mentioned places. The mela is not held at all the four places on the same but in turn, and hence there is a Kumbh Mela every three years or so according to the alignment of the planets. But, Prayag or Allahabad is the biggest attraction.
Mauni Amavasya has its legend too.
It seems there Lived two friends, a Brahmin widow and a milkmaid. The former, the poor widow had only a young daughter whistle the milkmaid lived happily with her husband and her family. One day, a women comes to the widow's house to beg and while accepting alms from the Brahmin girl propjesses that the girl was destined to be a widow. The frightened mothers asks her how to counteract ant happening. The begger replies that if anyone fasted on seven Mauni Amavasya by observing silence and transfers the `punya' to your child, she will have her husband back to life, but the donor will lose whole of her family. The milkmaid observes the rituals and for the sake of the girl.
The girl gets married but on her nuptial day her husband dies. But due to the milkmaid, her husband is revived and lives again. But alas, when the milkmaid returns home she finds her husband and her family lying dead.
Remembering the remedy suggested by the begger she takes a pot full of curds to the jungle and pours it over the head of a muni who had leprous sores all over the body. But no sooner had she finished this revolting job, there arises from the leprous body the God Narayan Himself, refulgent with full glory. He tells her, this was just to test their devotion and faith, and restore to life the milkmaid's family. The essence is by observing the vrat of silence and fasts on the Mauni Amavasya day, one is blessed by God and attains happiness in life.
Source: Free Press Journal.
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