EditorTirunavaya in Kerala is a very sacred place for the Hindus from ancient times. It is known for its ancient Hindu temples. The river Bharathapuzha at Tirunavaya has a special sanctity and relevance, because it flows between the temple of god Vishnu (Nava Mukunda) on its right bank and temples of Brahma and Siva on its left. In this sacred place of Tirunavaya, there used to be a vibrant cultural & spiritual river festival since ancient times called Maghamaka Mahotsavam, that took place every 12 years. It happened on the banks of holy Bharathpuzha. Maghamaka Mohatosava is Kerala’s oldest and most spectacular spiritual gathering whose history goes back by thousands of years. It is believed that various forms of martial art and intellectual contests, cultural festivals, Hindu ritual ceremonies and folk art performances were held at this beautiful festival.
The Maghamaka Mahotsavam is held in the month of Magha (January – February) when the Jupiter is in Aries,Sun & Moon are in Capricorn, or Jupiter is in Taurus and Sun in Capricorn. It is believed that a holy dip in Bharatha river will help to cleanse the inner selves, wash out the evils and open up the path of righteous living. Maghamaka snanams are also believed to have curative effects for the chronic ill-health. It is believed with great devotion that during the Maghamaka period, Brahma, Shiva and Narayana, are all present in the river.
Unfortunately, in our turbulent history, the last Māghamaka festival was held in 1755 CE. It came to an end with the conquest of Kōzhikōde by the Sultān of Mysōre, Ḥaidar ʿAlī (1766 CE) and the subsequent Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) with the English East India Company. But the good news is that, this ancient festival of Maghamaka Mahotsavam which was once organised by the Chola and Chera, & other Kingdoms, now stands revived after a gap of 253 years from 2019 onwards by the initiative of Ugra Narasimha Charitable Trust along with Oral History Research Foundation. The festival will now be a yearly event and shall cause a revival of Dharma.
This festival aims to revive the region’s rich cultural heritage and promote the ‘trimurty sangama’ villages Thirunavaya and Thavanur into a nationally known pilgrimage site.
Revival of Maghamaka Mahotsavam in 2019
The Ugra Narasimha Charitable Trust in association with Oral History Research Foundation revived this beautiful ancient festival and held it from 21st to 23rd January, 2019 in the Navamukunda temple in Malappuram, Kerala, on the banks of Bharathapuzha at the place called Trimurti Sangama. The main attractions of the year’s program were Sanyasi Sangamam, Nila Aarthi, Nila Pooja, Nila Snanam, National History Seminar, Union of Royal Families & Royals, Samuha Agnihotrayajnam, Mahamangalya Homam, Hindu Religious & Cultural Conference, honouring the memory and distinguished career of Achyutha Pisharodi (the famous Sanskrit grammarian, astrologer, astronomer and mathematician).
Swami Chidanandapuri ji of Advaitashram also released the book ‘Destroyed Temples of Kerala Vol 1 (Malayalam)’ on 23 Jan 2019 during the festival. The book reveals the history of 25 destroyed Hindu temples of Kerala.
The festival was inaugurated by the representatives of various royal families of Kerala on 21st of January, 2019. In total,126 Sanyasis and 2 Mathathipathis attended the rituals apart from other dignitaries. Various highlights of this beautiful cultural gathering in pictures are mentioned below –
[youtube_channel playlist=PLV1WUYmEFcJ8W8c9sGCMHuhgt0KLddYfg resource=2 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=maxresdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=channel goto_txt=”Visit our YouTube channel”]
Maghamaka Mahotsavam in 2020
This year too, this ancient river festival of Kerala was successfully conducted in the ancient villages of Thavanur and Tirunavaya in Malappuram Kerala. The festival were conducted on three days from 10th to 12th Jan, 2020.
The MahaRudra Yajna and DwiShata Chandi Yajna was conducted with Shri Ramesh Natarajan ji and his wife Smt Gayatri Nayatarajan ji of GRD Iyer Gurukul as Acharyas. More than 100 ritwiks from across the world and Bharat joined the yajnas.
On 13 Jan 2020, the Sanyasis and Sadhus conducted Nila aarti and Nila Puja (worship of Bharatapuzha). Since the waters during this auspicious time are considered as having presence of all the rivers, many Sadhus also took a ceremonial dip in the river. The Sanyasis who assembled during the event were addressed by Swami Chidananda Puri ji of Advaitashram.
[youtube_channel playlist=PLV1WUYmEFcJ-LE_BUhRdFwKvoAmx_Vw__ resource=2 cache=300 fetch=10 num=1 ratio=3 responsive=1 width=306 display=thumbnail thumb_quality=maxresdefault norel=1 nobrand=1 showtitle=none titletag=h3 desclen=0 noanno=1 noinfo=1 link_to=channel goto_txt=”Visit our YouTube channel”]
The festival which was stopped in 1766 AD due to invasion of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan thus stands revived. It is hoped that it shall get bigger with time and regain its ancient status. It is believed by the dharmikas that wherever Devas and nature are honored, it brings spiritual progress and material prosperity to that region and all those who have contributed , supported and have become part of the worship. Honoring the ancient traditions will eventually cause the revival of Dharma in the region.
Traditions are a critical foundation of our culture, a culture that is based on truth, duty, love and respect for all. They help form the structure and basis of our families and our society. It is the traditions, their meanings and values, which shape who we are today and who we are likely to become tomorrow. Once we ignore the meaning of our traditions, we get into the danger of damaging our identity. So, it is beautiful and significant to preserve our unique traditions which are based on honoring the entire nature.