Masi Magam- the Rare Combination of Full Moon and Magam Star! 

Masi Magam occurs in the month of Magam (February -March) when the star Magam falls on the Full Moon day. The combination is very rare and occurs once in a year and is highly propitious for prayer and pitru seva. The Full Moon denotes the copious energy of the Moon promising abundance and prosperity and the star Magam is noted for majestic power and supreme energy.

Significance of the star Magam 

Magam is considered as the birth star of kings and also of the ancestors. It is regarded as the star the bestows energy, authority and power since the lord of the star is the Sun. Masi Magam is considered as very auspicious due to the combination of the star and the full moon and the day is regarded as very sacred for pithru seva as the pithrus are said to come down to the earth on this day to get rid of their blocking karmas. When we do tarpan on this day to our ancestors, we get their blessings and also divine blessings by conducting puja at home and other rituals to please gods like Shiva, Sakthi and Vishnu. It is very auspicious to do annadhanam on Masi Magam.

How Masi Magam is celebrated? 

Masi Magam celebration involves the ritual bath of the idols of gods in a river, sea or pond. The priests take the idols in a procession and after the bath do poojas to the idols. Some do Gaja Pooja or Ashwat Pooja so as to help the devotees seek divine blessings to a great extent. The devotees take bath in the sacred water in which idols are dipped for bath and thus get rid of their sins and attain the path to liberation. They are relieved of the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Taking a holy dip in any of the holy waters is considered very religious on this day as it paves way for spiritual purification and refinement in the devotees.

Legends behind observing Masi Magam 

• Vallala was the king in Tiruvannamalai and he was childless. Lord Shiva appeared before him as a boy and promised to do last rites for him. When the king died, Lord Shiva came and performed his last rites. It was on Masi Magam. That is the reason for our offering oblations to our forefathers on this day so that we can remove our ancestral karmas that may block our progress in life. Further, we gain the blessings of Gods by taking a dip in holy waters. It is believed that even today on the day of Masi Magam, Lord Shiva comes down to perform rituals to the king.

• Brahma understood Lord Shiva’s plan to recreate the world after destruction. He wanted to know how it could be done. Shiva asked Brahma to fill a kumbam (pot) with amrutham (elixir) and keep it on the top of the mountain Meru. He asked Brahma to create the world from the place where he would keep the pot of elixir after the huge floods that would devastate the world. This place is known as Kumbakonam and Brahma created the world on a day with the star Magham, in the month of Masi. On Masi Magham, the cosmic energy of Lord Shiva fills up the universe abundantly.
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• Lord Muruga taught his father Shiva the meaning of Pranavam on this day.

• Goddess Uma took the avatar of Dhakshayani (the daughter of Daksha) on this day. Women consider this day as propitious for vrata and do Kumkum Pooja to get the blessings of goddess Parvathi.

• The Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu (bringing Boomi from the pathalam in the form of a boar) took place on this day.

Masi Magam- an Important Tamil festival 

Masi Magam is an important Tamil festival and is celebrated all over the world by the Tamil speaking people. It is celebrated especially in Kumbakonam, Srirangam, Pondicherry and Kerala at a grand level. In Singapore, the festival is regarded as agrand Tamil festival. When Masi Magam occurs once in twelve years, it is considered as Maha Magam and is treated as the Kumbhamela of South India.

Maha Magam

Maha Magam happens once in every twelve years. It denotes the transit of Jupiter into Leo along with the combination of Full Moon and Magam star. It is a very powerful combination and is celebrated very grandly in Maha Magam tank at Adi Kumbeswarar temple in Kumbakonam. Lakhs of devotees rush to Kumbakonam to take a dip in the pond on this day and take the darshan of Kumbeswarar.

Poet Sekkizhaar in his Periapuraanam has mentioned about this Maha Magam tank in the following verse

"

பூமருவும் கங்கை முதல் புனிதமாம் பெருந்தீர்த்தம்

மாமகந்தான் ஆடுவதற்கு வந்து வழி படுங்கோவில்"

The meaning of the verse is  "After Ganges, it is taking bath in Maha Magam tank which is very auspicious"

Thus, Masi Magam is the day to surrender ourselves at the feet of the Lord and seek divine blessings and ancestral blessings to lead a life of prosperity, health and spirituality.