Festivals bring joy to people’s lives. Ancient Tamils used to enjoy their lives by conducting festivals every Month. We have a lot of literary evidence and inscriptional evidence that relatives gathered together in the village and discussed, worshiped the Lord, held festivals for seven days, eight days and eleven days respectively and at the end the water ceremony was also special.
Chithirai Festival, Vaikasi Visagam, Aani moolam, Adipuram, Aavani Avitam Puratasi Thiruvonam, Aippasi Vishu, Karthikai Karthikai Deepam, Margazhi thiruvadirai, Thai pusam, Thai pongal, Masi magam, Panguni Uthiram were the centers of twelve stars.
Seeing inscriptions about Masi Magam festival in this month will give a history to the interest shown by the people of Tamil Nadu in this festival. Masi Magam festival is celebrated in the month of Masi on the full moon day of Makam Nakshatra. It is an ancient Agama tradition to bathe the deity (Shiva, Perumal) in the water bodies like sea, river, pond etc.
We see that not only the Lord but also humans take a holy bath on their birth star with Agama rituals such as Silver / Golden jubilee occasions.
Even till this period of the Sangam period, inscriptions and literature are full of news about the water festival. The Mangala water festival is said to be “Neerani Vizhavu”. Mangudi Marudanar, the author of the Madurai Kanchi, notes that “Seven days with black water is the nadarthanre of the fall of the seventh day”.
It is also revealed that the seventh day was in the case from the note that Tirumal had a seven-day festival and celebrated Panguni Visagam in a copper plate given by the ninth-century Aai-kula king Kokaru Nandadakan. Seven days were celebrated, then eight days, and then eleven days. The Mahapurana Amman says that sea bathing is called “Pithur Mahasnanam”.
A Pandya king of the Sangam period is referred to as the “Nedion of the Munneer festival” in the ninth Puranaanooru hymn. Munneer is considered to be sea water. There are those who say that the water of sea, river and pond is Munneer.
Thirugnana sambandar in his Mylapore Padhigam…
“Madalartha Teng’s peacock saw the sea turtle and sat down at Kapaleechuram”
That clearly shows Kapaleeswarar’s Masi-Maga kadaladi festival.
Kulothungan I’s (1070-1126 AD) Army general Naralokaveeran inscribed all the works done in Chidambaram temple as beautiful Tamil songs and Sanskrit hymns on the pillars of Chidambaram Hundred pillared Hall.
“Masik Kadaladi sat down in the hall and talked about the things that were going on. Koothan directed the mandapuliyan to Isaak.
It tells about Masik Kadadala, the mandapam and highway he built for it.
Three officials of Varagunapandiyar II (862 AD) at Tiruchendur with a capital of 1400 kasini arranged to hold many ceremonies there. Among them Masi magam is marked as a festival. This is probably the oldest monthly festival found in the inscriptions.
During the reign of Rajarasana I (AD 1009) the Perundruvamatha was built for Mahadeva at Thiruparaithura of Trichy district on Masi Magam festival. For this, one and a half “Ma” (a measurement) land has been given and two bags of rice have been made available.
In the 4th year of Rajendra Chola’s reign (1016 AD), the villagers of Nagapattinam claimed to have donated land for the expenses of the sixth day of the Lord’s Masi Maga vizha, which can be known from the local inscription. A good example of how great, grand and non-stop the festivals were in ancient Tamil Nadu is that the people of a particular village bear the cost of one day of the festival and allocate land for it.
Palayur Kizhavan Naranan Kaadan gave the land to Lord Mohanadeva to donate 70 kalams of paddy at the rate of ten kalams per day during the seven days of Masi Magam festival celebrated in the Thirumarai kaadu (Vedaranyam). And he himself has given more land after two years to celebrate Masi Magam festival to the Lord of the Greatness.
Masi maga vizha is centered on Lord Shiva. However, in Tiruvaranga, A Vijayanagara inscription dated to 1531CE narrates the Masi Magam festival held at Uarayur. This
“The Vallinachiyar Utsavaperam of Vaayyur with his handiwork also arose”
“Perumal Krishnarayar’s command to wake up on Masi Ettam Thirunaal” We sprinkle through the inscription lines. The aforesaid inscriptions explain that it is a tradition to bathe the deities during the Masi Maga vizha and then to perform in the nearby mandapam and grove and to offer “perunthiruvamirthu” processions to the deities. Also, during this festival, the feeding of Brahmins is done well.
Inscriptions of Kulothungan and another Chola kings with the title of Parakesari on the Kudumiyan Hill state that 15 kalanchu pons were first given to Brahmins and fifteen Sivanadiyars (Mageswarar) during great day of Masi Magam festival.
Similarly, in Tiruchengode, during the Chola period, Uthman Ganavati gave 26 pieces of gold and made the Brahmins eat on the lunar day. In this way, Lord Tirthamatal, Vethivula, and Chariot processions have been taking place for a long time and are still happening in many places today. When we think about why these events have come about, the people of the town come together in unity, happiness, and in old age, the elderly, the sick,
It seems that these festivals were formed because the disabled could not enter the temple due to the social justice of the day, and the Lord himself walked up and showed good will to everyone. Not only for the Lord during Masi Magam festival.
We have to note that the food was given not only to Brahmins but also to Shivanadyars. Even though this issue has slowly disappeared in the flood of time, let us feed the poor today on this festival and fulfill the purpose of the ancient festivals.
Texts used
- In Archeology – Dance Kasinathan
- Tiruvarur Temple – Gudavail Balasubramanian
- Thiagarayaswamy Temple – Tiruvarur Ponnusamy
- The Temple Charters Volume 3- Part 2.
- Pudukottai Inscriptions
- Masimagamum Mangala Neeradatum – S. Ramachandran
- Kudumian Hill – So. Santalingam
- .a. gh§ka 3, 16, 19, 24
- Tirupattur – Valli Chokkalingam
- Inscription Annual Report – 1956-57