KUMBH - A CELESTIAL CLOCK
With the ongoing
Kumbh Mela at Nashik, this might be a good time to stop and wonder
about the remarkable celestial clocks which ensure that people
from all over India arrived at a fixed location – Prayag, Hardwar,
Ujjain or Nashik at a fixed time. What was the clock that worked
over such a large geographical extent?
This was, of
course, a celestial clock. Almost all festivals in India are determined
by the celestial positions of the Moon, Sun or the planets. The
dates for the Kumbh Mela that is held roughly every twelve years
at any one location – but almost every three years if all the
four locations are taken into consideration – are determined as
follows.
When Jupiter
is in the Leo constellation and the Sun in Cancer, as they are
now, the festival is held at Nashik on the banks of the Godavari
river. In south India this is also celebrated as Godavari Pushkaram.
When Jupiter
is in the Scorpio and the Sun and Moon in Libra, the festival
is held at Ujjain on the banks of the river Sipra.
When Jupiter
is in the Aquarius constellation and the Sun in Aries, the festival
is held at Hardwar on the banks of the river Ganga.
When Jupiter
is in the Taurus constellation and the Sun in Capricon, the festival
is held at Prayag at the confluence of the two rivers – Ganga
and Yamuna.
In the days before
transportation and proper time measurements, a clock in the sky
ensured that people at any remote location in India had only to
consult their local panchang to find out when the Kumbh
would be held at a given piligrimage and plan for their long journey
on foot, well in time.
The Kumbh Mela
is mentioned in many historical contexts. There is reference to
a Kumbh Mela at Prayag by Huen Tsang when he visited King Harshwardhana
in the seventh century. So, at least, there is a mention of the
Kumbh Mela as far back as in the 7th century AD.
The Nashik Kumbh
mela is also mentioned in the context of the history of militant
Ascetism in India, during the 18th century- in particular
about the occurrence of Kumbh Mela at Nashik during 1789. If we
now use our celestial clock and turn it backwards, we find that
the mela should actually have taken place during 1790,
when Jupiter would have been in the constellation Leo. The Kumbh
Mela reflects national integration for more than a millennium.
It is also a useful historical tool.
Contributed
by Dr. N. Rathnasree, Director, Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi
