Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies/Chapter 13
13. The Arddhodaya and the Mahodaya
THE Hindus regard the two occasions of Arddhodaya and Mahodaya as very sacred occasions for taking baths in holy rivers and in sacred spots on the sea-shore. The Arddhodaya is considered to be the more sacred of the two. It is the rising of the sun and the moon in conjunction at the beginning of which the sun is in Capricorn—Makara—on a Sunday in the month of Pushya (January-February) and the moon in the 22nd asterism—Sravana and the seventh Yoga. These five events do not occur in conjunction oftener than once in sixty years. The most important circumstance in the Arddhodaya 1s the half-rising of the sun with which are connected the four events above mentioned. Owing to this half-rising of the sun this occasion is called the Arddhodaya, which isa Sanskrit compound
meaning the half-rising. Thus the Arddhodaya is a very rare opportunity for sacred baths and we have no recollection of its occurrence in the immediate past.
But the Mahodaya occurs oftener. It is considered a little less meritorious as compared with the Arddhodaya, but for all that it is also considered a very sacred opportunity for baths. The Mahodaya is the rising of the sun and the moon in conjunction on a Monday, the sun being in Capricorn, in the month of Pushya (January-February) and the moon in the asterism of Sravana when it is in conjunction with Vyatipata yoga. The last Mahodayas occurred on Monday, the 5th February, 1894, and on the lst February, 1895. Both the Arddhodaya and the Mahodaya are deemed to be very sacred occasions for religious bathing, alms-giving, propitiating the spirits of the departed forefathers, and performing ot er religious duties. Wealthy Hindus generally go on pilgrimages to Benares and Rameswaram to bathe in the sacred waters in these places. The sacred water of Dhanushkoti near Rameswaram is considered to be most holy on this occasion as it is said to have been opened by Rama with his bow. The Hindus of Madras generally proceed to Mahabalipuram—the Seven Pagodas—to bathe in the sea on this occasion.
MAHODAYAM AT MAHABALIPUR
The small village of Mahabalipuram assumes an unusually busy appearance at the Mahodayam, a special New Moon day occurring on a Monday in the month of Pushya. This special New Moon day occurs once in 30 years and as such is considered extremely sacred by the Hindus. Pilgrimages are undertaken to Benares and Rameswaram for baths in the holy Ganges or in the Dhanushkoti. Orthodox Hindus who have not the time and convenience for such undertakings, go to some sacred place situated on the sea: and Mahabalipuram on the Madras Coast is a specially sacred place for occasions like this. From the Sunday previous country carts begin to pour in from all directions notwithstanding the difficulties of the marshes on all the sides of this little village. More than a thousand carts could be seen in this place, and boats from the Adyar would be emptying pilgrim-passengers here in several hundreds every hour. The petty traders of Madras make a good profit in selling fruits and other petty things. On the morning of the Monday, more than fifteen thousand heads are seen bathing in the sea. The whole shore would be one mass of Hindus and most fortunately there are generally no accidents of any kind. Mahabalipuram is known to the European world by the antiquarian remains in which this village is rich and which have been well described to the public by many eminent writers on antiquities. All the pilgrim sojourners visit these remains after the bath and the ideas they express of what they see are very amusing and give us an insight into their knowledge of their own history. "These are the caves where the Pandavas lived," say some. "No," denies another with all the authority of a historian and states that these caves were constructed by Rishis. A third greyhead, with anger in his face, states that Mahabali was a very powerful sovereign, that even gods from the heavens were visiting him every day, and it was to accommodate them that Mahabali built these caves. These and such like are the theories. But not one is to be seen expressing a wish to know anything historically about these relics. No one studies or attempts to study them, though several works exist already giving as much as inquiry has hitherto been able to ascertain of information oa this subject. Whether these caves accommodated the gods at the time of Mahabali or not, it cannot be denied that they now accommodate the pilgrim-sojourners of Mahabalipuram. Thousands and thousands of people find their home now in these Pallava caves. This village is very small and house accommodation is very scanty, the number of ruined houses and those now in occupation being not more than eighty. And where could the fifteen thousand pilgrims find their home for a day now but in these caves? The whole place is full of people, the major portion being Vaishnavas, by which sect this place is held specially sacred. The bath and sight-seeing of the relics are generally over by about 10 in the morning and the pilgrims return home for breakfast. Fortunately a good supply of provisions is kept ready by the merchants. But the supply of pure water is not sufficient, and this difficulty is not felt as the sojourners are all to return to their respective homes by the evening. Visitors from Madras generally go down to Mahabalipuram by the Canal and return by the land route via Tirukkalukkunram and Chingleput. There is no road between Mahabalipuram and Tirukkalukkunram. There is a rough path by the thick copse of shrub wood in which the whole plain round about Mahabalipuram abounds, and a walk through it by the setting sun repays all the pain and trouble of a day’s sojourn at Mahabalipuram. The fine breeze, the rosy rays of the setting sun, the scenery of the blue flowers of the Kasan shrub, the fluttering peacock which happens to be peculiar to this copse, and the sweet scent of a thousand wild flowers cheer the exhausted pilgrim and when the sun sets, the heart of the pilgrim droops down with he approaching night. To add to his gloom the copse changes into marsh and broken country tracks with ruts and muddy pools—till Tirukkalukkunram is reached. Thence it is all a nice road to Chingleput, which is performed in two hours by a Jutka.
OOOO