Among the five snans, Mauni Amavasya is called the Shahi Snan. Though Mauni Amavasya is celebrated all over India, it at Triveni Sangam Prayagraj where most of the devotees arrive for the holy dip at Sangam. Every year lakhs of people converge at Sangam during Mauni Amavasya. This is the scene at 8 am in the morning and this crowds continue throughout the day as well as into the night.
History and Significance of Mauni Amavasya
Mauni Amavasya and Prayagraj has become so synonymous that we need to begin with understanding the history of Triveni Sangam. Amrut was the last the come out of the ocean after Samudra Manthan. Asuras took the pot of nectar from Dhanvantari and ran away from the devas and in that process spilled a few drops at four different places on Earth, Haridwar, Ujjain, Trimbakeshwar and Prayaga. Every 12 years, a Maha Kumbh is held at these four places.
Brahma performed the Prakrista Yagna at Prayaga in which all the Gods participated. After the yagna was over, the Gods departed, all except one, Nag Vasuki who was told by Brahma that he shall be provided a permanent residence in Prayaga. That place is marked by Nag Vasuki Mandir.
Ram, Lakshman and Sita visited Prayaga enroute to their exile to meet Rishi Bharadwaj who advised them to spend their exile at Chitrakoot. On his way back to Ayodhya, they again halted at Prayaga. There are two recorded reasons for their halt. Firstly Hanuman was grievously wounded and his travel from Sri Lanka to Prayagraj must have exhausted him. Nearing death, he lay on the sands of Triveni Sangam thinking that he would die. Sita who was residing under the Akshay Vat tree used to come down to the river bank and apply sindoor on his body to heal him. That spot today is marked by the Lete Hanuman Mandir. Bharadwaj Rishi also asked Ram to ask for forgiveness to one crore shivlings. Ram created a shivling out of the sands of river bank of Ganga. He asked for forgiveness since he had killed Ravan who was a Brahmin. The place where he did his penance is called Shivkuti.
Kuru Dynasty who were located at Hastinapur had to migrate due to a massive flood. This movement of the kingdom was done by Nicaksu who was the great great grandson of Abhimanyu. The new capital was established at Kausambi (about 50 kms away from Prayagraj) and he started a new dynasty called Vatsa.
It is believed that the tradition of visiting Triveni Sangam is as old as time itself. Devotees go there for asti visarjan (immersing the ashes of their elderly) and to take a holy dip during auspicious occasions. There are a number of places in India where these activities can be performed. But among all those places, Prayagraj holds a significant value. For example, Kartik Purnima where devotees come to Varanasi for the holy dip. Dev Deepawali is celebrated by lighting lamps on the ghats of Varanasi to commemorate the victory of Shiva over Tripurasura. People reach Varanasi to take a bath early morning.
Mauni Amavasya is the most significant of all the religious events. People take a bath in sangam and then take a vow of silence for the entire day (24 hours). Donations and Havan is also planned for this day.
Why silence is significant?
From the moment we open our eyes, we are subject to a variety of vibrations, both within and from outside. Vibrations are another form of energy and sound is a type of vibration. Different sounds means a huge range of frequencies, many of which are not listenable by the human ear.
While all the sounds originate from the soul, the soul itself is silent. Practising Maun Vrat opens a door way to the silent soul. It also helps filter out a lot of noise from core sounds.
There is also a scientific significance to it. During this period seeds don’t sprout so easily. The period ranging between Mauni Amavasya and Mahashivratri contains some powerful full moon and new moon. These affects water bodies including our human body which is 70% water. Making use of silence is a part of ancient yogic technique to balance out these negative effects.
There are two life forces in our body called nadis. One is called Ida ruled by the moon and other is pingala which is ruled by the sun. These two forces have to be kept in balance at all times. During Mauni Amavasya period, both sun and moon are found in the same zodiac sign of Capricorn. For one day there is a cosmic alignment of moon and the sun. The power of silence combined with the power of meditation during this period gives a long term benefit by balancing these two important life forces.
Resurgence of the Hindu faith
The Aryan migration theory was forced upon Indians for the last two hundred years by foreigners, especially the Europeans and Americans. So they basically say that there were several dark skinned native tribes living all over the Indian Subcontinent which was otherwise mostly empty and covered in dense forests. After the Aryans arrived, they fought with the dark natives, defeated them and drove them down towards the southern parts of India. For a long time, Indians believed this to be true and there are generations of us who were fed this information from history text books. This theory does not explain who there are so many dark skinned people in the northern parts and equal number of light skinned people in the south. But these left leaning historians still stick to their theory despite advances in genetics and archeology. They even converted all the historical accounts of ancient Bharat civilisation into mythological characters.
Indian civilisation is the only one ramianing out of any civilisation which existed in different parts of the world. That is proof enough about the resilience of the concept. Concerted efforts by the govt or changes in history text books will not dent it even a bit. Infact what we have witnessed in the last couple of decades is the resurgence of our civilisation.
The fact that each year, the number of people visiting sangam for Mauni Amavaysa is increasing is a testimonial to this fact.
Things you really need to note before your visit to triveni sangam for Mauni Amavasya
All roads leading to Sangam area from the city are blocked for all traffic. Some roads allow the movement of two wheelers. So the most convenient option could be to reach one day prior and stay overnight in one of the tents in the tent city. Fortunately today the facilities at tent city are really good thanks to the efforts put in the local authorities. There is no place to stay at the exact sangam spot except for the river bank in the open. Right opposite to the sangam area is Arail Ghat and Jhunsi where the river banks contain large tracts of tents pitched for people to stay. Also do keep in mind that from both these locations and others, you still cannot reach the mains sangam point because boats are not allowed to ply on this day.
You can also stay at any of the numerous hotels in the city but most of them are booked in advance so you need to pre plan.
