During the Kurukshetra war, it is said, the wounded Bhisma Pitamaha, who had the power to choose the time of his death, lay on his bed of arrows for 26 days so that he could die on Makar Sankranti day. Why Makar Sankranti? “On this sacred day, when the sun begins its northward journey (the uttarayan) by entering the ‘Makar Rashi’ (the Capricorn), the doors of heaven are kept open. All ‘divya-atmas’ (sacred souls) will go to heaven and will be spared a rebirth”, explained Bhisma to Yudhishthira.
The legend lives on. So does the celebration of the beginning of the auspicious time of Sun’s northern course. Falling on the 14th of January every year, this day has another special significance — the day and night are of exactly equal hours. Makar Sankranti also marks the harvesting of the winter crops.
In Bengal ‘Makar Sankranti’ entails the preparation of traditional rice-sweets called ‘Pithey’ and the holy fair — Ganga Sagar Mela at the Sagar Dweep.
The Makar Sankranti festival which falls in mid-January, marks the winter solstice. During this period pilgrims from all over the country, in numbers exceeding 500,000 gather on Sagar Dweep, a small island some 156 kilometers (93 miles) south of Kolkata, for the three day Ganga Sagar Mela. The northern extremity of the island, which is about 25 miles long, is called Mud point. On the south-western angle of the island there is a Lighthouse built in 1808. The southern sea face is the site of the great festival of Ganga Sagar, marked by unbounded enthusiasm for a bath in the ‘Sangam’ (the confluence of the river and the sea) and for other ceremonials. The pilgrims on the way to the mela sleeps in make shift tents erected in the Maidan.
Legend has that, Sagar, King of Oudh, the 13th ancestor of Rama, had performed the Ashwamedha Yajna, or horse-sacrifice, 99 times. This ceremony consisted in sending a horse round the Indian world, with defiance to all the earth to arrest its progress. If the horse returned unopposed, it was understood to be acquiescence in the supremacy of the lenger, and the animal was then solemnly sacrificed to the gods. When King Sagar made preparations for the 100th sacrifice, Indra, King of Heaven, who had himself performed the ceremony a 100 times, jealous of being displaced by this new rival, stole the horse, and concealed it in a subterranean cell, where the sage Kapila, or Kapil Muni, was absorbed in meditation, dead to all occurrences of the external world.
The sixty thousand sons of Sagar traced the horse to its hiding-place, and, believing the sage to be the author of the theft assaulted him. The holy man being thus roused opened his eyes and cursed his assailants, who were immediately burnt to ashes and sentenced to hell. A grandson of Sagar, in search of his father and uncles, at last came to Kapilmuni, and begged him to redeem the souls of the dead. The holy man replied that this could only be effected if the waters of Ganga could be brought to the spot to touch the ashes. Ganga was residing in Heaven, in the custody of Brahma the Creator, and the grandson of Sagar prayed him to send the Goddess to the earth. He died, however, without his supplication having been granted. He left no issue; but a son, Bhagirath, was miraculously born of his widow, and through his prayers Brahma allowed Ganga to visit the earth. Bhagirath let the way as far as Hathigarh, in the 24-Parganas, near the sea, and then declared that he could not show the rest of the way. Whereupon Ganga, in order to make sure of reaching the spot, divided herself into a hundred mouths, thus forming the delta of the Ganges. One of these mouths reached the cell, and, by washing the ashes, completed the atonement for the offence of the sons of King Sagar, whose souls were thereupon admitted into heaven. Ganga thus became the sacred stream of the hundred mouths. The people say that the sea took its name of Sagar from this legend; and the point of junction of the river and sea at Sagar Island is a celebrated seat of Hindu pilgrimage, to which thousands of devout pilgrims repair every year during the great bathing festival.
Gangasagar Mela is the largest fair celebrated in West Bengal. This fair is held where the river Ganga (Ganges) and the Bay of Bengal form a nexus. Hence the name Gangasagar Mela. This festival is celebrated during January every year and is a major attraction for millions of pilgrims from all over India.
The pilgrims come for a holy dip on Makar Sankranti (last day of the Bengali Month ‘Magh’ — Mid January). They take dips in the Ganges and offer ‘til’ and water to the Sun God. The dip, as they say, purifies their ‘self’ and according to them, ‘punya’ can be obtained thus. A special puja is performed which is offered to the Sun God as a thanksgiving for good harvest. During evening ‘árati’ worshippers offer leaf baskets filled with flowers and ‘deep’ (diya or clay disks) holding camphor. The camphor is lit and these flickering baskets are let adrift on the waters of the sacred Ganga river.
There is a common belief among the locals that the girls who take the holy dip get handsome grooms and the boys get beautful brides. When they are done with the ritual obligations, they head towards the Kapilmuni Temple situated nearby, to worship the deity as a mark of respect. A block of stone, which is anointed and worshipped, represents the great sage, Kapila Muni referred to in the legend. The original site of the temple has been washed away by the sea. But an attractive new temple has replaced the previous temple. There are the emblems of the Sea Ganga Devi and Bhagiratha besides that of Kapila Muni referred to.
Til and rice being the two important ingredients of this festival, people have a special rice-centric meal on this day. On this day, people come from all over India for a ceremonial cleansing in the river Hooghly, near Kolkata (Calcutta). Women clean the houses and prepare delicious traditional rice-sweets called ‘Pithey’. Sweets like ‘Kheer’, ‘Puli’, ‘Gokul Pithey’, ‘Paatishapta’, ‘Satipitha’, etc, are prepared from the palm ‘gur’ (jaggery).