| Maghi | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Punjabis |
| Type | Religious and cultural |
| Significance | Midwinter festival, celebration ofwinter solstice |
| Celebrations | eating traditional food, temple celebrations |
| Date | 14 January |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Makar Sankranti,Lohri |
Maghi is a Punjabi cultural festival, the Indianharvest festival celebrated onwinter solstice. Maghi falls on the first day of the month ofMagh and is celebrated inPunjab,Haryana,Jammu andHimachal Pradesh. It follows on the heels of the mid-winter festival ofLohri which is marked by bonfires in North Indian fields and yards. The next morning is seen as an auspicious occasion for ritual bathing in ponds and rivers.[1]
In Himachal Pradesh, the festival is also known asMaghi Saaji orMagha Ra Saza.[2][3][4] It is known as Maghi Sangrand or Uttarain (Uttarayana) in Jammu and Sakrat in Haryana.
Makar Sankranti always falls on the first day of the month ofMagha in theVikram Samvat calendar. On Maghi, when the sun takes its northern journey on entering the sign ofMakara orCapricorn, the Hindus take bath in theRiver Ganga or if that is not possible, in some other river, rivulet, canal or pond.[5][6] In the ancient Indian epicMahabharata, it was on Maghi (Makar Sankranti) thatBhishma attainedmukti (liberation) after having heard discourses about the mysteries of life and death sinceKartik Purnima during theMahabharata war.[7]
It follows the festival ofLohri innorth India, particularly popular in thePunjab region.
Maghi is popularly referred to as Magha Ra Saza in some parts ofHimachal Pradesh. As Magh is the coldest month in the hills when agriculture comes to a standstill, this month is dedicated to worship ofAgni. In the villages of Himachal, Lohri night is part of Maghi celebrations and is referred to as Masant. Another ritual associated with Maghi is Madraison Puja when the houses are cleaned and decorated.[8]
ForSikhs it is a community gathering to commemorate martyrdom of forty Sikhs (Chalis Mukte) who once had deserted the tenth and last human Guru ofSikhism,Guru Gobind Singh atAnandpur Sahib, but later rejoined the Guru and died while fighting theMughal Empire army led byWazir Khan in 1705.[9] Sikhs make a pilgrimage to the site of the war, and take a holy dip in thesacred water pond of Gurdwara Sri Tootti Ganddi Sahib inMuktsar.[10][11]
A fair (mela) is held at Muktsar every year and called theMela Maghi which is held in memory of the forty Sikh martyrs.[12] Before this tradition started to commemorate the Sikh martyrs who gave their lives to protect the tenth Guru, the festival was observed and mentioned byGuru Amar Das, the third Guru of Sikhism.[13]
In Punjab, Maghi is celebrated by eatingkheer such as rauh di kheer which is an old dish where rice is cooked in sugarcane juice. The dish is prepared in the evening before Maghi and is kept to cool. It is served cold next morning on Maghi with red-chili mixed curd.[14] In some parts ofPunjab, India, it is also traditional practice to eatkhichdi mixed with lentils, consume raw sugarcane andjaggery,[8][15] Fairs are held at many places in Punjab on Maghi.[16]
Maghi also happens to be the day on which Bhishma, the octogenarian leader of forces of Kaurvas as mentioned in the Mahabharata, emancipated his soul from the bondage of the body by a conscious act of his will, after discoursing for many days on the mysteries of life and death as he lay wounded on the battle-field pierced by innumerable arrows.
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| Sikh festivals | |
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