Magh Mela
A month on the sands at the Sangam, with six great snans.
When it falls
Next dates
By the sunrise at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
- The rule
- From Makar Sankranti to Mahashivratri
- Which day
- Sunrise (udaya-vyapini)
- The span is fixed by its first and last snan, each computed on its own page: the sun's entry into Makara and the Magha Krishna Chaturdashi.
- Weight
- One of the year's great days
- Returns
- A season of days
What it is
The Magh Mela is the annual month-long gathering on the sands of the Sangam at Prayagraj, the ordinary-year form of the Kumbh. It runs from Makar Sankranti to Mahashivratri, and its spine is six bathing days: Makar Sankranti, Paush Purnima, Mauni Amavasya, Basant Panchami, Magha Purnima and Mahashivratri. Kalpavasis live on the sands for the whole of Magha, from Paush Purnima to Magha Purnima. Each of the six days has its own page here with its computed date; this page holds the span.
Where it is kept
One water.
Triveni Sangam
Sangam, Prayagraj
Purnimanta reckoning
The mela is the Sangam; the other waters keep the six days on their own steps.
The windows
Brahma Muhurat
about 48 minutes
From sunrise
- Definition
- Two muhurtas of the night before sunrise, until one muhurta before it. A night muhurta is a fifteenth of the night, about 48 minutes at the equinox and longer in winter.
Brahma Muhurat falls before sunrise, so it belongs to the panchang day that opened at the previous sunrise, and the Gregorian date beside it is the next day. The calendar keeps the two apart.
Pratah Snan
about 96 minutes
From sunrise
- Definition
- Sunrise, until two muhurtas of the day after it. A day muhurta is a fifteenth of the daylight, about 48 minutes at the equinox and longer in summer.
This window sits after sunrise, so its panchang day and its Gregorian date agree.
Every time is given at the ghat first, and in your own zone beside it. How the clock is read
Where the timing comes from
- Source
- Computed here, checked against Drik Panchang
- Ayanamsa
- Lahiri (Chitrapaksha)
- Ghat coordinates
- Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar: 29.9457, 78.1642
Textual basis
The living usage of the ghats named below, and the puranic and dharmashastra literature on the day. A citable edition and passage is still to be added.
Every date here is computed: the tithi at the ghat's sunrise, the month named by the sankranti it holds, and the sun's entry into each sign under the Lahiri ayanamsa. Tithi, nakshatra, sunrise and windows were checked against Drik Panchang for Haridwar on eight days between September 2026 and March 2027, to the minute. The dates roll forward each morning.