Magh Snan
A month on the sands at Prayagraj.
When it falls
13 January 2028 to 10 February 2028
By the sunrise at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar
- The rule
- The whole of Magha masa at the Sangam
- Which day
- Sunrise (udaya-vyapini)
- Each day of the season is taken at sunrise. The opening day depends on whether local usage counts from Makar Sankranti or from Paush Purnima, and the page states which.
- Weight
- A recurring parva
- Returns
- A season of days
What it is
Magh Snan is the month of Magha kept at the Sangam: daily bathing before dawn through the coldest weeks of the north Indian year. Those who keep it in full, the kalpvasis, live on the sands for the month under a single vow and eat once a day. Most people keep a lighter form, or the three or four days of it that carry their own names. It runs from Makar Sankranti or Paush Purnima to Magha Purnima, depending on the reckoning.
Where it is kept
One water only.
Triveni Sangam
Sangam, Prayagraj
Purnimanta reckoning
The Sangam alone. Magh Snan is Prayagraj's own season.
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
Magha snan at Prayaga is described in the Prayaga Mahatmya sections of the Puranic literature. 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.