Kumbakonam

History at a glance

1. Puranic
   Shiva makes a pot holding nectar and the seeds of creation; Brahma decorates it and sets it on Meru. The deluge comes and the pot rests here. Shiva, as a hunter, opens it, and the nectar becomes the Mahamaham and Potramarai tanks.
2. Sangam period
   The settlement is identified with Sangam-period Kudavayil.
3. 9th century
   The present masonry structure of the Adi Kumbeswarar temple is built.
4. 1143-1173 CE
   Rajaraja Chola II builds the Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram — a KARAK KOIL, designed as a chariot, with steps said to sing.
5. 12th century
   Kulottunga II builds Tribuvanam — the fourth Chola temple raised entirely on a stone vimana.
6. 16th century
   Vijayanagara and Thanjavur Nayak rulers expand Adi Kumbeswarar. Inscriptions at Nagalpuram and Kuthalam record the emperor KRISHNADEVARAYA's pilgrimage to the Mahamaham.
7. 19th century
   The festival's crowds are documented in administrative and traveller accounts.
8. 13-22 February 2016
   The most recent Mahamaham. Over a million attend; one source says close to two million.
9. 2028
   The next Mahamaham, when Jupiter next enters Leo.

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