Mahamaham Tank

The Mahamaham tank lies in the heart of Kumbakonam and is regarded as the foremost temple tank in Tamil Nadu. Trapezoidal in shape, it covers 21 acres and is ringed by sixteen small mandapams, which Govinda Dikshitar, a chieftain of Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur, built along with the stone steps. Inside are 21 small spring wells named after deities, Shiva among them, and the holy rivers of India. Legend says the divine pot carried through the deluge reached Kumbakonam, where Shiva, as a hunter, broke it with an arrow.

The Masimaham festival is held here each year during Masi (February–March). Once in twelve years, when Jupiter enters Leo, the Mahamaham festival brings vast crowds to bathe, in the belief that all the rivers of India meet in the tank that day. At noon the festival deities of the town's temples are bathed with the pilgrims in a rite called Theerthavari. The ceiling of the Gangatirtha mandapam carries a carving of the ritual of weighing oneself against gold.