Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1912 — RENOWNED POOL OF SIVA [ARTICLE]

RENOWNED POOL OF SIVA

Wonderful Waters Credited by People of India With All Sorts of Magnetic Attributes. A remarkable Indian ceremony is the Kumbakonam Mahamakam festival. This feast takes place once a year, but the Hindu gods are supposed to visit the sacred tank on each twelfth anniversary. It is said that the god Brahma once requested Siva to collect the essence of all the waters In the world. It is understood that Siva succeeded In doing this, placing the fluid in a pot, which he hid away on the top of a mountain. During the flood this pot floated away from its position, and when the waters subsided it rested at a spot some distance away, now known as Kumbakonam. Siva, who happened to be hunting in the vicinity, saw the pot and,’ drawing bis bow and arrow, shot at it with disastrous results. The water, rushing out, filled a hollow, and this at the present time Is the renowned tank. This tank is now a place of pilgrimage, where, during the festival, untold thousands of the faithful dip themselves in the wonderful water, which is credited with all sorts of magical attributes.—Wide World Magazine.