The niyam
Practice varies, but the commonly kept niyam are: bathe at the Sangam daily, eat one meal a day, sleep on the ground, keep to satvik food, avoid anger and argument, and perform daily puja and daan.
Many kalpvasis also keep a daily havan and a fixed path. The month is defined by repetition more than by any single rite.
What runs out first
- Deepak oil and wicks. A lamp kept lit for a month consumes far more than families expect.
- Havan samagri, if a daily havan is kept.
- Til and kush, used daily rather than once.
- Dry cloth. Bathing daily in January means more than you packed.
Packing for a month, not a day
Our Kalpvas set is grouped by week rather than by item, because that is how the month is actually lived — you open week one, not the til packet.
Firewood, provisions and bedding are arranged at the mela. What we ship is the ritual consumable, portioned so nothing has to be bought at mela prices halfway through.
The snan days
The principal bathing days of the Magh Mela are Paush Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya, Basant Panchami, Maghi Purnima and Mahashivratri. Mauni Amavasya is the largest.
Dates follow the tithi and shift each year. Confirm against a panchang, and expect the mela administration to publish its own schedule closer to the time.
Questions
One month, traditionally from Paush Purnima to Magh Purnima, lived on the Sangam floodplain during the Magh Mela.
Last updated 9 August 2026