believed to remove sins and after the dip, pilgrims offer charitable gifts in the hope of being rewarded in the current life and subsequent lives. Historians view the continuity of the temple festivals as a test of time to reinforce continuity with the past. The temple cars of major temples in Kumbakonam come around the city on the festival night. During the Mahamaham of 1992, the number of devotees reached 1 million. Literary mention Bhavishya Purana mentions the importance of Mahamaham and the importance of the festival as a narrative of Shiva to all celestial deities as under: Sekkizhar, saint author of Periyapuranam notes the holy rivers as meaning a dip in the holy tank on the Mahamaham day is equivalent to dip in all holy rivers and leads to worldly prosperity. Appar, the 7th-century saint poet mentions the subtle presence of holy rivers like the Ganges in the Mahamaham tank in Tiruthandakam. Associated temples Traditionally, twelve Shiva temples and five Vishnu temples are connected with this festival. The twelve Shiva temples are Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Kumbeswarar Temple, Someswarar Temple, Nageswara Temple, Ekambareswarar Temple, Abimukeswarar Temple, Gowthameswarar Temple, Kambatta Visvanathar Temple, Banapuriswarar Temple, Kalahasteeswarar Temple, Koteeswarar Temple, and Amirthakalasanathar Temple. Of these ten temples are in Kumbakonam. The processional deities of these temples come to this tank during festival days. The five Vishnu temples are Sarangapani Temple, Chakrapani Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Rajagopalaswamy Temple, and Varahaperumal Temple. All these temples are in Kumbakonam. The processional deities of these temples come to Cauvery during festival days. Gallery See also Mahamaham Stampede Notes References . Temple tanks in Tamil Nadu Buildings and structures in Tamil Nadu Tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Kumbakonam