Sonepur Mela is the biggest cattle fair in India and Asia. This mela is organized every year in the month of Kartik in the Sonepur, Saran district of Northern Bihar. The fair begins on the date of Kartik Poornima. This year the fair is planned to organize from 1st November 2009 to 30th November 2009. This dates are not yet settled and need to be confirmed.

The mela is held on the banks of river Ganga, on the confluence of the Ganga and Gandak in Sonepur. Sonepur is about 25 to 30 km from the capital city of Patna, Bihar. It is also known as Hariharnath Kshetra Mela for the reason of vicinity of Hariharanatha Temple in Sonepur.

The Legend: The legend of Gajendra Moksha is associated with this event. Scriptures describe two characters King Indradyumna and Gandharva Huhu who were cursed by sages Agastya and Dewala to turn into an elephant and a crocodile respectively.

One day Indradyumna, now in the form of elephant-king Gajendra, went into the waters of Gandak river to fetch some water. Huhu in the form of gaint crocodile grabbed his feet suddenly and both of them started fighting. This fighting become a battle as the respective herds took part. The fight continued for years and became critical.

Gajendra became weak and realized that he is going to die. In such situation Gajendra started praying intensely to Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu heard such deep cry of His devotee and immediately came on Garuda to save Gajendra. Upon seeing Lord Vishnu Gajendra offered a lotus to the feet of Lord. These prayers are very popular in the epic of Bhagavatam. Vishnu attacked the crocodile with His Sudarshan chakra and the touch of sudarshana freed the crocodile from the curse. Gajendra was also released of curse and Lord Vishnu took him back to Vaikunta, His heavenly abode. This legend is described as Gajendra Moksha.

Many believe that this fighting happened at present-day Sonepur spot. This is the reason the thousands of people gather at the confluence for the two holy rivers for the blessed dip at the adjacent of Harihar Nath temple on Kartik Poornima.

Events in the Mela: This mela is a hugely popular mela that is held for month long. It is renowed for being the largest animal fair in Asia and probably in the world. Visitors travel from miles and the crowd look spectacular. Recent survey put the number of annual visitors to the Sonepur fair to be more than 600,000.

All varieties of domesticated fauna are exhibited in the mela. This includes dogs, camels, cats, donkeys, ponies, buffaloes, monkeys and chimpanzees, fish, poultry, sheep, pigs, bears and even rabbits. All of the above can be bought and sold. This mela also sets ground for large-scale trading of elephants and the most purchases are made by the forest department of Indian government for logging operatings and other uses of elephants.

Apart from animal market there are plenty of other attractions and entertainments in the mela. This mela is often celebrated as a pulsating festival where the visitors come to browse the big market stall featuring live music, dramas, dances, carnival acts, regional and special food, drinks.

So dont miss this year Sonepur Mela!!!