Makar Sankranti

Posted by Harsh Nevatia Jan 10, 2007

Hindus will celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti on the 14th of January. This is the only festival in the Hindu calendar that appears on the same date as per the Gregorian calendar year after year. All other festivals appear on different dates each year as explained earlier in the case of Diwali. This is because the Hindu calendar has a lunar base, whereas the Gregorian calendar has a solar base. All Hindu festivals except Makar Sankranti are linked to the position or phase of the moon. Makar Sankranti is linked to a solar event.

Sankranti means transition. In this context it refers to the transition of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to the next. Hence there are twelve sankrantis in a year. For Hindus Makar Sankranti is the most important. Makar is the Hindi name for the sign Capricorn. During Makar Sankranti the sun transits from Sagittarius to Capricorn.

The overhead position of the sun apparently moves between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. On Makar Sankranti the sun is at its southernmost point over the Tropic of Capricorn. From this day it stars its six-month northward journey towards the Tropic of Cancer. This period is known as Uttarayana. This six month period is considered very auspicious. Makar Sankranti therefore is the initiator of this auspicious period. Makar Sankranti has the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. Thereafter the days start getting longer. Makar Sankranti also denotes the beginning of the decline of the winter. The six-month period when the sun is traveling southward is known as Dakshinayana.

How auspicious this date is can be judged from an incident in the Mahabharata. Bhishma the grandsire of the warring cousins had been granted the boon of choosing the time of his death. After the war got over he lay on the battlefield on a bed of arrows till Makar Sankranti when he breathed his last. A person dying on this day is believed to be free from the cycles of rebirth.

Makar Sankranti is celebrated differently in different parts of India. In north India ritual bathing at the holy places is common. In fact a month long Magh Mela takes place at Allahabad at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna at Prayag. In south India this festival is known as Pongal and is the most important festival of the year. In Maharashtra and Gujarat this festival is accompanied by kite flying. Every child is on the streets, fields or terraces flying kites and having all sorts of competitions.

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