Makar Sankranti Festival

The Makar Sankranti festival, unlike other Hindu festivals, is not dependent on the position

of the moon, but on the position of the sun. On this day, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Capricorn. To compensate for the difference that occurs due to the earth’s revolution around the sun, every eighty years, the day of sankrant is postponed by one day. In the present period, Makar Sankrant falls on January 14.

Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in various parts of India. According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana, in the month of Poush in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India. The movement of the earth from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti. As the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac, known as Makar in Hindi, this occasion is named as Makar Sankranti in the Indian context. It is one of the few Hindu Indian festivals that are celebrated on a fixed date, i.e., on January 14 every year.

Translated, Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve sankrantis as well. Each of these sankrantis has its own relative importance, but two of these are especially significant - the Mesh (Aries) Sankranti and the single most important, the Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti. It represents the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere and signals the beginning of the six-month long Uttarayana, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds hereafter.

Traditionally, this period is considered a very fortunate time, and the veteran Bhishma of Mahabharata chose to die during Uttarayana, falling to the arrows of Arjuna. With the boon of being able to choose the time of his death, Bhishma waited on a bed of arrows to depart from this world only during this period. It is believed that those who die during Uttarayana have no rebirth.

Makar Sankranti, apart from a harvest festival, is also regarded as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian culture – the “holy phase of transition.” It marks the end of an inauspicious phase, which according to the Hindu calendar, begins around mid- December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any Hindu family, from this day onwards. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days, compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season.

All over the country, Makar Sankranti is observed with great fanfare. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western India, the festival is celebrated as the “Sankranti day” with special zeal and fervor. The importance of this day has been also been signified in the ancient epics, like Mahabharata. Thus, apart from sociogeographical importance, this day also holds historical and religious significance. Finally, as it is the festival of the Sun God, regarded as the symbol of divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning.

The Sankrati festival in

different parts of India

In Tamil, Nadu Sankrant is known by the name of “Pongal,” which takes its name from the surging of rice boiled in a pot of milk. This festival has more significance than even Diwali. It is very especially popular amongst farmers. Rice and pulses cooked together in ghee and milk is offered to the family deity after the ritual worship. In essence, in the South, this Sankranti is a “Puja” (worship) for the Sun God.

In Maharashtra, on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar as well as til-laddus, made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill, people greet each other saying, “Til-gul ghya, god god bola,” meaning, “Accept these tilguls and speak sweet words.” The underlying thought in the exchange of tilguls is to forget past ill feelings and hostilichases ties and to resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends. This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra – married women are invited for a get-together called “Haldi-Kumkum,” and they are given gifts of any household utensil, which the woman of the house pur- on that day. Hindus wear also ornaments made of “Halwa” on this day. In Gujarat, Sankrant is observed more or less in the same manner as in Maharashtra, but there is also the custom of giving gifts to relatives. The elders in the family give gifts to the younger members of the family. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspicious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. This festival thus helps the maintenance of social relationships within the family, caste and community. Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way, and it has become a well-known event internationally.

In Punjab, where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant, which is celebrated as “LOHARI.” Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown into the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant, is celebrated as “MAGHI.” The Punjabi’s dance their famous Bhangra dance until they are exhausted and then, they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion.