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Makar Sankranti
14th
January 2023
(Saturday)
(Saturday)
मकर संक्रान्ति पर रहेंगे ये शुभ मुहूर्त (Makar Sankranti 2023 Muhurat)
सूर्य का मकर राशि में प्रवेश – 14 जनवरी 2023 को रात्रि 8.43 बजे
मकर संक्रान्ति का पुण्य काल – 15 जनवरी को प्रात: 6.47 बजे से सायं 5.40 बजे तक
MAKAR SANKRANTI WILL BE OBSERVED ON 15TH JAN
Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere and thus it signifies an event wherein the Sun-God seems to remind their children that Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya - may you go higher & higher, to more & more Light and never to Darkness.
HISTORY OF MAKAR SANKRANTI
This festival has been celebrated by Hindus since ancient times. Details of this festival are also mentioned in Hindu religious texts and documents.
According to one popular legend, this festival originated because people were celebrating a demon’s downfall. As the story goes, a particularly murderous demon named Sankarasur would torture and kill humans for no particular reason. Hearing this, a goddess named Sankranti came down to Earth and vanquished him. Ever since then, Hindus have held this festival in her name.
People also worship the Sun god, Surya, on this day since the sun has a lot to do with the changing season. From this day on, the sun starts moving northwards.
The festivities themselves have multiple traditions and legends attached to them. One main tradition centers around kite-flying under the sun. People believe this practice cleanses bodies of infections and germs after a long winter.
Traditional sweet dishes are consumed on this day, a tradition that also has a legend attached to it. Apparently, the Sun god Surya never quite got along with his son, Shani. On this day, however, they decide to let bygones be bygones, and Surya visits Shani’s home, carrying sweets as a mark of forgiveness. And so, Hindus eat and distribute sweets with loved ones.
Another tradition this festival is famous for — the spiritual element. People believe that holy waters — and a cleansing dip in them — are essential to Makar Sankranti celebrations. They visit holy rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna in India, on mass pilgrimages.
Across many parts of India, this season means the early stages of the agricultural cycle, when crops have been sown and the hard work in the fields is almost complete. Therefore, this time signifies a period of socializing and families enjoying each other’s company.
Sankranti Day 1(13th)
Sankranti Puja
Lohri, Maghi, Bhogi Pandigai
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Sankranti Day 2(14th)
Sankranti Puja
Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Pedda Panduga, Uttarayana, Uruka
Sankranti Day 3(15th)
Sankranti Puja
Mattu Pongal, Kanuma Panduga, Magh Bihu
=
Sankranti Day 4(16th)
Sankranti Puja
Kaanum Pongal, Mukkanuma
==
Makar Sankranti is four days festivity period which is dedicated to Lord Sun. All rituals during Makar Sankranti are gestures of thanksgiving to natural resources which make life possible on the Earth. The Sun God is worshipped for bestowing good harvest and nurturing livestock. The cattle especially bulls and oxen are worshipped for their significance in traditionally ploughing fields.
Makar Sankranti is celebrated throughout India. In North India people take holy dip in Ganga on Makar Sankranti day. Thousands of people throng Hindu pilgrimage places like Haridwar, Banaras and Allahabad to take holy dip in Ganga. It is believed that holy dip in Ganga on Sankranti purges all sins committed by the person. Makar Sankranti is also the main bathing day at Ganga Sagar Mela which is held near Kolkata. Sikh community especially in Punjab and Haryana celebrates Lohri one day before Sankranti.
Makar Sankranti is known as Uttarayan in Gujarat. Uttarayan is a significant festival in Gujarat which lasts for two days. The main day of Makar Sankranti is known as Uttarayan and the next day of Uttarayan is known as Vasi Uttarayan or stale Uttarayan. The day is considered highly auspicious and is dedicated to Lord Surya.
In Tamil Nadu people celebrate Makar Sankranti as Pongal. Pongal is celebrated for four days but the most important day of Pongal festivity is known as Thai Pongal and it is celebrated on Makar Sankranti day. Thai Pongal is followed by Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal. The day before Thai Pongal is known as Bhogi.
In Andhra Pradesh, similar to Tamil Nadu, Makar Sankranti is celebrated for four days. The day before Sankranti is known as Bhogi Pandigai. The main Sankranti day is known as Pedda Panduga, which is followed by Kanuma Panduga and Mukkanuma.
In Kerala, the most important event on Makar Sankranti is Makaravilakku. The world famous Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple celebrates Sankranti during evening by lighting Makaravilakku. Makaravilakku is artificial light that is created three times at a distant hill. Thousands of devotees wait for Makaravilakku as it symbolizes celestial lighting at Sabarimala Hills.
In India it is known by different regional names.
Makar Sankranti: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Odisha, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and West Bengal
Pongal, Uzhavar Thirunal: Tamil Nadu
Uttarayan: Gujarat
Maghi: Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The day before, people of Punjab celebrate Lohri.
Bhogali Bihu: Assam
Shishur Saenkraat: Kashmir Valley
Khichdi: Uttar Pradesh and western Bihar
Makara Sankramana: Karnataka
In Odisha people prepare makara chaula (Odia: ମକର ଚାଉଳ): uncooked newly harvested rice, banana, coconut, jaggery, sesame, rasagola, Khai/Liaa and chhena puddings for naivedya to gods and goddesses. The withdrawing winter entails a change in food habits and intake of nourishing and rich food. Therefore, this festival holds traditional cultural significance. It is astronomically important for devotees who worship the sun god at the great Konark temple with fervour and enthusiasm as the sun starts its annual swing northwards. According to various Indian calendars, the Sun's movement changes and the days from this day onwards become lengthier and warmer and so the Sun-God is worshiped on this day as a great benefactor. Many individuals at the start of the day perform a ritual bath while fasting. Makara Mela (Fun fair) is observed at Dhabaleswar in Cuttack, Hatakeshwar at Atri in Khordha, Makara Muni temple in Balasore and near deities in each district of Odisha. In Puri special rituals are carried out at the temple of Lord Jagannath. In Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Koraput and Sundargarh where the tribal population is greater, the festival is celebrated with great joy. They celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm, singing, dancing and generally having an enjoyable time. This Makara Sankranti celebration is next to the Odia traditional new year Maha Vishuva Sankranti which falls in mid April. Tribal groups celebrate with traditional dancing, eating their particular dishes sitting together, and by lighting bonfires.
Andhra Pradesh & Telangana
The festival, Sankranti is celebrated for four days in Andhra Pradesh:
Day 1 – Bhoghi (Andhra only)
Day 2 – Makara Sankranti the main festival day
Day 3 – Kanuma (Andhra only)
Day 4 — Mukkanuma (Andhra only)
The day preceding Makara Sankranti is called Bhoghi). This is when people discard old and derelict things and concentrate on new things causing change or transformation. At dawn, people light a bonfire with logs of wood, other solid fuels and wooden furniture that are no longer useful. The disposal of derelict things is where all old habits, vices, attachment to relations and material things are sacrificed in the fire of the knowledge of Rudra, known as the "Rudra Gita Gyana Yagya". It represents realization, transformation and purification of the soul by imbibing and inculcating divine virtues.
In many families, infants and children (usually less than three years old) are showered with the Indian jujube fruit Ziziphus mauritiana, called "Regi Pandlu" in Telugu. It is believed that doing this protects the children from the evil eye. Sweets in generous quantities are prepared and distributed. It is a time for families to congregate. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords give gifts of food, clothes and money to their workforce.
The second day is Makara Sankranti. People wear new clothes, pray to God, and make offerings of traditional food to ancestors who have died. They also make beautiful and ornate drawings and patterns on the ground with chalk or flour, called "muggu" or "Rangoli" in Telugu, in front of their homes. These drawings are decorated with flowers, colours and small, hand-pressed piles of cow dung, called "gobbemma" .
For this festival all families prepare Chakinalu, Nuvvula Appalu, Gare Appalu or Katte Appalu or karam appalu, Madugulu (Jantikalu), Bellam Appalu, kudumulu, Ariselu, Appalu (a sweet made of jaggery and rice flour) dappalam (a dish made with pumpkin and other vegetables) and make an offering to God.
On the day after Makara Sankranti, the animal kingdom is remembered and, in particular, cows. Girls feed the animals, birds and fish as a symbol of sharing. -
On the third day, Kanuma is celebrated. Kanuma is very intimate to the hearts of farmers because it is the day for praying and showcasing their cattle with honor. Cattle are the symbolic indication of prosperity.
The fourth day is called Mukkanuma which is popular among the non-vegetarians of the society. On this day, farmers offer prayers to the elements (like soil, rain, fire for helping the harvest) and the (village) goddesses with their gifts which sometimes (and these days mainly) include animals.
People in Coastal Andhra do not eat any meat (or fish) during the first three days of the festival and do so only on the day of Mukkanuma.
On this occasion, in every town and city, people play with kites and the sky is filled with beautiful kites. Children and elders enjoy this occasion.
Another notable feature of the festival in Andhra Pradesh is the Haridasa who goes early in the morning around with a colorfully dressed cow, singing songs of Lord Vishnu (Hari) hence the name Haridasu (servant of Hari). It is a custom that he should not talk to anyone and only sing songs of Lord Vishnu when he goes to everyone's house.
Uttarayan, as Makara Sankranti is called in Gujarati, is a major festival in the state of Gujarat which lasts for two days.
Karnataka
This is the Suggi or harvest festival for farmers of Karnataka. On this auspicious day, girls wear new clothes to visit near and dear ones with a Sankranti offering in a plate and exchange the same with other families.
n Maharashtra on Makara Sankranti (मकर संक्रान्ति) day people exchange multicoloured halwa (sugar granules coated in sugar syrup) and til-gul laadoo (sweetmeats made from sesame seeds and jaggery). Gulachi poli/puran poli (गुळाची पोळी / पुरण पोळी) (flat bread stuffed with soft/shredded jaggery mixed with toasted, ground til [white sesame seeds]) and some gram flour, which has been toasted to golden in pure ghee, are offered for lunch.
similar festival is observed inall most all states.
Many melas or fairs are held on Makara Sankranti the most famous being the Kumbha Mela, held every 12 years at one of four holy locations, namely Haridwar, Prayag (Allahabad), Ujjain and Nashik. The Magha Mela (or mini-Kumbh Mela held annually at Prayag) and the Gangasagar Mela (held at the head of the Ganges River, where it flows into the Bay of Bengal). Makara Mela in Odisha. Tusu Mela also called as Tusu Porab is celebrated in many parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal.
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