Makara Sankranti is one of the most auspicious days for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervour & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places such as Ganga Sagar and offer prayers to the Sun God. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Makara Sankranthi and Pongal, and in Punjab as Lohri & Maghi. Gujaratis not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also make thousands of colourful offerings in the form of beautiful kites, all over the skyline. It is said through this act of kite-flying, they try to reach up to their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. Makara Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun God begins his ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun, for the Hindus, stands for a Pratyaksha-Brahmana - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity, blessing one & all tirelessly. He is also believed to be the one who transcends time and the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted by Hindus, is directed to the Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in the Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too.
Astronomical Significance
Makara means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. The Sanskrit word ‘Sankramana’ means ‘to begin to move’. There is a Sankranti every month when the sun transmigrates from one sign of the zodiac (Rāshi) 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 more important - the Mesha (Aries) Sankranti and the most important, the Makara (Capricorn) Sankranti.
Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius (Dhanu rashi) to Capricorn (Makara rashi), during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makara Sankranti. On this day, the movement is from the Dakshinayana (the southern course) to Uttarayana (the northern course). Therefore it is also called the Uttarayana Punyakala.
Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius (Dhanu rashi) to Capricorn (Makara rashi), during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makara Sankranti. On this day, the movement is from the Dakshinayana (the southern course) to Uttarayana (the northern course). Therefore it is also called the Uttarayana Punyakala.
The festival therefore takes place around 21 days after the winter solstice (between December 20 and 23) that marks the starting of the phenomenon of 'northward apparent migration of the sun' (or Uttarayana, literally meaning northward journey of Sun). Scientifically, the shortest day of the year is around December 21/22 after which the days begin to get longer & warmer, and thus the chill of winter in on decline. Hence, Winter Solstice begins on December 21/22 when the tropical sun enters Makara rashi and thus the actual Uttarayana begins December 21. It is said that this was the actual date of Makara Sakranti too. But because of the Earth's tilt of 23.45 degrees and sliding of equinoxes, Ayanamsa occurs. This, is believed, to have caused Makara Sankranti to slide further over the ages.
While the traditional Indian Calendar is based on lunar positions, Sankranti is a solar event. So while dates of all Hindu festivals keep changing, as per the Gregorian calendar the date of Makara Sankranti more or less remains constant over a long term i.e it falls around 14th or 15th January. Makara Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu calendar month of Magha.
Cultural Significance
Traditionally, this has been one of many harvest days in Karnataka and is a major harvest festival celebrated in various other parts of India as indicated earlier. It is a festival of new harvest, prosperity and delight.
According to the lunar calendar, when the sun moves from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer (or from Dakshinayana to Uttarayana), in the month of Pausha in mid-January, it commemorates the beginning of the harvest season and cessation of the northeast monsoon in South India.
Apart from a harvest festival, it 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. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayana - any sacred ritual can be sanctified in a Hindu family, this day onwards. Marriages, Grihapravesha (house warming ceremony), Upanayana (thread ceremony), etc. are held only during this period in some communities.
All over the country, Makara Sankranti is observed with great fanfare. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata also. So, apart from the socio-geographical importance, this day also holds a historical and religious significance. As it is the festival of the Sun God and he is regarded as the symbol divinity and wisdom, the festival also holds an eternal meaning to it.
Religious Significance
1. The Puranas say that on this day Surya (Sun) visits the house of his son Shani (Saturn), who is the Lord of Makara Rashi. Though the father and son did not otherwise get along well, Surya makes it a point to meet his son on this day. He, in fact, himself comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son.
2. From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while Dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas. Therefore most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.
3. It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them and burying their heads under the Mandara Parvata. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.
4. King Bhagiratha (descendent of the King Sagara), performed a great penance to bring the Ganga down to the earth. This was for the redemption of the 60,000 sons of King Sagara, who were burnt to ashes by Sage Kapila. It was on this day that Bhagiratha finally performed a libation (tarpana) with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Pataala (underworld) for the redemption of the curse of Bhagiratha’s ancestors, the Ganges finally merged into the sea. In the present day, a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Thousands of Hindus take a dip in the water and perform tarpan for their ancestors.
5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the renowned Bhishma, the grandfather of the Pandavas, was fatally wounded during the war of the Mahabharata - Bhishma had the boon of ‘death at will’ from his father, so he waited on his death-bed of nails for the onset of this season (Uttarayana) and then left his mortal body on the Shukla Paksha of Magha month (known as Bhishmashtami).
It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration (rebirth). So this day was seen as a definite auspicious day to start a journey or endeavours to the higher realms beyond. It is also said that soul departed during this period will reach Heaven or Vaikuntha. References to this can be found in the Bhagavad-Gita.
In our next post we will discuss the preparations that go into gearing up for Makara Sankranthi. What you need to buy, what is the traditional way of celebrating it in Karnataka and how our methods of celebration have a scientific significance.
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Very nice and informative article. I am very proud of Bangalore Press keeping up with the modern times. Congratulations and Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHats off..! Really very helpful information & necessary for the young generation to know the significance with scientific , cultural & traditionlity with proud. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteExcellent information, well organized and presented. Very easy to keep track of and understand the significance of important days of the calendar. I am sharing this with my friends and family.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Bangalore Press! Keep up the good work! Thank you!