Makar Sankranti

Date:

14th January 2010.

Meaning of holy-bath-on-makar-sankranti: Makar Sankranti is also known as the Sankranti or Makara Sankrant and is also one of the most sacred days in the Hindu calendar. The day of Makar Sankranti is dedicated to the worship of Lord Surya (Sun God). The 'Makar' or 'Makara' refers to the 'Makara rashi' which is corresponding to the capricorn. The Makar Sankranti is the day when sun enters into the zodiac Capricorn. The festival Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu month of Magh in Bengal, Paush in North India, Dhanu in Kerala and Margazhi in Tamil Nadu.

In 2010, the date for the festival that is January 14th 2010 marks the celebration of Kumbh Mela as the famous bathing date. Everyone worships Lord Surya on the Makar Sankranti day and the major event of the day is the bathing ritual at Sangam (the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) at Allahabad.

Significance of Makar Sankranti: The festival Makar Sankranti is the festival of great significance and is also the most important in the Hindu festival. On this auspicious day Lord Surya is worshiped. The festival also marks the arrival of the spring season and an end to the winter season. There are also number of myths that are related to the importance of the Makar Sankranti in which one of the myth is the death of Bhishma Pitamaha. Similarly, there is also a myth that on this day Lord Vishnu has buried Asuras under the Mandara mountain. The day also signifies the end of evil and the start of the righteousness.

Rituals followed during the Makar Sankranti: The best thing to do on Makar Sankranti is enchanting the Gayatri Mantra. It is believed that Lord Surya visits his son Lord Shani on this day and due to the difference in opinion and its the day when the people forgives the past and starts the fresh. India celebrates the Makar Sankranti with the simple food and many of the Indian people prepares the 'Khichari' on this day. The sweets are made up of Sesame oil (Til) which is eaten on this day. The festival is celebrated with the rice meal in Bihar, Jharkhand and in some parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Celebrations in different parts of the country: The festival Makar Sankranti is celebrated in all over India with the little difference in the the method of celebrations. In Tamil Nadu the Makar Sankranti is celebrated as the Pongal- the harvest festival. In Andhra Pradesh it is Sankranti- Pedda Padunga- which is also harvest festival and the duration of the celebration is 4 days.

In Karnataka it is called as the Sankranti. In Maharashtra the festival is celebrated by distributing the Til and Gul. In Kerala the festival Makar Sankranti is celebrated to pay the pilgrimage to the popular Sabarimala Temple. In the West Bengal it is known as the Pithey Parban- a harvest festival and people visits the Ganga Sagar Mela. In Assam people celebrates with the name of Bhogali Bihu. In Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and in some parts of Himachal Pradesh the day is celebrated as Lohri. In Central India it is celebrated as Sakrat and lastly in Orissa it is Makar Mela.