Makar Sankranti 1972
The Sun's entry into sidereal Capricorn — kite-flying, til-gud and holy dips; celebrated as Pongal in the south.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankranti moment18:24
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Makar Sankranti puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaMakar Sankranti — Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Makar Sankranti fall on almost the same date every year?
It is a solar festival, fixed by the Sun's entry into sidereal Makara, not by a lunar tithi. Lunar festivals drift against the civil calendar; this one does not.
What is punya kaal?
The meritorious window reckoned from the moment of the sankranti, during which bathing and charity carry the festival's full merit. If the sankranti falls after sunset, it shifts to the next morning.
Why are til and gur given on this day?
Sesame and jaggery are exchanged with the wish that speech between the giver and receiver stay sweet. Giving — of til, gur, blankets or grain — is the central act of the day.
Other major festivals in 1972
- Vasant Panchami — 21 January 1972
- Maha Shivaratri — 13 February 1972
- Holika Dahan — 28 February 1972
- Holi — 1 March 1972
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 16 March 1972
- Ram Navami — 23 March 1972
- Akshaya Tritiya — 15 May 1972
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 12 July 1972
- Guru Purnima — 26 July 1972
- Nag Panchami — 14 August 1972
- Raksha Bandhan — 24 August 1972
- Krishna Janmashtami — 31 August 1972
- Hartalika Teej — 10 September 1972
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 11 September 1972
- Anant Chaturdashi — 22 September 1972
- Pitru Paksha begins — 24 September 1972
- Sharad Navratri begins — 8 October 1972
- Durga Ashtami — 15 October 1972
- Maha Navami — 17 October 1972
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 17 October 1972
- Karwa Chauth — 25 October 1972
- Dhanteras — 3 November 1972
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 4 November 1972
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 5 November 1972
- Govardhan Puja — 7 November 1972
- Bhai Dooj — 8 November 1972
- Chhath Puja — 12 November 1972
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 20 November 1972
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 20 November 1972
- Hindu Festivals 1972 →