Makar Sankranti 1973
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 moment00:33
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 1973
- Vasant Panchami — 8 February 1973
- Maha Shivaratri — 3 March 1973
- Holika Dahan — 18 March 1973
- Holi — 19 March 1973
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 4 April 1973
- Ram Navami — 11 April 1973
- Akshaya Tritiya — 5 May 1973
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 2 July 1973
- Guru Purnima — 15 July 1973
- Nag Panchami — 3 August 1973
- Raksha Bandhan — 14 August 1973
- Krishna Janmashtami — 21 August 1973
- Hartalika Teej — 30 August 1973
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 31 August 1973
- Anant Chaturdashi — 11 September 1973
- Pitru Paksha begins — 13 September 1973
- Sharad Navratri begins — 27 September 1973
- Durga Ashtami — 4 October 1973
- Maha Navami — 5 October 1973
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 6 October 1973
- Karwa Chauth — 15 October 1973
- Dhanteras — 23 October 1973
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 25 October 1973
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 25 October 1973
- Govardhan Puja — 27 October 1973
- Bhai Dooj — 28 October 1973
- Chhath Puja — 1 November 1973
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 10 November 1973
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 10 November 1973
- Hindu Festivals 1973 →