Makar Sankranti 1986
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 moment08:35
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 1986
- Vasant Panchami — 13 February 1986
- Maha Shivaratri — 8 March 1986
- Holika Dahan — 25 March 1986
- Holi — 27 March 1986
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 10 April 1986
- Ram Navami — 18 April 1986
- Akshaya Tritiya — 11 May 1986
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 9 July 1986
- Guru Purnima — 21 July 1986
- Nag Panchami — 10 August 1986
- Raksha Bandhan — 19 August 1986
- Krishna Janmashtami — 27 August 1986
- Hartalika Teej — 7 September 1986
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 7 September 1986
- Anant Chaturdashi — 17 September 1986
- Pitru Paksha begins — 19 September 1986
- Sharad Navratri begins — 4 October 1986
- Durga Ashtami — 10 October 1986
- Maha Navami — 11 October 1986
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 12 October 1986
- Karwa Chauth — 21 October 1986
- Dhanteras — 30 October 1986
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 1 November 1986
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 1 November 1986
- Govardhan Puja — 3 November 1986
- Bhai Dooj — 3 November 1986
- Chhath Puja — 7 November 1986
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 16 November 1986
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 16 November 1986
- Hindu Festivals 1986 →