Makar Sankranti 2001
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 moment04:55
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 2001
- Vasant Panchami — 29 January 2001
- Maha Shivaratri — 21 February 2001
- Holika Dahan — 9 March 2001
- Holi — 10 March 2001
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 26 March 2001
- Ram Navami — 2 April 2001
- Akshaya Tritiya — 26 April 2001
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 23 June 2001
- Guru Purnima — 5 July 2001
- Nag Panchami — 25 July 2001
- Raksha Bandhan — 4 August 2001
- Krishna Janmashtami — 12 August 2001
- Hartalika Teej — 21 August 2001
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 22 August 2001
- Anant Chaturdashi — 1 September 2001
- Pitru Paksha begins — 3 October 2001
- Sharad Navratri begins — 17 October 2001
- Durga Ashtami — 24 October 2001
- Maha Navami — 25 October 2001
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 26 October 2001
- Karwa Chauth — 4 November 2001
- Dhanteras — 12 November 2001
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 14 November 2001
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 14 November 2001
- Govardhan Puja — 16 November 2001
- Bhai Dooj — 17 November 2001
- Chhath Puja — 21 November 2001
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 30 November 2001
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 30 November 2001
- Hindu Festivals 2001 →