Makar Sankranti 2006
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 moment11:41
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 2006
- Vasant Panchami — 2 February 2006
- Maha Shivaratri — 26 February 2006
- Holika Dahan — 14 March 2006
- Holi — 15 March 2006
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 30 March 2006
- Ram Navami — 6 April 2006
- Akshaya Tritiya — 30 April 2006
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 27 June 2006
- Guru Purnima — 11 July 2006
- Nag Panchami — 30 July 2006
- Raksha Bandhan — 9 August 2006
- Krishna Janmashtami — 15 August 2006
- Hartalika Teej — 27 August 2006
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 27 August 2006
- Anant Chaturdashi — 6 September 2006
- Pitru Paksha begins — 8 September 2006
- Sharad Navratri begins — 23 September 2006
- Durga Ashtami — 30 September 2006
- Maha Navami — 1 October 2006
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 2 October 2006
- Karwa Chauth — 10 October 2006
- Dhanteras — 19 October 2006
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 20 October 2006
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 21 October 2006
- Govardhan Puja — 23 October 2006
- Bhai Dooj — 24 October 2006
- Chhath Puja — 28 October 2006
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 5 November 2006
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 5 November 2006
- Hindu Festivals 2006 →