Makar Sankranti 2013
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 moment06:47
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 2013
- Vasant Panchami — 15 February 2013
- Maha Shivaratri — 10 March 2013
- Holika Dahan — 26 March 2013
- Holi — 28 March 2013
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 11 April 2013
- Ram Navami — 19 April 2013
- Akshaya Tritiya — 12 May 2013
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 10 July 2013
- Guru Purnima — 22 July 2013
- Nag Panchami — 12 August 2013
- Raksha Bandhan — 21 August 2013
- Krishna Janmashtami — 28 August 2013
- Hartalika Teej — 8 September 2013
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 9 September 2013
- Anant Chaturdashi — 18 September 2013
- Pitru Paksha begins — 20 September 2013
- Sharad Navratri begins — 5 October 2013
- Durga Ashtami — 12 October 2013
- Maha Navami — 13 October 2013
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 13 October 2013
- Karwa Chauth — 22 October 2013
- Dhanteras — 1 November 2013
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 2 November 2013
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 3 November 2013
- Govardhan Puja — 4 November 2013
- Bhai Dooj — 5 November 2013
- Chhath Puja — 8 November 2013
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 17 November 2013
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 17 November 2013
- Hindu Festivals 2013 →