Makara is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Capricorn, and overlaps with about the later half of January and approximately early half of February in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

. In Vedic texts, the Makara month is called Sahasya (IAST: Sahasya), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Makara overlaps with its lunar month Magha, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Makara marks the month with lengthening day lengths on the Indian subcontinent. It is preceded by the solar month of Dhanu, and followed by the solar month of

Kumbha A kumbha ( sa, कुम्भ) is a type of pottery in India. Traditionally, it is made by Kumbhars, also known as ''Prajapati''s. In the context of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology, the kumbha symbolises the womb. It represents fertility, ...

. The start of this month is almost always January 14, the day of the

Makara Sankranti Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sag ...

festival, and periodically the

Kumbh Mela Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati (Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad ( ...

. The Makara month is called ''Tai'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Makara, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Vrschika to be 29 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of the Vrschika month to be 29 days, 10 hours, 57 minutes and 35 seconds. Makara (crocodile or half animal-half fish being) is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to Capricorn (astrology). Makara is also the fourth month in the

Darian calendar The Darian calendar is a proposed system of timekeeping designed to serve the needs of any possible future human settlers on the planet Mars. It was created by aerospace engineer, political scientist, and space jurist Thomas Gangale in 1985 and ...

for

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, when the Sun the Sun traverses the eastern sector of the constellation Capricornus as seen from Mars.

References

Hindu solar months {{Hinduism-stub