Sankranti () refers to the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. In ''Saurmana'' ''varsha'' (Hindu Solar year), there are twelve Sankrantis corresponding with twelve months of a year. The Sankrantis can be broadly classified into four main categories: ''Ayan'' (

Solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...

), ''Vishuva'' (

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

), ''Vishnupadi'' and ''Shadshitimukhi'' sankrantis. Each Sankranti is marked as the beginning of a month in the sidereal solar calendars followed in

South Indian South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

states:

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

; Himalayan states:

Jammu region The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

, North Punjab and states of

Eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

region of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. On the other hand, in the sidereal solar

Bengali calendar The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar (, colloquially , or , , "Bangla Year") is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. In contrast to the traditional Indian Hindu calendar, which begins with the month Chait ...

and

Assamese calendar The Assamese Calendar () is a Lunisolar calendar, followed in the Indian state of Assam. The New Year in the Assamese calendar is known as '' Bohag Bihu''. The calendar is counted from the date of the ascension of Kumar Bhashkar Barman to the t ...

, a Sankranti is marked as the end of each month and the day following as the beginning of a new month.

Important Sankrantis

Makar Sankranti Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...

: Marks the transition of the Sun into Makara Râshi (Capricorn) on its celestial path, and the six-month

Uttarayana The term Uttarāyaṇa (commonly Uttarayanam) is derived from two different Sanskrit words – "uttaram" (North) and "ayanam" (movement) – thus indicating the northward movement of the Sun. In the Gregorian calendar, this pertains to the "actu ...

period. Makar Sankranti is also called Uttarayana - the day on which the sun begins his northward journey. The traditional Indian calendar is based on lunar positions, Sankranti is a solar event. The date of Makar Sankranti remains constant over a long term, 14 January or occasionally, 15 January as the Sun begins to rise in Makara Râshi. *

Mesha Sankranti Mesha Sankranti (also called Mesha Sankramana or Hindu Solar New Year) refers to the first day of the solar cycle year, that is the solar New Year in the Hindu Lunisolar calendar, luni-solar calendar. The Hindu calendar also has a lunar new year, ...

: Marks the beginning of the New Year in the traditional

Hindu Solar Calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adop ...

. On this day, the sun enters the sidereal

Aries Aries may refer to: *Aries (astrology), an astrological sign *Aries (constellation), a constellation in the zodiac Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aries'' (album), by Luis Miguel, 1993 * ''Aries'' (EP), by Alice Chater, 2020 * "Aries" (song), ...

, or Mesha Râshi. It generally falls on 14/15 April. Regional New Year festivals also take place on this day:

Vishu Vishu (Malayalam: വിഷു) is a Hindu festival celebrating the Malayali New Year in Kerala, Tulu Nadu, and Mahe of India. Vishu falls on the first day of the month of ''Medam'', the first month of the Solar calendar used in Malabar of ...

Puthandu Puthandu (), also known as Tamil New Year (), is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar that is traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamils. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the solar Hindu calendar, as the first day ...

Bisu Parba Bisu Parba is a new year and harvest festival of Tulunadu. It marks the first day of Paggu, which is the first month of Tulu calendar. It falls in the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar, on 14 or 15 April every year. Background For r ...

Tulu Nadu Tulu Nadu, or Tulunad, is a region and Proposed states and union territories of India, proposed state on the southwestern coast of India. The Tulu people, known as 'Tuluva' (pl. 'Tuluver') are speakers of Tulu language, Tulu, a Dravidian langu ...

region,

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi or Mesadi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April or sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern In ...

in the

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pana Sankranti Maha Bishuba Sankranti (), also known as Pana Sankranti, (), is the traditional new year day festival of Odia people in Odisha, India. The festival occurs in the solar Odia calendar (the lunisolar Hindu calendar followed in Odisha) on the first ...

, Jude Sheetal in

region of Bihar and Satuaan in

Bhojpuri region Bhojpur is a ethnolinguistic and cultural area in the Indian subcontinent where the Bhojpuri language is spoken as a mother tongue. The Bhojpuri region encompasses parts of the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, and the Madhe ...

and on the day after

, is

Pohela Boishakh Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengalis, Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam ( ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

and

Bohag Bihu Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu also called ''Xaat Bihu'' (seven Bihus) is a traditional ethnic festival celebrated in the Northeastern Indian state of Assam and other parts of Northeastern India by the indigenous ethnic groups of Assam, and marks ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

and Avuruddu in Sri Lanka,and Songkran in Southeast Asia * Mithuna Sankranti: celebrated as annual menstruating phase of Mother

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Raja Parba Raja Parba (, ), also known as ''Mithuna Sankranti'', is a three-day-long festival of womanhood celebrated in Odisha, India. The second day of the festival signifies beginning of the solar month of Mithuna, from which the season of rains starts. ...

Ambubachi Mela The Ambubachi Mela () is an annual Hindu mela (gathering) held at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam. This yearly mela is celebrated during the monsoon season that happens to fall during the Assamese month '' Ahaar'', around the middle of Ju ...

in Eastern and North Eastern provinces of India. * Dhanu Sankranti: celebrated on the first day of the solar month. In Southern Bhutan and Nepal it is celebrated by eating wild potatoes (Darul). The 2017 date is December 17. * Karka Sankranti: July 16, marks the transition of the Sun into Karka Râshi (

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

). This also marks the end of the six-month

period on the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes ...

, and the beginning of

Dakshinayana Dakshinayana () is a Hindu astronomical concept that refers to the movement of the sun to the south of the equator, and is also a term that indicates the six-month period between the summer solstice and the winter solstice. Dakshinayana begins on K ...

, which itself end at Makar Sankranti. *Simha Sankranti: It is celebrated on the first day of the solar month on the

i.e.

Bhadrapada Bhadra or Bhadrapada or Bhādo or Bhadraba ( Bengali: ভাদ্র ''bhādro''; Hindi: भादों ''bhādo''; Sanskrit: भाद्रपद ''bhādrapada''; ''Bhādra''; ''Bhādravo''; ''Bhadraba''; ''Bhadô'') is the sixth month ...

. The festival holds special significance in

Ramban district Ramban district is an administrative district in the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kas ...

Jammu division The Jammu division (; ) is a Divisions of India, revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to t ...

. People visit Chandrabhaga river and offer floral offerings. It is popularly known by the name ''Singh Sankrant.'' Local tradition traces the origin of the festival to

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

. *Nol Sankranti: It is celebrated on the first day of the solar month on the

i.e.

Kartik (month) Kārtika (,) is the eighth month of the Hindu calendar, which falls in October and November of the Gregorian calendar. In India's national civil calendar. In most Hindu calendars, Kartika begins with the transit of the Sun into Libra, begin ...

. It is also called Dak Sankranti. Sadh Bhokhon or Godbharai is a special tradition for pregnant Hindu women. Hindu people believe that rice plants are too pregnant from the middle of September to the middle of October, so the farmers arrange a ritual for good production of paddy like the production of the Nol plant. Borassus flabellifer seeds are used as prasad. The festival holds special significance in West Bengal and Assam state.

References

External links

{{Hindu festivals Hindu calendar Hindu astronomy Hindu festivals January observances February observances March observances April observances May observances June observances July observances August observances September observances October observances November observances December observances

Important Sankrantis

See also

References

External links