Makar Sankranti Uttarayani Festival 15th January 2024

Bring Home Prosperity With Makar Sankranti Festival

Makar Sankranti: An Introduction

Since ages, there has been a great Hindu tradition of festivals in India which are based on human welfare. In the same way, the festival of Makar Sankranti 2024 is celebrated throughout the country in some way or the other. It is a very sacred, ancient, and highly celebrated festival of the Hindus. This Festival is so much filled with a sacredness that it even illuminates the life of a person who is completely surrounded by darkness and negativity. In all the scriptures like Vedas, Puranas etc., we find a detailed description of the existing and well being of every being in the universe. Vedas and Puranas clearly mention that we all are a soul(being). We are fortunate to get a life in the human form, but this is not going to remain eternally. Hence we have to devote our lives towards performing good deeds. Some good deeds like generosity, righteousness, spirituality, charity, sacred bath, devotion, meditation, and worship etc. helps us to attain a positive and healthy body and mind. Despite this, we do not find it always feasible to perform these deeds with comfort. This can be seen on many occasions in the normal life. Hence, to motivate everyone to perform sacred bath, charity, and other rituals on an auspicious day to get auspicious results, we celebrate the festival of Makar Sankranti or Kite Festival.

Makara Sankranti: The major festival of the Hindus

Makar Sankranti is a famous hindu festival of India. It is so vital that its reference can be easily found in one form or the other in the epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata and in the Puranic literature. Goswami Tulasidas in his RamcharitManas writes “Maaghmakargati jab ravihoee, teerathapatihiaavtahaansoee.” Which means that in the month of Maagha, when the Sun enters the Capricorn Zodiac, the lord of all sacred places resides in the Ganges and other holy spots. This shows that Holy bath and charity are of prime importance during the fest of Sankranti. Similarly, Pitamaha Bheeshma, during the era of Mahabharata, did not give up his mortal body until the Sun moved to the Uttaraayana despite being on the deathbed. As soon as Lord Sun enters the Capricorn sign, his movement is called as “Uttarayani”. This infuses incredibly positive energy into the atmosphere. The doors of Vaikuntha also opens during Uttarayana. Because of this, Bheeshma attained heavens when the doors were open during the Sankranti. This is the reason that Uttarayana is also called as Deva kaala or the time of gods. Hence, this is an auspicious time to conduct rituals related to Shanti, push, yajnas and other auspicious ceremonies like marriage etc.

Why is Makara Sankranti celebrated?

Makara Sankranti has high importance from the religious point of view as well as from the scientific point of view. During this phase, the water of Ganges and other rivers is fortified with a variety of herbs which helps one to get rid of the skin and other diseases. Sankranti is very vital from the astrological point of view as well. This period is the transition phase of the Sun to the Capricorn. Because of this, it is known as “Makara Sankranti”.  The transit of Sun in the sign ruled by Saturn is very efficacious. According to the astrological calculations, the Uttarayana movement of Lord Surya is considered from the transit into the Capricorn zodiac onwards. Though all the planets change their signs by transits, the transits of the Sun are of prime importance in the astrology. Sun transits various zodiac signs at fixed intervals. The transition of the planet in a different sign is called as Sankranti. This is related to the transit of the planets. The atmosphere is very positive at this time. In the agriculture-dominated country of India, lands are filled with very good crops. This is very auspicious for the farmers and pupil of the country. In terms of health, a variety of dry fruits, revari, gajak, groundnut, layi, gram, jowar, millets, sorghum, maize, gingelly, and a variety of other grains are particularly helpful during the winter from a health point of view. For example, during the arrival of this hindu festival, people donate and gift warm clothes and grains. Where bathing in the sacred waters is helpful for a clean body, consuming grains that generate warmth are good for keeping the body healthy.

Ganga Snaan On Maraka Sankranti:

Bathing in the sacred places including the Ganges is of core importance during the Sankranti. As per the Pauranic legends, one can get rid of the bad karmas accumulated in the past lives by taking holy baths at sacred pilgrim places when Lord Sun enters the Capricorn in the month of Maagha. One also gets rid of diseases, sorrows, pain and progresses on the balanced path of happiness. Due to the sacredness of the holy Ganges and other sacred places, one attains physical beauty and chasteness of the mind. Sipping the sacred waters of rivers like Ganga gives desired results to every man and woman. This festival is not only celebrated in India but in various countries around the world, including the neighboring country Nepal. It is celebrated with different names across the country like Lohri in Punjab and Haryana, Khichri in the Uttar Pradesh with a lot of enthusiasm. On the occasion of Sankranti, people of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other regions take the sacred bath with a lot of devotion and faith. They earn good karma by donating warmer clothes for winter and various delicacies to the needy. During this great carnival, a big fair is conducted at Allahabad known as Maaghmela. On the eve of this sacred festival, various fairs and wrestling contests are conducted in different places across the country. Among the fairs, the Ganga Sagar fair of Bengal is very famous. There is the amazing glory of taking a sacred dip at the Gangasagar during Sankranti.

The historical significance of the Great Makar Sankranti Festival 2024:

The history of Makar Sankranti is very ancient. This festival is also called “Sanatana” and “Puratana” festival. This is because of the fact that the history of this festival is as old as the history of Vedic astrology and as old as the evolution of humans on the Earth. This festival is as ancient as the scriptures like Puranas, Mahabharata, and Ramayana. As per the Puranic legend, Lord Shani (Saturn) is believed as the son of Lord Surya (Sun). During this time, Sun is close to his son Lord Shani.  Also, during this time, Sun is nearer to India as he enters into Uttarayani (Northern Hemisphere).  Because of this, we receive a higher degree of energy from the Sun which enhances the growth of grains in the crops. So we can clearly see that Makar Sankranti or Maghi is a very auspicious festival not only with respect to religion but also as per the social, scientific, and historical point of view.

Like every year, this year also Makar Sankranti 2024 will be celebrated throughout the country on Magha Krishna paksha Dwitiya, the 15^th of January 2024, on Monday. On this sacred occasion, one must perform a special pooja to Lord Suryanarayana a clean place after finishing bathing etc. One must chant the mantras, take the holy bath, do charity, and meditation as per his capacity. During the occasion of Sankranti, one must avoid acts like marriage, intercourse, oiling the body, shaving/cutting, and initiating new ventures. It is believed that donating jaggery, ghee, sugar etc. at a religious place will enrich one’s life and also the life after death. Regarding the positive and negative impacts of this event on an individual, it can be foreseen by analyzing the planetary positions of an individual. This Sankranti will be relatively better for cruel people. But those who believe in God could try to derive the positive results by doing sacred baths and charity. Makara Sankranti is very important in terms of religion, but also it is a key festival in terms of entertainment. On this day of 15^th January, there is a custom of flying the kites not only in India but many other countries as well. Hence, Makar Sankranti 2024 or Maghi is a very important festival for the Hindus. Every person can make the best of this sacred festival to make his life more prosperous.  For Detailed Analysis based on individual charts, you can get the Horoscope Reading here.

Don’t forget to read: Vikram Samvatsara Or Hindu New Year and About Vaisakhi Festival and Surya Shashti Vrat