Festival
Makar Sankranti
The sun turns north — kites, til-gul and holy dips as Uttarayan begins.
Significance
Makar Sankranti marks the sun's entry into Makara (Capricorn) and the beginning of Uttarayan, its northward journey — one of the few Hindu festivals fixed to the solar calendar. It is thanksgiving to Surya: for the harvest gathered and the longer days returning.
Every region keeps it its own way — Pongal in the south, Lohri the night before in Punjab, kites over Gujarat, til-gul in Maharashtra with the words "til-gul ghya, god god bola" — take this sweet, speak sweetly.
How it is celebrated
- Take a holy dip in a river at dawn; offer arghya to Surya.
- Recite the Surya Mantra or Aditya Hridaya.
- Share til-gul (sesame-jaggery) sweets.
- Fly kites; give daan of khichdi, til and warm clothes.
Prayers for Surya
English
Shree Suryadev Aarti (1)
Om Jai Surya Bhagwan,
English
Shree Suryadev Aarti (2)
Om Jai Kashyap-Nandan,
English
Shree Suryadev Aarti (3)
Jai Jai Jai Ravidev,
English
Shree Suryadev Aarti (4)
Jay Jay Jagatmaharana Dinakar Sukhakiraana ।
English
Shree Suryadev Chalisa (1)
Shri Raviharat Aa Horat Tame,
English
Shree Suryadev Chalisa (2)
Kanaka Badana Kundala Makara,
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