Makara Sankranti Festivals - संक्रांति
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Place: Most of India
Time: Usually fall on January 14th. January
Significance: Celebration of spring.
Makara Sankranti is celebrated in the month of Magh and is a harvest festival. It is a celebration of spring on the occasion of the 'ascent' of the sun to the north (Uttarayana). In Maharashtra, Karnataka as well as parts of Andhra, Makara Sankranti is a day of good will and friendship. People exchange pieces of sugar-cane, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram as a symbol of the need to be generous and kind to everyone.
Cows and bulls are washed, their horns painted in bright colours and garlands hung round their necks after which they are taken out in a procession to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. A bonfire is lit at night over which the animals are made to jump.
In the north, during Makara Sankranti it is considered particularly auspicious to bathe at the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Jamuna in Allahabad, known as Prayag and also in Ganga Sagar where the Ganga river confluence with the Bay of Bengal. The festival starts with bathing in the ponds or rivers and offering water to the Sun God (Surya) and giving alms to the poor. Bhojya daan (charity of raw food) to the Brahmin is customary on this day. The Bhojya daan consists of an uncooked mixture of rice, dal (lentil) ghee - melted butter, cooking oil, salt and Til (sesame seeds) ke Ladoos - a sweet preparation. The Bhojya is first dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Surya and then is offered to the poor. Such deeds earn special and lasting merit and assure one a place in heaven, so goes the belief. Women wear new clothes, new glass bangles and hold get-together to share sweets and gifts. A new bride is given ornaments made of sugar drops and her new relatives are invited to meet and welcome her at a Haldi (Turmeric) - Kumkum (Red Vermilion Powder) celebration.
Melas (fairs) on Makar Sankranti day are held in different places, usually near temples or water source. In many cities of the north India observe kite-flying competitions on this day near riverbanks, ponds and in big fields. In Tamil Nadu, Makara Sankranti is celebrated as Pongal and in Punjab as Lohri.
The name Sankranti is a general one given to the day on which the sun passes from one sign of the Zodiac (rasi) to another; yet it has a restricted application and special reference to the day on which the sun enters the house called Makara (Capricornus) in the Tamil month of Tai corresponding to the English months of January- February. The occasion is called 'Makara Sankranti though the Tamil- speaking people call it 'Pongal Pandigai' for the reason that the newly harvested rice is first cooked and this preparation goes by the name pongal.
It is laid down in the Hindu scriptures that food should be cookded not with the object of eating but only to serve the purpose of a sacrifice and an offering to God. The remnant of the food, if any, after the sacrifice, may be eaten. Hence the newly harvested rice is cooked as an offering to the sun whose vitality, going by the different names of electricity, magnetism, and so forth, nourishes everything in the world, both in the vegetable and animal kingdoms.
Though the sun is worshipped primarily and chiefly on this occasion, yet the other elements favouring the increase of the flock and the produce of the crops are not ignored. Vayu, the god of wind, is worshipped on the occasion, since he is the lord of the lord of the monsoons without which no rain is possible. The tutelary deity of the family called the 'Griha Devata' is also worshipped to ensure a happy life in the house, and the worship goes by the name of 'Vastu Puja'
An open courtyard is a sine qua non in all houses of a South Indian village, to perform marriages in, for exposing grain and other things to the sun for drying, and so on. In this courtyard a spot where the bright sunlight falls is chosen for the performance of the Puja. The place is well scrubbed, cleaned and washed with cowdung mixed with water. A lotus patera with octagonal petals is designed with powdered rice deftly scattered by the ladies of the house with their forefingers and thumbs. The centre of this is graced with their design of the Sun god, with his consorts Samja and Chaya, the former the daughter of the divine architect Viswakarma, and the latter her exact replica. The interesting myth relating to the two consorts of the sin is as follows:
Samja, unable to endure the effulgence of her lord, the sun, went into the forest to perform penance with a view to obtain sufficient strength to withstand the same, leaving her Chaya (shadow) in her place. The sun, however, came to know of the change effect by Samja, and consequently went in quest of her. On the way, he found a beautiful mare and immediately fell in love with it. Metamorphosing himself into a horse he had union with that mare and the two Aswins of the Hindu mythology were the fruits of this union, and they are said to be the foremost physicians of the universe.
The children- a son and a daughter- born of Samja are Yama, the god of death, and Yamuna, the goddess of the river of that name.
The consort Chaya, too, had issues born to her, and they were a son and a daughter. The former is the planet Saturn, and the latter is the river Tapti.
When Samja went to perform tapas (penance), she left her two children Yama and Yamuna with Chaya, the co-wife of the sun, with the request that they might be taken care of, and treated with kindness. Chaya did treat them with kindness until her own children were born, after which she began to ill-treat Samja's children.
Yama would not brook the partiality shown by Chaya to her children and the injustice done to him and his sister. Consequently he kicked his stepmother with his foot in anger, who thereupon cursed him, saying that the foot raised to kick her should become a mass of rotten flesh infested with loathsome worms. Yama then approached his father and represented to him the injustice and unfair treatment meted out to him and his sister by Chaya and the curse leveled at him by her when he kicked her in protest.
As curses from parents could not be easily undone, the sun mitigated the evil by countermanding the curse and reducing the result to that of worms falling down with bits of flesh instead of permanently infesting the flesh in the foot and giving trouble.
As Yama always espoused the cause of justice and was found to be highly impartial in dealing with one and all, he won the name of 'Dharma Raja', the king of justice, and was appointed to hold sway over the realms of the dead, where he administers justice without any partiality. No one who commits a sin can escape his punishment, and the punishment inflicted is, in each case, very just.
The myth is said to be a profound allegory containing deep spiritual truth just as the allegory of 'sin and death' in Milton's Paradise Lost. In fact, almost all the Hindu myths are allegories. One should pierce through the veil of words to understand the real significance conveyed in the myths.
A bath in certain sacred rivers such as the Cauvery on the auspicious and sacred occasion of 'Makara Sankramana Punyakalam' is considered highly meritorious. People therefore flock in large numbers on this occasion every year at Tiruvadi near Tanjore, considered specially important by the ancient Hindus, as well as in the river Tamparaparni and in the sea at Vedaranyam. A sage named Hemarishi is said to have prayed to Vishnu on the banks of the tank called 'Pottamarai Kulam' meaning the tank of gold lotuses, in the Sri Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam on one such auspicious occasion and was blessed with the sight of the lord of the temple, Sarangapani, in response to his prayers. Further the god Sundareswara of Madurai is said to have performed a miracle, appearing as a magician (siddhar) before the multitude and making a stone image of an elephant eat sugarcanes, on a particular Sankranto day!
There is a stone inscription in the south of the vimanam of the Viraragave temple at Tiruvallur near Madras. It relates to the granting of land by Chola king Kulottunga for Makara Sankramana festival, in the fifth year of his reign.
Time: Usually fall on January 14th. January
Significance: Celebration of spring.
Makara Sankranti is celebrated in the month of Magh and is a harvest festival. It is a celebration of spring on the occasion of the 'ascent' of the sun to the north (Uttarayana). In Maharashtra, Karnataka as well as parts of Andhra, Makara Sankranti is a day of good will and friendship. People exchange pieces of sugar-cane, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram as a symbol of the need to be generous and kind to everyone.
Cows and bulls are washed, their horns painted in bright colours and garlands hung round their necks after which they are taken out in a procession to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. A bonfire is lit at night over which the animals are made to jump.
In the north, during Makara Sankranti it is considered particularly auspicious to bathe at the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Jamuna in Allahabad, known as Prayag and also in Ganga Sagar where the Ganga river confluence with the Bay of Bengal. The festival starts with bathing in the ponds or rivers and offering water to the Sun God (Surya) and giving alms to the poor. Bhojya daan (charity of raw food) to the Brahmin is customary on this day. The Bhojya daan consists of an uncooked mixture of rice, dal (lentil) ghee - melted butter, cooking oil, salt and Til (sesame seeds) ke Ladoos - a sweet preparation. The Bhojya is first dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Surya and then is offered to the poor. Such deeds earn special and lasting merit and assure one a place in heaven, so goes the belief. Women wear new clothes, new glass bangles and hold get-together to share sweets and gifts. A new bride is given ornaments made of sugar drops and her new relatives are invited to meet and welcome her at a Haldi (Turmeric) - Kumkum (Red Vermilion Powder) celebration.
Melas (fairs) on Makar Sankranti day are held in different places, usually near temples or water source. In many cities of the north India observe kite-flying competitions on this day near riverbanks, ponds and in big fields. In Tamil Nadu, Makara Sankranti is celebrated as Pongal and in Punjab as Lohri.
The name Sankranti is a general one given to the day on which the sun passes from one sign of the Zodiac (rasi) to another; yet it has a restricted application and special reference to the day on which the sun enters the house called Makara (Capricornus) in the Tamil month of Tai corresponding to the English months of January- February. The occasion is called 'Makara Sankranti though the Tamil- speaking people call it 'Pongal Pandigai' for the reason that the newly harvested rice is first cooked and this preparation goes by the name pongal.
It is laid down in the Hindu scriptures that food should be cookded not with the object of eating but only to serve the purpose of a sacrifice and an offering to God. The remnant of the food, if any, after the sacrifice, may be eaten. Hence the newly harvested rice is cooked as an offering to the sun whose vitality, going by the different names of electricity, magnetism, and so forth, nourishes everything in the world, both in the vegetable and animal kingdoms.
Though the sun is worshipped primarily and chiefly on this occasion, yet the other elements favouring the increase of the flock and the produce of the crops are not ignored. Vayu, the god of wind, is worshipped on the occasion, since he is the lord of the lord of the monsoons without which no rain is possible. The tutelary deity of the family called the 'Griha Devata' is also worshipped to ensure a happy life in the house, and the worship goes by the name of 'Vastu Puja'
An open courtyard is a sine qua non in all houses of a South Indian village, to perform marriages in, for exposing grain and other things to the sun for drying, and so on. In this courtyard a spot where the bright sunlight falls is chosen for the performance of the Puja. The place is well scrubbed, cleaned and washed with cowdung mixed with water. A lotus patera with octagonal petals is designed with powdered rice deftly scattered by the ladies of the house with their forefingers and thumbs. The centre of this is graced with their design of the Sun god, with his consorts Samja and Chaya, the former the daughter of the divine architect Viswakarma, and the latter her exact replica. The interesting myth relating to the two consorts of the sin is as follows:
Samja, unable to endure the effulgence of her lord, the sun, went into the forest to perform penance with a view to obtain sufficient strength to withstand the same, leaving her Chaya (shadow) in her place. The sun, however, came to know of the change effect by Samja, and consequently went in quest of her. On the way, he found a beautiful mare and immediately fell in love with it. Metamorphosing himself into a horse he had union with that mare and the two Aswins of the Hindu mythology were the fruits of this union, and they are said to be the foremost physicians of the universe.
The children- a son and a daughter- born of Samja are Yama, the god of death, and Yamuna, the goddess of the river of that name.
The consort Chaya, too, had issues born to her, and they were a son and a daughter. The former is the planet Saturn, and the latter is the river Tapti.
When Samja went to perform tapas (penance), she left her two children Yama and Yamuna with Chaya, the co-wife of the sun, with the request that they might be taken care of, and treated with kindness. Chaya did treat them with kindness until her own children were born, after which she began to ill-treat Samja's children.
Yama would not brook the partiality shown by Chaya to her children and the injustice done to him and his sister. Consequently he kicked his stepmother with his foot in anger, who thereupon cursed him, saying that the foot raised to kick her should become a mass of rotten flesh infested with loathsome worms. Yama then approached his father and represented to him the injustice and unfair treatment meted out to him and his sister by Chaya and the curse leveled at him by her when he kicked her in protest.
As curses from parents could not be easily undone, the sun mitigated the evil by countermanding the curse and reducing the result to that of worms falling down with bits of flesh instead of permanently infesting the flesh in the foot and giving trouble.
As Yama always espoused the cause of justice and was found to be highly impartial in dealing with one and all, he won the name of 'Dharma Raja', the king of justice, and was appointed to hold sway over the realms of the dead, where he administers justice without any partiality. No one who commits a sin can escape his punishment, and the punishment inflicted is, in each case, very just.
The myth is said to be a profound allegory containing deep spiritual truth just as the allegory of 'sin and death' in Milton's Paradise Lost. In fact, almost all the Hindu myths are allegories. One should pierce through the veil of words to understand the real significance conveyed in the myths.
A bath in certain sacred rivers such as the Cauvery on the auspicious and sacred occasion of 'Makara Sankramana Punyakalam' is considered highly meritorious. People therefore flock in large numbers on this occasion every year at Tiruvadi near Tanjore, considered specially important by the ancient Hindus, as well as in the river Tamparaparni and in the sea at Vedaranyam. A sage named Hemarishi is said to have prayed to Vishnu on the banks of the tank called 'Pottamarai Kulam' meaning the tank of gold lotuses, in the Sri Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam on one such auspicious occasion and was blessed with the sight of the lord of the temple, Sarangapani, in response to his prayers. Further the god Sundareswara of Madurai is said to have performed a miracle, appearing as a magician (siddhar) before the multitude and making a stone image of an elephant eat sugarcanes, on a particular Sankranto day!
There is a stone inscription in the south of the vimanam of the Viraragave temple at Tiruvallur near Madras. It relates to the granting of land by Chola king Kulottunga for Makara Sankramana festival, in the fifth year of his reign.