SANKRANTI
Grain come home… celebrated every year on 14th of January is Makara
Sankranti with all pomposity, marking the auspicious entry of Sun into the Makara Rasi
( month of Pushya) and good times ahead. It is the only Hindu festival where the
lunar calendar matches with the regular one.
Why Sankranti ?
"Sankranti", literally meaning
‘Transition’, is celebrated in the Telugu month of Pushya, corresponding with
the solar equinox when the days begin to lengthen and the nights begin to wane. This marks
the northward passage of the Sun through Winter solstice and cessation of the Northeast
monsoon in South India. Sankranti thus heralds warmer summer months.
Sankranti, primarily a harvest festival, is
celebrated on the eve of the onset of harvesting season and the new grain come home…
when the farmers reap the benefits of their hard labour. Hindus, thus express their
gratitude to the elements of nature, which help nurture and enrich human lives in this
three-day long festival.
Scientifically recognising nature’s
cycles, the festival helps keep the physical and spiritual self in line with it. It thus
can be termed a classic example of "Sanathana Dharma", which propounds
the concept of living in harmony with nature. The Sankranti season ends with Ratha
Saptami, the seventh day of the bright half of Magha, when the Sun and his gold
chariot are honoured.
The entry of Sun into the Makara rasi
that happens on the day of Makara Sankranti is considered to be auspicious since it marks
the beginning of Uttarayana. According to Hindu mythology, this is when the day of
the Gods begin after six-month long night. Astrologically also, Sun as a planet is said to
become stronger in this phase.
Legend says that ‘Bheeshma’ of
Mahabharatha, chose to die in Uttarayana and hence waited for it to arrive on his deathbed
of arrows in the battlefield. The period is said to be auspicious since it is believed
that those who die then gain immediate ‘self-realisation’ and will never have to
take birth again.
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