🙏 Surya Dev (Sun God)

Makara Sankranti / Pongal

🗓️ Sun enters Makara Rashi (Mid-January)

The story behind Makara Sankranti / Pongal

Makara Sankranti marks the transition of the Sun into Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path, inaugurating Uttarayana (the northward journey of the Sun). It symbolizes the awakening of higher spiritual consciousness, gratitude for the harvest, and the victory of light over darkness.

Makara Sankranti / Pongal Puja Vidhi

  1. 1

    Pratah Snana & Tila Dana

    Take a sacred purifying bath before sunrise, adding black sesame seeds (tila) and Ganga jal to the water.

  2. 2

    Surya Arghya

    Offer water from a copper vessel to Surya Dev while facing east, chanting the Gayatri or Surya Mantra.

  3. 3

    Naivedya Offering

    Offer freshly cooked Khichdi, sesame laddoos, jaggery, and sugarcane to the deity as gratitude for the harvest.

  4. 4

    Dana (Charity)

    Donate warm woolens, grains, and sesame sweets to seekers and those in need.

Makara Sankranti / Pongal Mantra

ॐ सूर्य आत्मा जगतस्तस्थुषश्च। ॐ घृणि सूर्याय नमः॥

Meaning

The Sun is the Soul of all that moves and is motionless. Salutations to the luminous Sun God.

How to chant

Chant 11 or 108 times during the morning Arghya offering while looking toward the rising sun.

When is Makara Sankranti / Pongal?

YearDate
2025Tuesday, 14 January 2025
2026Wednesday, 14 January 2026
2027Thursday, 14 January 2027
2028Friday, 14 January 2028
2029Sunday, 14 January 2029

Dates are computed with the Drik (observational) method from real solar and lunar positions, using sunrise-to-sunrise Tithi assignment for New Delhi.

Does Makara Sankranti / Pongal fall on the same date everywhere?

Makara Sankranti / Pongal begins at the exact moment the Sun crosses into a new zodiac sign — the same instant everywhere on Earth. Which calendar day it's observed on in a given city depends on local convention relative to that instant (in most places, whether it falls before or after that city's own sunrise), so Makara Sankranti / Pongal can land on different dates in different countries even though the underlying moment is the same for everyone.

CityDate
New DelhiWed, 14 January
New YorkTue, January 13
LondonWed 14 January
TorontoTue, January 13
SydneyWed 14 January
DubaiWed, 14 January
SingaporeWed, 14 January

These dates follow the panchang convention computed for each city's own coordinates — they are not a universal verdict. Some temples and communities shift observance to a weekend regardless of the computed date, and published panchang authorities recommend using your own city's panchang rather than a single worldwide date. Confirm with your local temple or community before treating a date as final.

Festivals around Makara Sankranti / Pongal

All Hindu festivals →See the full Vedic calendar →Today's Panchang & muhurtas →

Makara Sankranti / Pongal FAQs

Makara Sankranti / Pongal falls on 14 January 2026, based on Kaala's Drik Panchang calculation for the corresponding Tithi.

Makara Sankranti / Pongal is dated according to the lunar Tithi, not the fixed Gregorian calendar, so its Gregorian date shifts from year to year while its position in the lunar calendar stays consistent.

The astronomical event Makara Sankranti / Pongal marks happens at the same instant everywhere in the world, but which calendar day that instant falls on locally depends on each city's own timing — so cities in different countries can observe Makara Sankranti / Pongal a day apart.