Monday, January 14, 2013

happy makara sankranti, makara vilakku, pongal, etc.

i am sorry i don't remember the other names for this festival in various parts of india, but this is the day the sun enters the constellation makara (capricorn). 

this is the beginning of uttarayanam. 

bhishma waited for this day on his sara-sayya before he died. 

as i have explained before, the makara sankranti and the winter solstice used to coincide at the time of the kurukshetra war when the kali yuga calendar begins (3102 BCE or thereabouts). however, because of the precession of the equinoxes, the solstice has slowly receded backwards (or the sankranti has moved forward).

a very happy uttarayanam and sankranti to all.

this is the day the makara vilakku festival concludes this year's ayyappa pilgrimage at sabarimala. swamiye saranam ayyappa!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Happy Sankranti...