Makar Sankranti 2027 — Date, Punya Kaal & Celebrations

Makar Sankranti 2027 falls on Friday, January 15, 2027 — the solar festival marking the Sun's transit (Sankranti) from Sagittarius (Dhanu) into Capricorn (Makar Rashi). Unlike most Hindu festivals determined by the lunar calendar, Makar Sankranti follows the solar calendar and falls on January 14 or 15, depending on the exact moment the Sun enters Capricorn. The Punya Kaal for 2027 runs from 07:15 AM to 5:46 PM IST on January 15 (per Drik Panchang, New Delhi) in New Delhi — the auspicious window for bathing in sacred rivers, charity (daan), and sesame-jaggery (til-gur) offerings.

Makar Sankranti 2027 marks the Sun's entry into its exaltation sign's 10th house relationship with Capricorn — the beginning of Uttarayan, the six-month northward journey of the Sun that the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 8, verse 24) identifies as the path of light and liberation for souls departing the body.

Reviewed by Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, M.A. Sanskrit & Vedic Studies, Varanasi, with 20+ years of practice in Vedic festival traditions.

Understand how the Sun's transit into Capricorn affects your birth chart's Saturn-ruled houses with the free birth chart calculator.

Makar Sankranti 2027 is on Friday, January 15. It is a solar festival — the date is fixed by the Sun's astronomical transit into Capricorn and does not shift with the lunar calendar. The Sun enters Makar Rashi at 9:14 PM IST on January 14, 2027 — after sunset — so the Punya Kaal and all observances move to the daylight hours of January 15.

Year | Date | Day | Punya Kaal (New Delhi)

1. 2025 | January 14 | Tuesday | 09:03 – 17:45 IST
2. 2026 | January 14 | Wednesday | 15:13 – 17:45 IST
3. 2027 | January 15 | Friday | 07:15 – 17:46 IST
4. 2028 | January 15 | Saturday | see drikpanchang.com

Note: in both 2027 and 2028 the Sun's Capricorn transit falls after sunset, moving the observance to January 15.

The Punya Kaal for Makar Sankranti 2027 in New Delhi is 09:04 to 17:44 IST — a window of 8 hours and 40 minutes. Within this period, the Maha Punya Kaal (the most auspicious sub-window) runs 07:15–09:00 AM on January 15 (per Drik Panchang, New Delhi). All religious actions — snan (ritual bath), daan (charity), tarpan (ancestor offering), and japa — performed during Punya Kaal carry elevated merit. The Dharmasindhu specifies that charity given during Sankranti's Punya Kaal is equivalent to a year's worth of regular charitable giving.

Makar Sankranti 2027 Punya Kaal by City

City | Punya Kaal | Maha Punya Kaal

1. New Delhi | 07:15 – 17:46 IST | 07:15 – 09:00
2. City-wise Punya Kaal windows vary — verify your city at drikpanchang.com.
6. Prayagraj | 09:04 – 17:39 IST | 09:04 – 10:34
8. Haridwar | 09:04 – 17:40 IST | 09:04 – 10:34

Because the 2027 transit falls after sunset on January 14, the observance moves to January 15; panchangs also close the Punya Kaal differently (sunset-bound vs 40-ghati rules). Verify your city at drikpanchang.com.

Makar Sankranti carries significance at three levels — astronomical, agricultural, and spiritual:

Astronomical: The Sun's transit into Capricorn ends Dakshinayan (the Sun's southward movement, associated with the night of the gods) and begins Uttarayan (northward movement, the day of the gods). The Bhagavad Gita (8.24–25) identifies Uttarayan as the path of Brahma — the path of smoke/fire and light through which liberated souls do not return. Those who die during Uttarayan are said to attain moksha; during Dakshinayan, rebirth. Bhishma Pitamah, having the boon of choosing his death moment, waited on his bed of arrows through Dakshinayan until Uttarayan began before departing.

Agricultural: Makar Sankranti marks the post-winter harvest. The primary crop — sugarcane, sesame, rice — is harvested by mid-January. Khichdi (rice-lentil-ghee porridge) offered to the Sun on this day was originally a harvest thanksgiving meal made from the season's first rice. The entire festival is centered on sesame (til), which generates body heat in winter and represents both the Sun's energy and ancestral merit (til is the sacred grain of ancestors in the Mahabharata Anusha sana Parva).

Spiritual: The conjunction of the Sun (soul, father) entering Saturn's sign (Capricorn) is one of the most significant planetary relationships in Vedic astrology. The son (Sun) visiting the father's house (Saturn rules Capricorn) creates a specific energy for resolving karmic debts, honoring ancestors, and clarifying one's life purpose.

The Mahabharata (Anushana Parva) identifies sesame as the food of pitrs (ancestors) — it is the grain they most value as an offering. The ritual sequence during Makar Sankranti: offer til to the Sun in water (Surya arghya), eat til-gur (sesame-jaggery), distribute til-gur to neighbors, and use til in the sacred fire (havan). Sesame's oil generates internal heat — the original ayurvedic rationale for its prominence in the cold month of Pausha.

The exchange of til-gur in Maharashtra comes with the traditional phrase "til-gul ghya, god god bola" ("take sesame-jaggery, speak sweetly") — a prescription for community sweetness and forgiveness at the year's solar turning point.

The 8-step observance for January 15, 2027:

1. Wake before sunrise; complete a full bath (ideally in a river, sacred tank, or home with sesame oil added to water) 2. Prepare til-gur (sesame-jaggery balls or chikki) and khichdi the night before 3. At sunrise (approx. 07:15 IST, New Delhi): offer Surya arghya — water poured through joined palms toward the rising Sun, with sesame seeds in the water, while chanting Om Suryaya Namah 12 times 4. During Maha Punya Kaal (07:15–09:00 AM): perform daan — donate sesame, blankets, rice, warm clothes, or money to the underprivileged or to a temple 5. Offer khichdi to the Sun before eating it yourself 6. Distribute til-gur to family, friends, and neighbors 7. In kite-flying regions (Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP): fly kites as a tradition connected to Uttarayan's solar energy 8. Recite the Aditya Hridayam (from the Valmiki Ramayana) — the Sun's comprehensive praise hymn, especially potent on Makar Sankranti

Makar Sankranti has more regional names and traditions than almost any other Hindu festival:

• Uttarayan (Gujarat, Rajasthan): International kite festival; cities like Ahmedabad host massive kite-flying events from sunrise; the sky is filled with millions of kites
• Pongal (Tamil Nadu): 4-day harvest festival; Makar Sankranti is the second day (Surya Pongal); sugarcane, coconut, and new rice are offered to the Sun
• Lohri (Punjab, Haryana): Celebrated on the eve of Makar Sankranti with a bonfire; sesame seeds, popcorn, and peanuts are thrown into the fire
• Magh Bihu (Assam): Bonfire festival with community feasting; traditional rice cakes (pitha) are the signature food
• Khichdi Parva (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar): The festival is named after the ritual khichdi offering; Gorakhpur's Gorakhnath Temple receives the largest khichdi daan in India

When the Sun enters Capricorn, it enters the sign ruled by Saturn — its inimical planet. The Sun (father, soul, authority) in Saturn's sign (karma, discipline, service) is the most significant annual father-son planetary meeting in Vedic astrology. Practitioners use this transit to consciously work on:

• Saturn remedies: The Sun's transit activates Saturn-ruled areas — career, discipline, karmic debts. Makar Sankranti is the most potent annual day for Saturn propitiation.
• Pitru tarpan: Offering water to ancestors with sesame during Punya Kaal is the annual solar-cycle tarpan — distinct from Pitru Paksha (the lunar cycle tarpan).
• Uttarayan period: The 6-month northward journey of the Sun (Jan 14–Jul 16) is the auspicious half of the year for all new beginnings, marriages, and major life decisions.

Check how the Sun's transit through your Capricorn house affects your career and karma with the birth chart calculator.

Makar Sankranti is a gazetted public holiday in Gujarat (Uttarayan), Tamil Nadu (Pongal — 4-day holiday), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Assam (Magh Bihu). In Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh it is a restricted (optional) holiday. Punjab observes Lohri (the eve of Sankranti) as a public holiday instead. January 15 is also Army Day — a national observance that sometimes creates a longer weekend.