Sankrant for Young Buzz

8/8/2019 Sankrant for Young Buzz

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sankrant-for-young-buzz 1/3

MAKAR SANKRANTI - A FESTIVAL MARKED BY ASTRONOMY

Today is 15th January 2011…A festival of Makar Sankranti will be celebrated across thecountry. Why we celebrate this festival and we know that it arrives on 14th January every

year… then why on 15th

January this year? What has happened to our almanac suddenly?Let us discuss this interesting question by understanding the magic and logic behind MakarSankranti.

We now know that Earth moves around its axis every day from west to east. Due to thismovement it appears that the Sun, stars and planets are moving in the sky from east towest...one of the greatest illusions of nature. If you observe bit carefully then you willnotice another interesting movement in the sky…the movement of the Sun. Sun does notrise at east and sets at west everyday…but shifts towards north-east and south-east in anorderly manner. We will talk about this interesting phenomenon today.

Do a small experiment. Wake up early every daybefore sunrise and mark with a chalk on the windowpane the rising sun’s position. Do it daily for a month.

Then go on doing it continuously for next six months.What will you see? Those students having moreperseverance can do this activity for a wholeyear...little more hard work, right? But you will beawarded by the result. You will notice that near 21st

March and 22nd September the Sun rises at exact eastand sets at exact west. But for other days this doesnot happen. Sun drifts more and more towards north

and reaches maximum north by 21nd

June. It stopsthere a while and turns back to move towards south. This day is called as Summer Solstice where we havelongest day and shortest night. Then slowly the Sunstarts moving southwards and reaches maximumsouth by 22nd December. This time we have longestnight and shortest day. The day is marked as WinterSolstice. Again the Sun starts moving towards thenorth and the day becomes longer and longer. This isthe beginning of the Uttarayana.

Apart from the solstice days, zodiac was introduced to Indian civilization somewhere

around the same time. You know that the zodiac signs are twelve and as follows asequence: Aries, the Ram, Taurus, the bull, Gemini, the twins, Cancer, the crab, Leo, thelion, Virgo, the virgin, Libra, the balance, Scorpio, the scorpion, Sagittarius, the archer,Aquarius, the water bearer, Capricornus the goat and Pisces, the fish.

In ancient times, Sun used enter the zodiacalsign Capricornus, the goat on 22nd

December. The winter solstice had a specialsignificance in ancient Indian

tradition because it was a mark a beginningof a longer day. Many rituals based on the altarwere performed on this day. The Vedas

1 © Parag Mahajani; MILKYWAY CITIZENS;Rohini I-301, DSK Vishwa, Off Sinhagad Road, Pune 411 041, Indiawww.paragmahajani.com



gave high importance to this day as a beginning of Uttarayana. So the entrance of the Sunin Capricornus was considered very auspicious. The day to worship lord Surya, the Sun.

This is considered as a herald of spring season. Indians celebrate this day and termed itMakar Sankranti.

The same day is celebrated with little variations in all over our country. In Bengal it is calledas Ganga Sagar Mela and Pithey Parban. In Assam it is called as Bhogali Bihu. People inOrissa observe it as Makar Mela. Norht Indians celebrate it as Lohri. In Maharashtra it isMakar Sankranti. In Kerala, the famous Sabarimala pilgrimage ends with the sighting of theMakaravilakku.

Today we celebrate Makar Sankranti on 15 th January instead of 22nd December. Why? Let usdiscuss.

In 280 AD, Sun used to enter in Capricorn in 22nd

December. But now it enters in that zodiacal sign on 15th

January. This happens due to the change in the directionof the north pole of Earth. Earth rotates around its axisonce a day. The axis is pointed towards a star calledPolaris. This axis of Earth is not fixed but traces a circle in26,000 years. We call it Precession. Due to this all thestars shift westward by 1 degree in 72 years. The solsticepoint is no exception and today has shiftedapproximately 24 degrees westward. So on 22nd

December the Sun will be in Sagittarius, some 24degrees westward of the Capricornus ! So we do notcelebrate Makar Sankranti on 22nd December today but

on 15

th

January when the Sun will enter in Capricornus.

In 2100 AD the solstice point will shift onedegree further and we will celebrate MakarSankranti on 16th January.In 3100 AD the point will shift some 14degrees westward and Makar Sankranti will becelebrated on 31st January.

All the festivals of our tradition are based onAstronomy. Makar Sankranti is no exception.

This is the logic behind Makar Sankranti.




----------------------------------------------------------End of theArticle---------------------------------------------------------------


Documents

Sankrant for Young Buzz