Makar Sankranti marks the commencement of the Sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere i.e. Makara raasi , and is a day of celebration all over the country. The day begins with people taking holy dips in the waters and worshipping the Sun.
Traditionally, this period is considered an auspicious time and the veteran Bhishma of Mahabharata chose to die during this period. Bhishma fell to the arrows of Arjun.
With his boon to choose the time of his death, he waited on a bed of arrows to depart from this world only during this period.
It is believed that those who die in this period have no rebirth.
The Indo Gangetic plain begins this day with taking dips in the Ganga and offering water to the Sun god. The dip is said to purify the self. Special prayer is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest. According to folklore, girls who take the holy dip get handsome husbands and boys get beautiful brides.
Til and rice are two important ingredients of this festival. In the rice-eating belt of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, people have a special rice centric meal on this day. Also known as Gangasagar Mela, on this day, people come from all over India for a ceremonial cleansing in the river Hooghly, near Calcutta.
In Maharashtra, when two persons greet each other on this festive day, they exchange a few grains of multi-coloured sugar and fried till mixed with molasses and say: 'henceforth, let there be only friendship and good thoughts between us'.
In Gujarat, the pandits consider Sankranti as an auspicious day to grant scholarships and certificates of merit to students who have successfully completed their studies in philosophy. In a Hindu household, new utensils are purchased and used for the first time. Brightly coloured kites dot the skies on this day.
In Karnataka, men, women and children attired in colourful tunics visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried till, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings. As part of the festival, cows and bulls are given a wash and the horns are painted with bright colours and decorated with garland, and are taken in a procession in the village to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. In the night a bonfire is lit and the animals are made to jump over the fire. It is a big event for the people of the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma.
The sun appears serene and peaceful.
The days have become shorter.
The sweet festival of Sankranti has come,
filling our homes with the newly harvested grain.
May this festival of Sankranti, which is a symbol of change, bring about a transformation in your heart and provide bliss to one and all, so that you may always lead a happy, prosperous and cheerful life.
In fact, the very name of a human being is Anandamaya (full of bliss).
Manavatva (humanness) is meant for rising to the level of Daivatva (Divinity).
SAI bless us all.
JAI SAI RAM!
subhasrini
OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI!!!
Let us pray at the feet of Sai Baba who is the incarnation of all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us, and increase our devotion towards him.
Topic: Wish You A Very Happy Makar Sankranti ! (Read 3017 times)