Makara Sankranti 2026

Makara Sankranti is the day the Sun enters Makara rashi (Capricorn), beginning Uttarayana punyakalam. It is a solar festival, so it usually falls in Pushya masam. For Telugu people it is the biggest harvest festival, celebrated over three days as Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma, and in many villages a fourth day, Mukkanuma.

Why Sankranti Is Special

Uttarayana is described in the scriptures as the auspicious half of the year; Bheeshma waited on his bed of arrows for it before leaving his body. Sankranti is also a day to remember ancestors with tarpanam and to share the new harvest. Farmers thank the sun, the land and the cattle that helped bring the crop home.

The Three Days

• Bhogi: Before dawn, families light Bhogi mantalu with old wood and things no longer needed. In the evening, children are showered with Bhogi pallu (regi pandlu, flowers and coins) for protection from drishti.
• Sankranti: After a head bath, people wear new clothes, worship the Sun, offer tarpanam to ancestors and give danam. Homes are decorated with large muggulu and gobbemmalu made of cow dung and flowers.
• Kanuma: Cattle are bathed, decorated and worshipped in gratitude for their role in farming.

Sights and Flavours

Haridasulu singing Harinama, gangireddula melam with decorated bulls, and colourful kites, especially popular in Telangana and Hyderabad, fill the streets. Kitchens prepare ariselu, sakinalu (chakinalu), nuvvula undalu, pongali and payasam. Newly married sons-in-law are invited home, and families travel back to their villages to celebrate together.

How to Observe Sankranti at Home

• Bathe early and offer arghyam to Surya Bhagavan.
• Cook pongali with new rice and jaggery and offer it as naivedyam.
• Offer tarpanam to ancestors if it is your family custom.
• Donate food, clothes, sesame or jaggery to those in need.

May this harvest festival bring abundance, health and happiness to every Telugu home.