Makar Sankranti dates
When Makar Sankranti falls in 2027, 2028 and 2029: the day of the bath and gifts and its puṇyakāla, for Delhi and cities abroad.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Delhi, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Mumbai, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Kolkata, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Chennai, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Bengaluru, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Hyderabad, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Ahmedabad, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Pune, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Jaipur, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Lucknow, the Sun enters Makara at 21:10 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Thursday, 14 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In London, the Sun enters Makara at 15:40 on Thursday, within two ghaṭīs of sunset, so the bath and gifts fall that day, in the ghaṭīs before it.
Thursday, 14 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In New York City, the Sun enters Makara at 10:40 on Thursday, in daylight, so the bath and gifts fall that day, in the daylight of the 40 ghaṭīs after it.
Thursday, 14 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Toronto, the Sun enters Makara at 10:40 on Thursday, in daylight, so the bath and gifts fall that day, in the daylight of the 40 ghaṭīs after it.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Sydney, the Sun enters Makara at 02:40 before sunrise on Friday, so the bath and gifts fall that day, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Dubai, the Sun enters Makara at 19:40 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Friday, 15 January 2027
Makar Sankranti is in 89 days. In Singapore, the Sun enters Makara at 23:40 on Thursday night, so the bath and gifts fall on the next day, Friday, from sunrise to midday.
Makar Sankranti dates, 2027 to 2029
Each city’s own time| Year | Delhi | London | New York City | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Makar Sankranti 2027 | Fri 15 Jan 07:16 – 12:30 | Thu 14 Jan 08:02 – 15:40 | Thu 14 Jan 10:40 – 16:50 | Fri 15 Jan 06:00 – 13:04 |
| Makar Sankranti 2028 | Sat 15 Jan 07:16 – 12:30 | Sat 15 Jan 08:01 – 12:09 | Sat 15 Jan 07:19 – 12:05 | Sat 15 Jan 08:54 – 20:07 |
| Makar Sankranti 2029 | Sun 14 Jan 09:26 – 17:44 | Sun 14 Jan 08:01 – 12:09 | Sun 14 Jan 07:19 – 12:05 | Sun 14 Jan 14:56 – 20:07 |
Each year’s page lists all 16 cities, why each keeps its day, and the year’s twelve saṅkrāntis. Dharmasindhu p. 85; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 326
Every solar ingress with its day for the bath and gifts: All twelve sankrantis.
Questions
From the Dharmasindhu and the Nirṇaya-sindhu, with the page for each.
When is Makar Sankranti?
In Delhi: Friday, 15 January 2027, Saturday, 15 January 2028 and Sunday, 14 January 2029. Each city keeps its own day by its own sunrise and sunset. Dharmasindhu p. 85; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 6, 326
What is the punya kaal?
The puṇyakāla is the time for the bath, the gifts and the śrāddha at a solar ingress. For Makara it is the 40 ghaṭīs (16 hours) after the ingress, within daylight; after a night ingress, the next day from sunrise to midday. Its most meritorious part is the five nāḍīs (2 hours) nearest the ingress, or the first five after sunrise. The texts do not use the term mahā-puṇyakāla. Dharmasindhu pp. 2, 85
Is Pongal on the same day?
In 2027, yes. Thai Pongal falls on Friday, 15 January 2027 at Chennai by the Tamil rule: the month of Tai begins on the day of the ingress if it comes before sunset, otherwise on the next day (Sewell and Dikshit, The Indian Calendar, 1896, p. 12). Pongal 2027
When is Lohri?
On Wednesday, 13 January 2027, the day it is kept; that year it is two days before Makar Sankranti. The texts cited here do not name Lohri, so no time is given for it. Lohri 2027
Why is the date different in the US or UK?
The Sun enters Makara at the same moment everywhere, but sunrise and sunset come at different hours. An ingress after sunset in one city can fall in daylight in another, where the bath and gifts stay on that day. Dharmasindhu p. 85
How the day is found
Read the methodology- The ingress
- The Sun’s sidereal entry into Makara, by the Lahiri ayanamsa, the moment the panchang reports.
- The day
- A day ingress: that day. A night ingress, at any hour: the next day, as in the south (DS p. 85; NS p. 326). Baudhāyana’s both days and Hemādri’s midnight split are shown beside it (NS p. 327).
- Puṇyakāla
- 40 ghaṭīs after the ingress (Hemādri; DS p. 85), within daylight (our reading of DS p. 3); Mādhava’s 20 (NS p. 6). After a night ingress, sunrise to midday. Within two ghaṭīs of sunset, the ghaṭīs before the ingress (DS p. 2).
- Most meritorious
- The five nāḍīs nearest the ingress, or the first five after sunrise after a night ingress (DS p. 85). Five for a day ingress is our reading.
- The other eleven
- Each class has its window: Meṣa and Tulā 15 ghaṭīs either side (NS: 10); Vṛṣabha, Siṃha, Vṛścika and Kumbha 16 before; Mithuna, Kanyā, Dhanus and Mīna 16 after; Karka 30 before. A night ingress takes the previous afternoon before midnight and the next forenoon after it; Karka at night, the previous afternoon (DS pp. 2, 41).
- Tropical ingress
- The texts also count the ingress shifted by the ayanāṃśa, for Makara the winter solstice (NS pp. 7–8; DS p. 2). It is shown as a note and never sets the date.
- Sunrise and sunset
- At the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction, for the chosen city. Every date is that city’s own.
Sunrise and sunset at the centre of the Sun’s disc, with refraction · Lahiri ayanamsa for the ingress · each city’s own time · Swiss Ephemeris · Method