🌞 Makar Sankranti Pooja – The Divine Harvest Festival

📖 What is Makar Sankranti?

Makar Sankranti marks the sun’s transition into the zodiac sign of Makara (Capricorn). It signifies the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of longer, auspicious days. It is one of the few Hindu festivals based on the solar calendar, usually falling on January 14th every year.

It is celebrated across India with regional names and customs:

• Pongal in Tamil Nadu
• Lohri in Punjab
• Uttarayan in Gujarat
• Magh Bihu in Assam
• Khichdi Parv in Bihar and UP

At its core, Makar Sankranti is a celebration of the Sun God (Surya Narayana) and gratitude for abundant harvest, prosperity, and divine blessings.

🌿 Spiritual Significance:

• Surya (Sun) is worshipped as the giver of life, light, and truth.
• Marks the start of Uttarayana, the six-month period of celestial northward movement of the Sun – considered highly auspicious for spiritual pursuits.
• A time to shed old habits, ego, and darkness and embrace clarity, purity, and light.
• The til (sesame) and jaggery used during the pooja symbolize humility and sweetness in speech and behavior.

🏠 Makar Sankranti Pooja Vidhi (Step-by-Step Guide)

🌸 Preparations:

• Wake up before sunrise and take a holy bath, preferably in rivers or with a few drops of Ganga water.
• Clean your home and pooja area.
• Create rangoli with rice flour or colored powders.
• Set up a clean altar with a picture or idol of Surya Bhagavan, and a small kalash.

📿 Pooja Samagri (Items Required):

• Image or idol of Surya Dev
• A copper or brass plate
• Water in a copper vessel
• Turmeric, kumkum, sandalwood paste
• Fresh flowers (preferably red, orange, or yellow)
• Akshata (rice mixed with turmeric)
• Til (sesame seeds), gud (jaggery), sugarcane, bananas, and seasonal fruits
• Betel leaves and nuts, coconut
• Oil lamp, camphor, incense
• Sweets made of til and jaggery (tilgul), pongal, or khichdi (as per region)

🙏 Pooja Procedure:

1. Sankalp (Sacred Resolution):

Sit facing the east. Take water in your hand and make a sankalp:

“I perform this Makar Sankranti Pooja to seek the blessings of Surya Narayana for health, wealth, and spiritual illumination.”

2. Surya Arghya (Water Offering to the Sun):

• Go outside (or to a window or open area) during sunrise.
• Offer water (arghya) to Surya Dev using a copper vessel:

Pour water slowly while chanting:
“Om Suryaya Namah” or
“Adityaya Cha Somaya Mangalaya Budhaya Cha…”

• Offer flowers and akshata while gazing at the sun with devotion.

3. Main Pooja:

🪔 Light the Lamp and Incense

• Place a diya and incense in front of the deity.
• Apply kumkum and turmeric to the image/idol.

🌾 Offer Til and Jaggery

• Mix sesame seeds and jaggery and offer it with love.
• Say:
  “Til Gud Ghya, God God Bola”
  (Take this til-gud and speak sweetly — a reminder for inner harmony.)

🌸 Chant Mantras or Slokas for Surya:

• Surya Gayatri Mantra:
  “Om Bhaskaraya Vidmahe Mahatejaya Dhimahi
  Tanno Surya Prachodayat”
• Aditya Hridayam Stotra (if possible, recite or listen to it)

4. Naivedyam and Aarti:

• Offer pongal, khichdi, til-gud sweets, fruits, and sugarcane.
• Perform aarti with camphor:
  • “Jai Surya Deva Aarti”
• Offer betel leaves, nuts, and coconut as a sign of completion.

5. Charity (Daan) and Dharma:

• Donating is an essential part of Makar Sankranti.
• Donate items like til, jaggery, warm clothes, blankets, utensils, food, rice, and money to the poor, Brahmins, and cows.
• Feed birds and animals with til, rice, or water.

🪁 Festive Celebrations:

• Flying kites symbolizes spiritual ascent and celebrating the sunshine.
• Wearing new clothes, preparing traditional dishes like til ladoos, pongal, chakkara pongal, puran poli, and khichdi.
• Visiting temples or performing Go Pooja (cow worship) is also auspicious.

✨ Symbolism and Blessings:

🌈 Divine Message of Makar Sankranti:

“As the Sun begins its journey northward, may your spiritual journey also move toward the light. May you harvest not just crops, but blessings of good health, peace, and wisdom.” 🌞