🪁 Makar Sankranti (Khichdi / Pongal / Lohri) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household vidhi — a dawn bath, arghya to the Sun, sesame-jaggery-khichdi as charity and bhog, kites/fields.
How to do Makar Sankranti (Khichdi / Pongal / Lohri) — the steps
- In Brahma Muhurat/at sunrise (time above) bathe in a river or pond, or at home with sesame and Gangajal added to the water — the 'til-snan'; new/clean clothes.
- Arghya of water, sesame and red flowers to the rising Sun from a copper lota — 'Om Ghrini Suryaya Namah' or the Aditya Hridaya; bow to the Uttarayan Sun.
- Worship of Surya and Vishnu at the home temple; bhog of sesame-jaggery laddoos and khichdi (rice with urad/moong dal); Tulsi leaf.
- Charity (in the punya-kaal, before sunset): black sesame, jaggery, raw khichdi ingredients (rice-dal-ghee-salt-turmeric), blankets/woollens, ghee, oil — to a Brahmin, the needy, a gaushala; 'til-daan' is the greatest charity of the day.
- Women: haldi-kumkum, tilgul and bayana (vaan — 13 items: vessel/comb/bangles etc.) to married women; the eldest woman gives sesame to everyone with her blessing; the bornahan of a new bride/infant (a shower of ber, sesame and puffed rice).
- Kites during the day (Gujarat-Rajasthan-UP), worship of the new crop in the fields, sesame-jaggery to cows and bullocks; a khichdi dinner with the family in the evening.
- Lohri a day earlier (Punjab-Haryana): a bonfire at night with offerings of sesame, rewri, peanuts and corn, circling the fire, the 'Sundar Mundariye' song, special for homes with a new bride or newborn.
- Pongal (Tamil Nadu): Bhogi (burning old things on day one) → Thai Pongal (boiling milk and rice over in a new pot — 'Pongalo Pongal!') → Mattu Pongal (cows and bullocks) → Kaanum Pongal (family gathering).
Puja samagri checklist
Sesame and jaggery are the soul of this festival — make the laddoos a day earlier.
- Black/white sesame, jaggery, peanuts, rewri, gajak, puffed rice
- Khichdi: new rice, urad/moong dal, ghee, turmeric, salt — for both bhog and charity
- Copper lota for the Sun arghya, red flowers, akshat, Gangajal
- Charity: blankets, woollens, ghee-oil, khichdi ingredients, dakshina
- Haldi-kumkum, the 13 items of vaan/bayana for married women (Maharashtra custom)
- Ber, sesame, puffed rice and halwa for the bornahan of a new bride/infant
- Kite and thread (Gujarat-UP), wood and dung cakes for Lohri, corn-rewri
- Pongal: a new clay pot, new rice, milk, jaggery, sugarcane, turmeric leaf; kolam colours
- Dahi-chura-tilkut (Bihar-Purvanchal)
Tilgul, khichdi, Pongal — the food of every region
It is a harvest festival, so every region's dish comes from its own crop — khichdi-tilkut in the north, tilgul-undhiyu in the west, Pongal in the south, pitha and dahi-chura in the east.
- Sesame-jaggery laddoos (roasted sesame in jaggery syrup — 1 cup sesame : ¾ cup jaggery), gajak, rewri, tilkut
- Khichdi (UP-Bihar): new rice + urad dal, ghee-asafoetida-cumin; with ghee, curd, pickle, papad, potato-cauliflower sabzi
- Dahi-chura-jaggery (Bihar-Jharkhand), tilkut, lai (puffed rice-jaggery)
- Undhiyu-jalebi, chikki (Gujarat); gulpoli, tilgul (Maharashtra); pinni, sarson ka saag with makki roti, jaggery kheer (Punjab)
- Sakkarai Pongal (milk-rice-jaggery-ghee-cashew boiled over in a new pot) and Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu); ellu-bella (Karnataka); pitha of sesame and coconut (Assam-Bengal-Odisha); ghugri/chivda
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Bath and charity in the punya-kaal (Sankranti to sunset) — date above; sesame is the greatest charity
- Arghya to the rising Sun; share tilgul with a vow to speak sweetly
- Donate blankets/woollens — most useful in the middle of winter
- Sesame-jaggery and green fodder to cows and bullocks; honour the field and the new crop
- Haldi-kumkum-sesame to married women; blessing from the eldest of the house
❌ Don't
- No Chinese/glass-coated kite thread — it kills birds and people, use cotton thread; no children alone on terrace edges
- Care with loose clothes and children near the Lohri/meji fire
- If the Sankranti falls after sunset do not give charity that night — the next day in the punya-kaal
- Cutting hair and nails, quarrels, tamasic food — traditionally avoided on this day
- Charity grain never spoilt or leftover — give what you would eat yourself
Vrat katha
Surya Dev was estranged from his son Shani (a story linked to Shani's mother Chhaya). Capricorn is Shani's house — on Makar Sankranti the Sun visits his son Shani's home for a month, and it is a day of reunion of father … Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Makar Sankranti in {Y} — 14 or 15 January?
The date at the top comes from the engine's solar calculation — the day the Sun enters Capricorn (the next day if the Sankranti falls after sunset). Nowadays usually 14 January, in some years 15; it moves a day later roughly every 72 years.
What is the punya-kaal, when to give charity?
From the moment of the Sankranti until sunset that day (16 ghatis in the shastras); the 48 minutes right after the Sankranti are the 'maha-punya-kaal'. Bath and charity within it — best from sunrise to noon.
Why sesame and jaggery?
Sesame and jaggery give warmth and strength in the cold (Ayurveda); in the katha Shani welcomed his father Surya with them; sesame charity is linked to the ancestors and moksha — so eat, share and donate.
Are Lohri, Pongal, Bihu and Makar Sankranti the same?
All celebrate the Sun's entry into Capricorn and the new harvest — Lohri the night before (Punjab), four-day Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Magh Bihu (Assam), Uttarayan (Gujarat), Khichdi (UP-Bihar) — different names and dishes, one Sun.
What is Kharmas and why does it end with the Sankranti?
The month the Sun stays in Sagittarius (mid-December to Makar Sankranti) is Kharmas/Malmas — weddings and griha pravesh are avoided; with the entry into Capricorn, Uttarayan and auspicious works resume. Wedding dates are on the muhurat page.
🏠 Makar Sankranti (Khichdi / Pongal / Lohri) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals