Krishna Seva

[Pushtidas]

Jai Shree Krishna

Today is the day of Makkar Sankrati.

Vadhai to vahalla vaishnavs. Have lot of Tal-sakri and pava laddu. Enjoy the seva.

What is Makkar Sankrati?
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Dasa nu das
Pushtidas

[Vasant Punjabi]

Jai Shri Krishna,

Khub Khub Vadhai to all vallabhi vaishnavs!
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Vasant Punjabi.

"Shri Vallabh Shri Vithal Sukh-kari naa-me nishpap thai nur-nari,
------Nitya Lila nitya nautam shruti na pame par."----

[Vasant Punjabi]

Jai Shri Krishna,

Will add some lovely kirtans for today's occassion. (Makkar Sankrati)

Raag Aasawari

Bhogi bhog karat sub rusko,
Nand Nandan Jashodako jeevan gopeen praan pati sarvsako----(1)

Teelbhur sung tajat nahi nij jhun gaan karat mun-mohan jus ko,
Teelteel bhog dharat mun bhavat Parmanand sukh le yeah rus ko----(2).

Makkar Sankrati Bhojan ke Pad

Raag Aasawari

Maat Jashoda parav manave,
Bhogi ke dhin teel laduwa le Ladile Lalan ko ju jhimave----(1)

Goud bithai nihar sut mukh nana vid ke dhan dhivave,
Kumbhandas Prabhu Goverdhan ghar nirukh nirukh sub hee sukh pave---(2)
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Vasant Punjabi.

"Shri Vallabh Shri Vithal Sukh-kari naa-me nishpap thai nur-nari,
------Nitya Lila nitya nautam shruti na pame par."----

[Nirupa]

Jai Shree Krishna

Badhai to all Vaishnavs. Lovely kirtan Vasnatji.

[Trusha]

Jai Shree Krishna

Vadhai to all vaishnavs.

Makkar literally means 'Capricorn' and Sankrati is the day when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next.

Makkar Sankrati is always on 14th January, normally all manorths are never on the same day. This is because the festival of Sankranti is based on the solar calendar unlike the rest of Indian festivals, which are based on the lunar calendar.

On this occasion, ladoos made of sesame seeds (Tal-sakri) and Khichadi are offered to Thakorji.

Can anyone please explain the reasons and bhaav for offering these types of samagries on this day and for the days leading upto Makhar Sankranti?

Please feel free to amend any mistaken thoughts. Will wait for more Vaishnavs to add their thoughs and explanations.
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Jai Shree Krishna
Vraj Bihari ki banu me vrajnaar
Trusha

[Pushtidas]

Jai Shree Krishna

Thank you Nirupaji and Tushaji for responding to the question.

Yes the Bhogi day is connected to Shivji Nirupaji.

Well-done Trushaji, that was a very good explanation of Makkar Sankrati.
The kirtan quotred by Shree vasantji has also a lot of information on this day.Thanks Vasantji.

Bhogi Sankrati:
Bhogi Sankrati is always a day before Makkar Sankrati. And on that day such kirtan as quoted belov is sung in front Shreeji:

Bhogi Bhog Karat Sab rasko !

Sankrati mainly are of three types. They are:

1. Mesha Sankrati
2. Dhan Sankrati
3. Makkar Sankrati.

Mesha Sankrati:

On this days in Temple they serve God with "Satva" samagri. Mesha sankrati as listed above is the first Sankrati. On this day the sun rays of the day are known as "Pratham Surya" (The first rays of Sun), and hence the beginning of "Ushnakaal". And on this day according to Veda, in Vraj at Santa Kund Bhava is depicted. On the day day Gold, Silver, rice and cow-dung sathiya (Swastik) are painted and then Satva samagree is served.

What is Dhan Sankrati?
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Dasa nu das
Pushtidas

[Pushtidas]

Jai Shree Krishna

Dhan Sankrati

Dhan Sankrati fall on the Gujarati month of Magsar/Posha and when the start of month is Chatur maas.

During Dhan Sankrati the Chaturmaas samagree is being served in Sitkaal in all the temples. And after the ending of Chaturmaas these samagree are not served in the temple in Sitkaal. This is supposed to be the "Gupta" bhava of Dhan Sankrati. In these samagree it is said to be Gopijana's Gupta Bhava and during this Sankrati all the temples prefer to do "Ghata" and such padas and kirtan are also depicted of the same bhava.

The "Ghata" darshans are of Anand (bliss) and Anurag (permutation of love) so in Sitkaal in Chaturmaas we are able to do four different types of "Ghata" darshan. The four different Ghatas are (1) Shyam Ghata (2) Lal Ghata (3) Kesari Ghata and the (4) Peli (yellow) or Lili (green) or Gulabi (rose) ghata.
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Dasa nu das
Pushtidas

[Nirupa]

Jai Shree Krishna

Thank you Trushaji and Pushtidasji for the explantion of Makkar Sankrati.

Pushtidasji why teel na laduwa (Tal-sakri) served to Thakorji? and please tell us about the Bhogi day.
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Jai Shree Krishna
Darshan Abhilasi
Nirupa

[unnati]

Jai jai shri gokulesh

Sankranti means to go from one place to another place (to change direction). It also means one meets another. The time when the sun changes direction from one constellation (of the zodiac) to another is known as Sankranti.

Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (Uttarayana) is known as Makar sankranti.

Solar Year – Importance of the Sun:

There are 12 signs of the zodiac. There are 12 Sankrantis as well. They are given names according to the position of the sun in relation to the signs of the zodiac. Each of the 12 Sankrantis has its relevant importance but two of these are most prominent.

These two are Mesh Sankranti and Makar Sankranti (Aries and Capricorn).The solar year commences when the sun is in Aries (the first sign of the zodiac). From the point of view of mathematical calculations, the solar year is more scientific than the lunar year. One lunar year has 354 days only and lunar days (or nights) increase or decrease according to the phases of the moon. Compare this to the solar year which has 365 ¼ days and remains the same. Many astrological books are based upon solar calculations. The sun is the most important and the most prominent of our stars and the undisputed lord of our planetary system. The sun always comes first. First day of the week commences with Sunday (Ravi).

Science attaches great importance to the sun. The sun is the inexhaustible storehouse and the source of light and energy. Without sunlight creatures and vegetation would cease to exist. People will lose their life sustaining vitality. Lack of nourishing substances would lead to the end of creation. This is why the sun’s existence, movements and positions in the cosmos are so important and that is why the sun earns our respect, admiration and reverence.

Mesh Sankranti:

The solar year commences when the sun is in Aries (the first sign of the zodiac). During this auspicious period, great deal of merits are acquired by performing Havan (Yajna or Sacred Fire ceremony), Japa (repetition of Mantra or God’s name), Shraddha, Charity etc. Householders top up their grain jars and families start wedding preparations for their sons and daughters of marriageable age.

Makar Sankranti:

The second Sankranti of great importance is Makar. Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (Uttarayana) is known as Makar sankranti. The sun and journeys northward. The days are gradually lengthening in the northern hemisphere.

Khichadi Sankranti:

Makar Sankranti is also known as KHICHADI (Indian dish made from rice and lentils) Sankranti because on this day the injunction to eat Khichadi , is generally observed by people. Seasonal crops become available. Ghee, and spices are used for making tasty nourishing Khichadi. Winter loosens its grip on shiver producing cold, admitting springtime that brings with it the chance for all round health improvement.

Til Sankranti:

In addition to Khichadi, great importance is attached to the use of TIL (Sesame seeds) during Makar Sankranti. Therefore, this Sankranti is also called TIL Sankranti. People make Laddoos (round balls) from Til. Til oil is used for massaging.

Six types of usage of Til are described. Til is used for Bathing, for Massaging, for Havan (sacred fire ceremony), Tarpan with Til (oblations of water with Til), Til used as food, and Til is donated in charity.

It is said that Til emanates from Vishnu’s body and that the above described usage wash away all kinds of sins. Sankranti period is held to be very auspicious and any good deeds during this time will produce merits. Gifts of clothing, blankets etc., on this day are productive of merits in both this life and in the next life.
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Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....Shri Vitthala Nam Vina Mantra Kya Thi Paou......Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....
Unnati M. Kadakia

[unnati]

Jai jai shri gokulesh

Introduction of Makar Sankranti:

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all parts of the country in myriad cultural forms, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety. Lakhs of people take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun. It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.

Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge & wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all know it to be indeed a worthy one too. No Sundays for the Sun, may be because one who revels in its very 'being', the very essence of his own Self, is always in the Sunday mood.

The co-relation of cosmic events with individual life and values is one of the most astounding traits of Hindu Masters. Once this co-relation is brought about thereafter these cosmic events become instrumental to remind us the best which we cherish & value. Of all the cosmic bodies Sun is the most glorious & important, thus every sun-centric cosmic event became very important spiritual, religious & cultural events. On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, and thus it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness.
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Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....Shri Vitthala Nam Vina Mantra Kya Thi Paou......Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....
Unnati M. Kadakia

[unnati]

Jai jai shri gokulesh

Astrological Significance:

Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve sankranti's as well. Each of these sankranti's has its own relative importance but two of these are more important - the Mesh (Aries) Sankranti and the most important, the Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti. Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makar Sankranti. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayana, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds hereafter. While the traditional Indian Calendar is basically based on lunar positions, but sankranti is a solar event, so while dates of all festivals keep changing, the english calendar date of Makar Sankranti is always same, 14th January. Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu Calendar month of Magha. There is another significance of this day, after this day the days start becoming longer & warmer, and thus the chill of winter in on decline.
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Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....Shri Vitthala Nam Vina Mantra Kya Thi Paou......Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....
Unnati M. Kadakia

[unnati]

Jai jai shri gokulesh

Religious Significance:

1. The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. These father & son do not ordinarily get along nicely, but inspite of any difference between each other Lord Sun makes it a point to meet each other on this day. Father in fact himself comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers dream and the continuity of the family.

2. From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.

3. It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.

4. The great savior of his ancestors, Maharaj Bhagirath, did great Tapasya to bring Gangaji down on the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present day Ganga Sagar. It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Patala for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath’s ancestors Gangaji finally merged in the Sagar. Even today a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs take dip in the water and do tarpan for their ancestors.

We salute such a great devotee & benefactor of his ancestors. One who can express such gratitude to his ancestors, work with tireless resolve to redeem the pride, pledges & resolves of his forefathers, alone possess a personality, which the history reveals to be a true benefactor of the world too. A person who has severed his own roots gets soon rooted out in the flow of time. Moral of the story is to see to it that the roots of the tree of ‘our’ life are not only intact but nourished well, thereafter alone the tree blooms & flourishes.

There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, who become dull & dead-like because of uncultured & blind ambition. Redemption of such people is only by the waters of Gangaji, brought down ‘to’ & later ‘from’ the Himalayas with great tapasya. This represents dedicated hard work to get the redeeming Brahma-Vidya, which alone enlightens, enthuses & enlivens the life of anyone.

5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration. So this day was seen as a sure-shot Good Luck day to start your journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond.
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Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....Shri Vitthala Nam Vina Mantra Kya Thi Paou......Shri Vallabha Charan Vina Sharan Koni Jaou.....
Unnati M. Kadakia

[Dattubhai]

JAY SHRI KRISHNA.
Unnatiji, very well explain, so much details.Thank you.
Dattubhai Purohit.
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Jay Shri Krishna.

[shahhetp]

Jai Shri Krishna

Lovely postings Unnatiji, i am enjoying it as usual.

Pushtidasji, I am afraid if i can request u to explain Bhogi Sankranti & its Gudh bhav too... please please please honour this request
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Jai Shree Krishna
Hetal Shah
Shri Vallabh hi ko bhari bharoso .....................

[Pushtidas]

Jai Shree Krishna

Thank you for such an elaborating explaination of Makar Sankranti, I loved the posting Unnatiji.

Wel-come to tibari Hetalji, nice to see you after long time. Yes Bhogi Sankranti is slightly different from all the Sankranti explained by Unnatiji.

I did explain about this Bhogi Sankranti last year, see the above posting. But Hetalji the Gudh bhava is in all the 'Ghatta' manorath, where Gopis have their individual rasasva bhava. As explained the Bhog Sankranti is a day before Makar Sankranti and Tilva bhog is served as a token to 'Ratiras' bhava of Shree Vishnu. Unnatiji has explained the reasoning behind Til which was produced by Vishnu in an extensive Sobhagiya rati ras and the tils were the sweet sweat, Shram jal which induced from the pleasure of Shree vishnu, and rest is now is a history. Unfortunately we have many young readers on tibari and this is not the place to discuss the complete gudh bhava, but if you read between lines you will notice that I have covered it all. Hope you are happy with this explanation.

Nirupaji, thanks for the email, you will also notice that your question is already answered partly by my postings and Unnatiji's posting. Have lovely Utsava.
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Dasa nu das
Pushtidas