Panchang · Sankranti · Ichalkaranji
Sankrantis in 2026
Next: Vrishchika Sankranti, Mon, 16 Nov, 7:34 pm. Punya kaal at Ichalkaranji: 1:10 pm to 5:57 pm.
The twelve sankrantis
Times in IST. The sankranti instant is the same everywhere; the punya kaal uses Ichalkaranji’s sunrise and sunset.
Ayana (the Sun turns north)
Makara Sankranti
Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Uttarayan
- Sun enters Makara
- Wed, 14 Jan, 2:59 pm
- Punya kaal†
- 2:59 pm – 6:18 pm · 3 hr 19 min
Rule: 20 ghatis (8 hours) after the moment, its daylight part.
Vishnupadi
Kumbha Sankranti
- Sun enters Kumbha
- Fri, 13 Feb, 4:00 am
- Punya kaal†
- 6:59 am – 10:24 am · 3 hr 25 min
Rule: 16 ghatis (6 hr 24 min) on either side, its daylight part.
Shadashiti-mukha
Meena Sankranti
- Sun enters Meena
- Sun, 15 Mar, 12:54 am
- Punya kaal†
- 6:40 am – 6:42 pm · 12 hr 2 min
Rule: 60 ghatis (24 hours) after the moment, its daylight part.
Vishuva (equinoctial)
Mesha Sankranti
Mesha Sankranti, Baisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu
- Sun enters Mesha
- Tue, 14 Apr, 9:24 am
- Punya kaal†
- 6:17 am – 1:24 pm · 7 hr 7 min
Rule: 10 ghatis (4 hours) on either side, its daylight part.
Vishnupadi
Vrishabha Sankranti
- Sun enters Vrishabha
- Fri, 15 May, 6:13 am
- Punya kaal†
- 6:01 am – 12:37 pm · 6 hr 36 min
Rule: 16 ghatis (6 hr 24 min) on either side, its daylight part.
Shadashiti-mukha
Mithuna Sankranti
- Sun enters Mithuna
- Mon, 15 Jun, 12:43 pm
- Punya kaal†
- 12:43 pm – 7:06 pm · 6 hr 22 min
Rule: 60 ghatis (24 hours) after the moment, its daylight part.
Ayana (the Sun turns south)
Karka Sankranti
Karka Sankranti (Dakshinayana begins)
- Sun enters Karka
- Thu, 16 Jul, 11:29 pm
- Punya kaal†
- 3:29 pm – 7:08 pm · 3 hr 39 min
Rule: 20 ghatis (8 hours) before the moment, its daylight part.
Vishnupadi
Simha Sankranti
Simha Sankranti
- Sun enters Simha
- Mon, 17 Aug, 7:48 am
- Punya kaal†
- 6:16 am – 2:12 pm · 7 hr 56 min
Rule: 16 ghatis (6 hr 24 min) on either side, its daylight part.
Shadashiti-mukha
Kanya Sankranti
Vishwakarma Puja
- Sun enters Kanya
- Thu, 17 Sep, 7:43 am
- Punya kaal†
- 7:43 am – 6:32 pm · 10 hr 49 min
Rule: 60 ghatis (24 hours) after the moment, its daylight part.
Vishuva (equinoctial)
Tula Sankranti
Tula Sankranti
- Sun enters Tula
- Sat, 17 Oct, 7:42 pm
- Punya kaal†
- 3:42 pm – 6:09 pm · 2 hr 27 min
Rule: 10 ghatis (4 hours) on either side, its daylight part.
Vishnupadi
Vrishchika Sankranti
- Sun enters Vrishchika
- Mon, 16 Nov, 7:34 pm
- Punya kaal†
- 1:10 pm – 5:57 pm · 4 hr 47 min
Rule: 16 ghatis (6 hr 24 min) on either side, its daylight part.
Shadashiti-mukha
Dhanu Sankranti
- Sun enters Dhanu
- Wed, 16 Dec, 10:15 am
- Punya kaal†
- 10:15 am – 6:01 pm · 7 hr 46 min
Rule: 60 ghatis (24 hours) after the moment, its daylight part.
† Practice varies. Almanacs count punya kaal differently: some give the whole ghati window, some only its daylight part, some until sunset; the rules for a sankranti at night also differ. Rules for Makar Sankranti’s “maha punya kaal” vary too, so it is not given here.
See also: Sankranti (glossary) · Ayanamsa · Ayana · Gochar · Festivals and vrats
Understand
What a sankranti is
The moment the Sun passes from one rasi into the next is a sankranti, named for the sign it enters, as in Makara Sankranti. There are twelve a year, and each begins a solar month. The solar calendars of Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala count their months from them.
Four kinds
Makara and Karka are the ayana sankrantis (the Sun turns north or south); Mesha and Tula the vishuva (equinoctial) ones; Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena are shadashiti-mukha; Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha are vishnupadi. Each kind has its own punya kaal.
What the texts say about punya kaal
The Nirnaya Sindhu quotes Hemadri’s verse: 20 ghatis before a Karka sankranti, 20 after a Makara one, 10 on either side of Mesha and Tula, 60 after a shadashiti-mukha and 16 on either side of a vishnupadi are punya (1 ghati = 24 minutes). Bathing and giving are done by day, so the daylight part of that window is given here.
Makar Sankranti and the winter solstice
The astronomical winter solstice (the shortest day) falls about 21 December. Makar Sankranti is counted in sidereal signs (against the stars), so it comes about 24 days later. That gap is the ayanamsa, and it grows by about a day every 72 years.
How this is calculated
The Sun’s apparent position from NASA JPL’s DE421 ephemeris, less the Lahiri ayanamsa; the sankranti is the instant it crosses a multiple of 30°. Sunrise and sunset are for the chosen city.
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- Name syllablesName syllables for each nakshatra pada, from the avakahada chakra.