Ayana
अयन
The Sun's half-year course: uttarāyaṇa (northward) or dakṣiṇāyana (southward).
Definition
Ayana ('course, path') is each half of the Sun's annual motion between the solstices. Uttarāyaṇa, the northward course, runs from the winter solstice (around 21 December) to the summer solstice, and dakṣiṇāyana from the summer solstice back again. Traditional calendars often mark the turn at Makara and Karka saṅkrānti, which because of precession now fall some three weeks after the astronomical solstices.
Articles that use this term
- PanchangaExplainer
Sankranti: the Sun's twelve sign entries
Why Makar Sankranti stays near 14 January while Diwali wanders, how the twelve sankrantis are classed, and the slow drift that will move the date.
6 min read · 26 September 2026