How many Sankrantis are there in a year?

There are 12 Sankrantis in a normal solar year. Each occurs when the Sun enters the next sign of the sidereal zodiac. The interval between two consecutive Sankrantis forms a solar month.

Is Sankranti the same as Makar Sankranti?

No. Makar Sankranti is the best-known of the 12 transitions. It occurs when the Sun enters Makara, or Capricorn. The other 11 solar ingresses are Sankrantis too.

Why does a Sankranti date or time change each year?

The Sun does not enter each sidereal sign at the same clock time every year. Calendar structure, leap years and the exact astronomical ingress shift the timestamp. This calendar therefore uses the recorded entry for the year you select.

Which timezone does this calendar use?

You can view every Sankranti time in Indian Standard Time or UTC. Both options describe the same solar ingress, so changing the timezone may also change the displayed civil date.

Does the listed time give the Sankranti Punya Kala?

No. The listed time is the solar ingress. Punya Kala and Maha Punya Kala observances can depend on sunrise, local place and a tradition's rules. Consult a trusted local Panchang for those ritual windows.

Are Sankranti and the modern equinoxes or solstices the same?

No. This calendar uses the sidereal zodiac with Lahiri Ayanamsa. Modern equinoxes and solstices describe seasonal points measured in a tropical framework, so their dates do not currently match sidereal Sankrantis.

What years are available in this Sankranti Calendar?

The calendar covers every year from 1850 through 2100. Use the year picker or the previous and next buttons to move through that range.

12 solar transitions

2026 Sankranti Calendar

Find the moment the Sun enters each sidereal zodiac sign. Browse all 12 monthly Sankranti dates in IST or UTC, with calendar years available from 1850 to 2100.

Lahiri Ayanamsa Times shown to the minute IST and UTC options

Yearly solar ingress table

All Sankranti dates in 2026

Calendar year

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Preparing the yearly calendar.

Understanding the calendar

What is Sankranti?

If you arrived here looking for Makar Sankranti, you are seeing one part of a much larger cycle. Sankranti means a passage or transition. In the Hindu calendrical tradition, it is the exact instant the Sun moves into a new sidereal zodiac sign.

The Sun crosses 12 sign boundaries during its annual journey, so there are 12 Sankrantis. Each transition begins a new solar month. That is why Sankranti dates matter in solar calendars followed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, Odisha, Assam and other regions.

Makar Sankranti became the most widely celebrated because it brings together Uttarayana, harvest customs, sacred bathing, charity and many regional festivals. Still, Makara is one transition among 12. Mesha, Karka, Tula and the others belong to the same complete system.

The traditional structure

Four classes of Sankranti

The 12 transitions form four groups. This makes the solar cycle easier to understand than a list of unrelated festival dates.

Ayana

Karka and Makara

The two traditional half-year turning points, associated with Dakshinayana and Uttarayana.

Vishuva

Mesha and Tula

The two opposite balancing points in the traditional sidereal solar cycle.

Vishnupadi

Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha

Four fixed-sign transitions with special ritual importance in calendrical tradition.

Shadashitimukhi

Mithuna, Kanya, Dhanu and Meena

Four dual-sign transitions connected with an older mathematical division of the solar year.

Reading the timestamp

Why the exact Sankranti time matters

A Sankranti belongs to the instant of solar ingress, not simply to a civil date. If the Sun changes signs close to midnight, the IST date can differ from the UTC date. The timezone switch above lets you see that clearly.

Traditional Panchangs may examine the weekday, Tithi, Nakshatra, Karana, Yoga and whether the ingress happens before or after sunrise. Those factors can shape Sankranti Phalam and observance windows. They change by year and, in some cases, by place.

The calendar gives the ingress timestamp only. It does not calculate Punya Kala, Maha Punya Kala or a local ritual Muhurta. Use a trusted regional Panchang when you need those timings.

A common point of confusion

Sankranti, solstices and equinoxes

Hindu Panchangs generally place Sankranti in the sidereal zodiac. Modern seasonal astronomy describes equinoxes and solstices in a tropical framework. Precession has separated these coordinate systems over time.

Makar Sankranti now falls around 14 or 15 January, while the December solstice falls around 21 or 22 December. Mesha Sankranti arrives around mid-April, several weeks after the March equinox. The names may carry older seasonal associations, but the present dates answer different astronomical questions.

Month by month

The 12 Sankrantis at a glance

These short meanings offer context for the calendar. They are broad themes, not personal predictions.

Mesha Sankranti

Sun enters Aries

Initiative and renewal

The Sun is exalted in Aries, making Mesha Sankranti a strong point for courage, clarity and purposeful beginnings. It also anchors solar New Year observances in several regions.

Several regional solar New Year traditions

Vrishabha Sankranti

Sun enters Taurus

Stability and resources

Vrishabha Sankranti shifts attention toward what can be sustained. Its themes include resources, agriculture, food, security and patient work that can produce lasting results.

A traditional Vishnupadi transition

Mithuna Sankranti

Sun enters Gemini

Learning and exchange

Mithuna Sankranti brings learning, writing, trade and conversation into focus. In Odisha, Raja Parba connects this period with Mother Earth, fertility and agricultural rest.

Raja Parba in Odisha

Karka Sankranti

Sun enters Cancer

Home and nourishment

Karka Sankranti traditionally opens Dakshinayana, the southern half of the sidereal solar cycle. Its symbolism turns toward home, care, belonging and emotional responsibility.

Traditional beginning of Dakshinayana

Simha Sankranti

Sun enters Leo

Leadership and vitality

The Sun enters its own sign at Simha Sankranti. This gives the transition a natural connection with vitality, confidence, creative expression and leadership used with responsibility.

The Sun enters its own sign

Kanya Sankranti

Sun enters Virgo

Skill and careful work

Kanya Sankranti favors analysis, craft, organization and practical skill. Vishwakarma Puja near this period honors tools, machines and the people whose careful work keeps daily life moving.

Vishwakarma Puja in parts of India

Tula Sankranti

Sun enters Libra

Balance and partnership

Tula Sankranti asks individual authority to work through balance, partnership and fair exchange. In Karnataka, Kaveri Sankramana honors the sacred River Kaveri.

Kaveri Sankramana in Karnataka

Vrishchika Sankranti

Sun enters Scorpio

Focus and transformation

Vrishchika Sankranti carries the concentrated side of Mars. It is associated with inner strength, investigation, endurance and the willingness to face necessary change honestly.

A traditional Vishnupadi transition

Dhanu Sankranti

Sun enters Sagittarius

Learning and higher purpose

Dhanu Sankranti begins Dhanurmasa, a devotional month in many Vaishnava traditions. Its broader themes include teaching, sacred study, ethical direction and spiritual discipline.

Beginning of Dhanurmasa

Makara Sankranti

Sun enters Capricorn

Discipline and duty

Makara Sankranti traditionally begins Uttarayana. Sacred bathing, charity, sesame, harvest customs and regional festivals make it the most widely observed Sankranti of the year.

Makar Sankranti and traditional Uttarayana

Kumbha Sankranti

Sun enters Aquarius

Community and systems

Kumbha Sankranti turns attention toward communities, shared systems and collective responsibility. As a Vishnupadi transition, it also carries traditional importance for worship and charity.

A traditional Vishnupadi transition

Meena Sankranti

Sun enters Pisces

Completion and reflection

Meena Sankranti closes the sidereal solar cycle before the Sun returns to Aries. It supports reflection, completion, spiritual attention and preparation for renewal.

The final transition before Mesha

Practice with perspective

How Sankranti is observed

Customs vary widely by region, family and lineage. Common practices include bathing, offering water to the Sun, prayer, pilgrimage and dana (charity). Makar Sankranti often includes sesame, food donations and harvest celebrations.

Not every Sankranti has a separate pan-Indian festival or one universal mythology. Mithuna Sankranti connects with Raja Parba in Odisha, Tula Sankranti with Kaveri Sankramana in Karnataka, and Dhanu Sankranti begins Dhanurmasa in many Vaishnava traditions. Local practice is part of the subject, not a footnote to it.

Check the exact ingress in your chosen timezone.

Use a local Panchang for place-based ritual windows.

Follow your family or regional tradition where one exists.

Treat charity as practical care, not a transaction for guaranteed results.

Useful answers

Sankranti Calendar FAQ

Quick answers about dates, timezones, ritual timings and the annual solar cycle.