Telugu Festival
మకర సంక్రాంతి
Makara Sankranti
Telugu harvest festival — Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma 2026
2026 Date
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
పుష్యం బహుళ undefined, విశ్వావసు నామ సంవత్సరం
Panchangam for Makara Sankranti 2026
📍 Hyderabad, IST · January 14, 2026
Tithi
Krishna Paksha undefined
బహుళ undefined
Vara
Wednesday
బుధవారం
Nakshatra
Yoga
Karana
Timings (Hyderabad IST)
Rahu Kalam
12:25 pm – 1:49 pm
Gulika Kalam
11:01 am – 12:25 pm
Yamagandam
8:13 am – 9:37 am
Abhijit Muhurtham
12:01 pm – 12:49 pm
Sunrise / Sunset
6:49 am / 6:01 pm
Muhurta Guidance
Sankranti Punya Kalam begins at the exact moment of the Sun's transit into Makara — this 6-hour window is the most auspicious for dana (charity), snana (ritual bath) and puja. In 2026, the transit occurs in the afternoon IST. Avoid inauspicious Kala Vela timings on the main day.
Significance — ప్రాధాన్యత
Makara Sankranti is the most widely celebrated festival in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, marking the Sun's transit (sankranti) into Makara (Capricorn). It falls on January 14 in 2026. Unlike lunar festivals, Sankranti is a solar event and falls on nearly the same Gregorian date each year.
The festival heralds the end of the winter solstice period and the beginning of Uttarayana — the sun's northward journey, considered auspicious for new beginnings, spiritual practices, and ancestor rites. Bhishma chose this period to leave his body, signifying its sacred nature.
For Telugu people, Sankranti is a three-day celebration: Bhogi (bonfire day), Sankranti (main harvest day), and Kanuma (cattle worship day). A fourth day, Mukkanuma, is observed in many areas. The festival celebrates the harvest, the sun, cattle, and family reunion.
Kite flying on Sankranti morning is an iconic Telugu tradition — the skies over Hyderabad, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam fill with thousands of colourful patangs as families gather on rooftops.
Rituals — పూజా విధానం
Bhogi (January 13): Burn old household items before dawn in a bonfire — a ritual cleansing of the old year
Draw elaborate muggulu (rangoli) with rice flour from sunrise on Sankranti morning
Prepare Pongal (Sakkarai Pongal) and offer to Surya before the family eats
Give thanks and worship cattle (Gomaata Puja) decorated with garlands and paint
On Kanuma, offer pulihora, rice and coconut to cattle and bullock carts
Donate sesame laddus (nuvvula laddu), sugarcane, and new harvest items to Brahmins
Fly kites through the morning and afternoon — "Eeti paatam!" when a rival's string is cut
Haridasulu (wandering minstrels) perform house-to-house singing of Bhogi Pallu blessing verses
Telugu Traditions — తెలుగు సంప్రదాయాలు
Gobbemmalu — young girls place cow-dung effigies (gobbemma) on platforms decorated with flowers; boys try to steal them in a playful ritual
Bhogi Pallu — on Bhogi morning, elders pour a mixture of berries (regi pallu), petals and coins over children's heads for blessings
Haridasulu — devotional singers dressed as Vishnu's attendants visit every home chanting Telugu folk songs in exchange for rice and dakshina
Til-Gul exchange — sesame and jaggery sweets (nuvvula laddu) shared with neighbours with the saying "Til-Gul ghya, goad goad bola"
Sugarcane (cherkus) distributed to family and neighbours — its sweetness symbolises prosperity
Muggulu competition — neighbourhoods compete for the most elaborate rice flour kolam patterns
Traditional Foods — పండుగ వంటలు
Pongal (Sakkarai Pongal)
sweet rice cooked with jaggery and cashews as naivedyam
Nuvvula Laddu
sesame and jaggery balls, the signature Sankranti sweet
Rava Laddu and Bobbatlu
festival sweets made for sharing
Pulihora
tamarind rice prepared as prasadam for Kanuma
Chakkara Pongali
sweet pongal offered at temples
Raw sugarcane
chewed fresh as part of the harvest celebration
Related Festivals
2026 Telugu Calendar
All festivals, Ekadashis, Pournami and auspicious dates