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Bathing Days and Amrit Snans

Makar Sankranti: why the Sun’s move into Capricorn is a bathing day

KumbhMela.info Editorial Team 4 min readUpdated Fri 16 Oct 2026

Makar Sankranti is the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn) and, in tradition, begins Uttarayan. Why that makes it a Kumbh bathing day, why calendars differ on 14 or 15 January, and where it falls in 2027.

EvergreenChecked on Fri 16 Oct 2026

Makar Sankranti is the day the Sun enters Makara (Capricorn). In tradition it begins Uttarayan, the Sun’s northward journey, and a river bath on the day is believed to wash away past sins. That is why it opens the bathing calendar of the Haridwar Kumbh, on Thursday 14 January 2027.

A festival of the Sun, not the Moon

Most Kumbh bathing days follow a tithi, a lunar day, so their dates move from year to year. Makar Sankranti is different. A sankranti is the Sun’s passage from one sign of the zodiac into the next, and Makar Sankranti is its entry into Makara. Because it follows the Sun, it comes in the middle of January every year.

The official Haridwar Kumbh website describes the day in these terms: the Sun enters Capricorn, Uttarayan begins, and an auspicious season of longer, brighter days starts.

The tithi does not decide the day, but it is still recorded. At sunrise on 14 January 2027 it is Pausha Shukla Shashthi, from the Tirth panchang.

An aerial view of Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, with the Ganga channels, footbridges and crowded ghats.Photo: Thakur Dalip Singh, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pilgrims bathing at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar

Why it is a Kumbh bathing day

By tradition, a dip in a holy river at Makar Sankranti cleanses the mind and soul and removes past sins. The Haridwar website says so in its description of the day, and calls it the first major bathing day of the Kumbh. At Prayagraj the mela authority adds a second custom: it says Makar Sankranti marks the start of charitable giving at the mela, with pilgrims giving as they wish. See daan at the Kumbh for what people give.

Its place at the start of the season is not new. In the Haridwar calendar announced for 2021, Makar Sankranti on 14 January 2021 was the first of the bathing days. At the 2025 Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, the mela authority listed 14 January 2025 as the first Shahi Snan, and it was the first of the three Amrit Snans, the baths led by the akharas.

14 or 15 January?

Calendars do not always agree on the day, because the Sun’s entry into a sign can fall late in the day; some calendars keep Makar Sankranti 2027 on Friday 15 January. For the Kumbh bath, the mela’s own list is the one to follow, and it gives Thursday 14 January 2027.

Myth or fact?

Makar Sankranti is always on 14 JanuaryTap to check
Myth It follows the Sun, so it always comes in mid-January, but the Sun’s entry into Makara can fall late in the day. For 2027 the Haridwar mela list and the Juna Akhara’s calendar give Thursday 14 January, while calendar dates for the Prayagraj Magh Mela give Friday 15 January. For the bath, go by the day the authority running your Kumbh lists, not by a calendar app.

Makar Sankranti at each Kumbh

KumbhMakar SankrantiWhat the day is
Haridwar Kumbh 2027Thursday 14 January 2027 (provisional)The first of eleven bathing days; not an Amrit Snan
Prayagraj Magh Mela 2027Friday 15 January 2027 (expected)A main bathing day of the yearly Magh Mela, by the calendar; not yet listed by the mela authority
Prayagraj Maha Kumbh 2025Tuesday 14 January 2025 (held)The first of three Amrit Snans
Nashik and Trimbakeshwar 2027Not a Simhastha bathing dayThe Amrit Snans are in August and September 2027
Ujjain Simhastha 2028Not a bathing dayIt falls before the proposed window of 27 March to 27 May 2028

Main bathing days usually draw large numbers of pilgrims; follow police and mela instructions on the day. For the day itself at Haridwar, see the Makar Sankranti snan page, and for how the bath works, the Kumbh snan guide.

Sources

14 sources · checked 16 Oct 2026
  1. Snan and Events: day descriptions in the 'View Details' panels (Haridwar Kumbh 2027 official website) · Haridwar Kumbh Mela administration, Government of Uttarakhand ·
  2. Snan and Events: Haridwar Kumbh 2027 (official website) · Haridwar Kumbh Mela administration, Government of Uttarakhand ·
  3. Dates announced for bathing festivals during Ardh Kumbh Mela in Haridwar · Press Trust of India (via The Week) ·
  4. VP Radhakrishnan extends greetings on Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri, Magh Bihu, Kanuma, Uttarayan, Tusu Parab · All India Radio News (News On AIR), Prasar Bharati ·
  5. Bathing Dates: Maha Kumbh 2025, descriptions of Paush Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Maghi Purnima and Maha Shivaratri · Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh ·
  6. Bathing Dates: Maha Kumbh 2025 · Prayagraj Mela Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh ·
  7. Mahakumbh 2025: Over 40 crore Devotees have taken the Holy Dip at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj till date · Press Information Bureau, Government of India (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) ·
  8. Shahi snan dates for Kumbh 2021 announced · Press Trust of India (via Business Standard) ·
  9. हरिद्वार कुंभ मेले का पंचांग जारी, तीन शाही स्नान करेगा जूना अखाड़ा, जानिए पूरा कार्यक्रम (Juna Akhara releases its Haridwar Kumbh calendar) · ETV Bharat (Uttarakhand) ·
  10. Festivals 2027 and festival pages: Makara Sankranti, Maha Shivaratri, Chaitra Navratri, Mesha Sankranti, Rama Navami (Tirth spiritual calendar) · TravNext Tech Private Limited (Tirth.com) ·
  11. Panchang: tithi, sunrise and lunar month · TravNext Tech Private Limited (Tirth.com) ·
  12. Magh Mela 2027 · Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (listing credited to Uttar Pradesh Tourism) ·
  13. Kumbh Mela Plan (First Edition): Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027 · Nashik–Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority, Office of the Divisional Commissioner, Nashik, Government of Maharashtra ·
  14. MP Simhastha Kumbh 2028: ₹25k Cr Infrastructure Push For 40Cr Devotees, Says CM Yadav · Deccan Chronicle ·