Page 18 - Balvihar january 2024

Trace Tales with

Kite Tails

The Makara Sankranti festival is dedicated to the Lord Sun (Surya Narayana). Usually it falls
on 14th of January. Occasionally it falls on 14th or 15th of January.

Sankranti means movement or transition. Makara is the zodiac sign, what we call ‘raashi’ in
our culture. On this day Surya Narayana enters the Makara raashi or the sign of Capricorn.
Therefore, the festival is named Makara Sankranti.

It was only a few hundred years ago that modern scientists gave us an explanation of the
Solar System. The ancient rishis of our country, Bharat knew that the sun is the centre of all the
planets which orbit the sun and the sun provides energy to these planets including our Earth.

Thus, Makara Sankranti is also a festival of gratitude. The earthlings thank Surya Narayana
for blessing them and pray that He continues to shower his grace on the Earth.

People celebrate by exchanging
sugarcane, til laddoos, sugar dolls
and flying kites.
Lord Krishna, Lord Indra and
Makara Sankranti

Lord Krishna on this day asked
the gopaas, the cow-herd boys
to worship the Govardhan Parvat
(mountain) instead of Lord Indra.
This made Lord Indra go mad with
rage. The Lord took it as a big insult
and decided to take revenge. He
called the clouds and made them
pour and pour. The lightening and
thunder accompanied the rains.
Floods engulfed the place.

But Krishna is always there for His devotees. He immediately lifted the Govardhan Parvat with
the pinky finger of the left hand. All the people – young and old, boys and girls, cattle and
birds, trees and plants, each one took refuge under the mountain. He held the mountain for
seven long days. Lord Indra then realized his mistake and called back the clouds and stopped
the havoc.

Then Indra asked Lord Krishna for forgiveness. The great Lord of Vrindavan asked the people
to worship Indra on this day.

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Balvihar - January 2024