Hinduism - What Is Uttarayana?


The six months of the solar year during which the sun is thought to be travelling northward are known as the Solstice.

This would be the time between the winter and summer solstices (approximately December 20 and June 20) in the common era, and it would be based on the actual motion of the sun with regard to the earth.

The Indian solar year is calculated differently from Western astrology and is based on the path of the sun across the zodiac.

The uttarayana starts on Makara Sankranti (the day the sun enters Capricorn, which is generally January 14) and concludes the day before Karka Sankranti (the day the sun enters Cancer, usually calculated as July 14).

Because the guardian god for the southern direction is Yama, who is death personified, the Uttarayana is considered a more fortunate period than the Dakshinayana (when the sun is traveling toward the south).

~Kiran Atma


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