Bhisma, Krishna and Shiva: How are they connected to Makar Sankranti?
If you have grown up in India, you must have seen your parents and grandparents celebrating Makar Sankranti. It is a Hindu harvest festival that happens in mid-January every year. It marks the transition of sun from Sagittarius or ‘dhanu’ to Capricorn or ‘makara.’ In fact, on the day of Makar Sankranti, the sun is believed to shift from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere as per the Hindu calendar. So, it’s no wonder that this festival is dedicated to Surya, the sun god and is supposed to symbolise a fresh start.
This year, the Makar Sankranti will take place tomorrow. Ahead of the festival, let us take you through some of the popular legends surrounding it.
The legend of Bhisma
According to a legend in the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, Bhisma, the commander of Kauravas and the grandsire of Pandavas, was harmed when he fell to the arrows of Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. However, he didn’t die instantly as he had a boon from his father that let him choose his own day and time of death. Guess when he finally decided to depart from the Earth? On the day of Makar Sankranti, after having lied in the bed of arrows for more than a month. Till date, people believe that whoever dies on the day of Makar Sankranti dies of free will, but has no chance of a rebirth.
The legend of Krishna
People staying in Andhra Pradesh would know Makar Sankranti as Bhogi. But why? Well, it turns out that Lord Krishna had asked farmers to worship the Govardhan Mountain instead of their usual deity Lord Indra on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti. However, Lord Indra was angry and humiliated and in a fit of rage sent down thunder, lightning, rain and floods upon the Govardhan Mountain. Realising the risk he had taken, Krishna decided to do some damage control. Guess what he did? He lifted up the Govardhan Mountain all by himself and prevented the impending catastrophe and saved the innocent humans and their livestock. This made Indra realise his own mistake and he sought Krishna’s forgiveness. Being benevolent, Krishna granted him mercy and declared Makar Sankranti as “Bhogi” day or the day of Indra, the rain god.
The legend of Shiva
As you know, Makar Sankranti is a harvest festival. But why is it so? Well, legends have it that Lord Shiva had asked his bull Nandi to go down to the earth and convey a message to his disciples. It said, “Have an oil bath every day and food once a month.” Guess what Nandi did? He said the reverse, "Have food daily and take oil bath once a month.” Learning about Nandi’s unpardonable mistake, Shiva decided to punish him. Thus, he ordered Nandi to stay back on Earth forever and help the humans arrange for more food crops to feed themselves regularly. This is how Makar Sankranti came to be celebrated as a harvest festival.