Glossary · concept
Uttarayana & Dakshinayana
Also written the Sun’s northward and southward course · Uttarayan
The solar year is split in two by the Sun's apparent drift. Uttarayana is the northward course — beginning at Makar Sankranti (the Sun's entry into Makara/Capricorn, around 14 January) and running to mid-year. Dakshinayana is the southward course, from Karka Sankranti (entry into Karka/Cancer, around mid-July).
Uttarayana is regarded as the bright, auspicious half — the devas' daytime — traditionally favoured for sacred undertakings; Dakshinayana is the more inward half, holding the monsoon and the ancestral fortnight.
(Because the almanac is sidereal, these turns track the Sankranti dates, which sit a few weeks after the astronomical solstices.)
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