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{{Short description|Solar New Year in the Hindu calendar}}
{{see also|Indian New Year's days|South and Southeast Asian solar New Year|Chaitra Navrati}}{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name = Mesha Sankranti
| type = Hindu
| image = Aries zodiac sign, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, India.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Mesha zodiac sign in Jaipur, India
| official_name =
| nickname = Mesha Sankranti
| observedby =
| litcolor =
| longtype =
| significance =
| begins =
| ends =
| date = First day of meṣa [[Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar#sauramasa|masa]] (13 Apr on leap years; 14th Apr on all other years)
| duration = 1 day
| frequency = Annual
| celebrations =
| observances =

}}

'''Mesha Sankranti''' (also called '''Mesha Sankramana''' or '''Hindu Solar New Year''') refers to the first day of the solar cycle year, that is the solar New Year in the Hindu [[Lunisolar calendar|luni-solar calendar]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Sewell|author2=Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita|author3=Robert Schram|title=Indian Calendar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbAZAAAAYAAJ|year=1996|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass Publishers]] |isbn=978-81-208-1207-9|pages=31–32}}</ref> The [[Hindu calendar]] also has a lunar new year, which is religiously more significant. The solar cycle year is significant in [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Malayalam]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], and [[Bengali language|Bengali]] calendars.<ref name=sewell31/>

The day represents specific solar movement according to ancient Sanskrit texts.<ref name=sewell31>{{cite book|author1=Robert Sewell|author2=Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita|author3=Robert Schram|title=Indian Calendar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbAZAAAAYAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-1207-9|pages=29–35}}</ref> Mesha Sankranti is one of the twelve [[Sankranti]] in the Indian calendar. The concept is also found in Indian astrology texts wherein it refers to the day of transition of the Sun into the [[Aries (astrology)|Aries]] zodiac sign.<ref>{{cite book|author=K V Singh|title=Hindu Rites and Rituals: Origins and Meanings|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzoHCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT33|year=2015|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|isbn=978-93-85890-04-8|page=33}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Glossary of Native, Foreign, and Anglicized Words Commonly Used in Ceylon in Official Correspondence and Other Documents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aG4LYJqJFKQC&pg=PA66 |year=1996|publisher=[[Asian Educational Services]]|isbn=978-81-206-1202-0|pages=66–67}}</ref>

The day is important in solar and lunisolar calendars followed on the subcontinent. Mesha Sankranti falls on 13 April usually, sometimes 14 April. This day is the basis for major Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist festivals, of which [[Pohela Boishakh]], [[Vaisakhi]], and [[Vesak]] are the best known.<ref name="Gupta2006p998">{{cite book|author1=K.R. Gupta|author2=Amita Gupta|title=Concise Encyclopaedia of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dNOT9iYxcMC&pg=PA998 |year=2006|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|isbn=978-81-269-0639-0|page=998}}</ref><ref name="Roy2005p479">{{cite book|author=Christian Roy|title=Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKqOUfqt4cIC&pg=PA479|year=2005|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1-57607-089-5|pages=479–480}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Mark Juergensmeyer|author2=Wade Clark Roof|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WwJzAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA530 |year=2011|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|isbn=978-1-4522-6656-5|page=530}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The phrase ''Mesha Sankranti'' consists of two Sanskrit words. ''Sankranti'' literally means "going from one place to another, transference, course change, entry into" particularly in the context of sun or planets, while ''Mesha'' means sheep or [[Aries constellation]].<ref>[http://spokensanskrit.de/index.php?beginning=0+&tinput=+Sankranti&trans=Translate Sankranti], Sanskrit English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany</ref> The term Mesha Sankranti connotes a specific day based on [[Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar|time keeping practices developed in the ancient Sanskrit texts]] of the [[Vedanga]] field of study called [[Jyotisha]] and later texts such as the ''Surya Siddhanta''.<ref name=sewell31/>

==Observance==
{{See also|Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar}}
Many regional calendars have two elements: lunar and solar. The lunar element is based on the movement of the moon and counts each month from either new moon to new moon, full moon to full moon, or the day after the full moon to the next full moon.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hvMq7KvwLf8C&dq=lunar+months+chaitra&pg=PA172 Frank Parise (2002) The Book of Calendars]</ref> The lunar element forms the basis of religious calendars and begin the year in Chaitra.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=vV1s4T8y8J8C&dq=lunar+months+chaitra&pg=PA2 L.D.S. Pillai (1996) Panchang and Horoscope]</ref> Many regions begin the local new year with the commencement of the lunar calendar: [[Gudi Padwa]] in [[Maharashtra]] and [[Goa]]; [[Cheti Chand]] for the [[Sindhi Hindus]];<ref>Mark-Anthony Falzon (2004) Cosmopolitan Connections: The Sindhi Diaspora, 1860-2000 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ljbS-I5Y8WMC&dq=cheti+chand&pg=PA62]</ref> and [[Navreh]] for the [[Kashmiri Hindus]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=zsoC6GWr47QC&dq=lunar+new+year+kashmir+navreh&pg=PA55 Explore Kashmiri Pandits]</ref> In [[Gujarat]], the regional year commences with the lunar month of Kartika after [[Diwali]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PGXgssv08PgC&dq=rajasthan+++new+year+lunar+calendar&pg=PA44 S. Balachandra Rao. Indian Astronomy: An Introduction]</ref>

The solar element of lunisolar calendars begin the year on [[Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar#rashi|Mesha Sankranti]]. This day is observed by people across India, even in regions which begin the new year using the lunar calendar. However, some regions also begin the regional new year on Mesha Sankranti.

==See also==
* [[Songkran]], the term used to refer to the Buddhist calendar-based New Year festivals of April
* [[South and Southeast Asian New Year]], observations based on ''mesha sankranti''
* [[Zodiac]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{New Year by Calendar}}
[[Category:New Year celebrations]]
[[Category:Festivals in India]]
[[Category:Hindu astrology]]
[[Category:Hindu astronomy]]
[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:Hindu festivals]]

Mesha Sankranti - Revision history

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