Mesha Sankranti

Sankranti (Sanskrit: संक्रान्ति saṁkrānti) refers to the transmigration of the Sun from one Rāshi (zodiac constellation) to the next. There are 12 Sankranti in Hindu solar calendars.

Zodiac wheel

Mesha Sankranti (मेष संक्रान्ति) marks the beginning of the New Year in Hindu solar calendars. According to Vedic astrology, the sun enters Aries, or Mesha rashi on this day. Unlike Ugadi, which is based on the lunisolar calendar and varies from year to year, Mesha Sankranti usually falls on April 13th or 14th. Different solar calendars mark the first day of the year according to the exact time of the Sankranti.

Aries zodiac sign in Jaipur, India [© Yann Forget / Wikimedia Commons, from Wikimedia Commons]. (2014, August). Retrieved April 11, 2018, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aries_zodiac_sign,_Jantar_Mantar,_Jaipur,_India.jpg

Regional celebrations of Mesha Sankranti:

• Odisha: Pana Sankranti
• Tamil Nadu: Puthandu
• Kerala: Vishu
• Bengal: Boishakh
• Assam: Bihu
• Punjab: Vaisakhi, which also marks the formation of the Sikh Khalsa.

Songkran refers to New Year festivals of April in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of Northeast India, parts of Vietnam and Xishuangbanna, China (borders Laos and Thailand), according to Mesha Sankranti observations.

Sources:
2018 Mesha Sankranti, Sankramanam Date and Time. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from https://www.drikpanchang.com/sankranti/mesha-sankranti-date-time.html 

 
Mesha Sankranti. (2018, March 07). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Sankranti

Sankranti. (2018, April 10). Retrieved April 12, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankranti  

The meaning of April 14

April 14 is not only Bengali New Year, but also New Year in other parts of India: Odisha (Pana Sankranti), Tamil Nadu (Puthandu), Kerala (Vishu), Assam (Bihu), and Vaisakhi (Punjab). In Punjab, it also commemorates the formation of the Khalsa, or Sikh community, by Guru Gobind Singh.

Formation of the Khalsa

April 14 is Mesha Sankranti, the day that the sun transits into Aries. The picture below shows a painted relief of Zodiac symbols on the terrace of a Gopuram at Kanipakam Lord Shiva temple in Andhra Pradesh. 

By Adityamadhav83 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

April 14 is also New Year in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, parts of Vietnam, and Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China (borders Thailand).  These New Years are collectively referred to as Songkran (Songkran = Sankranti).