Festival
Kumbha Sankranti 2028: Date, Rituals & Significance
Sunday
Sunday, 13 February 2028
Kumbha Sankranti 2028 is on Sunday, 13 February 2028. Kumbha Sankranti is the Sun's entry into sidereal Aquarius. It is chiefly a bathing parva — the Magha–Phalguna bathing season at Prayagraj falls under it — and it opens the Tamil month Maasi, in which Maha Shivaratri and Masi Magam are kept.
Send your own
Add your name and city. Your family gets the exact muhurat for that city, from you.
Muhurat for New Delhi
Kumbha Sankranti 2028 puja muhurat & timings
The puja muhurat and the day's timings depend on your city's sunrise and sunset. Choose your city to see them.
Krishna Tritiya runs 12 Feb, 13:04 → 13 Feb, 09:40.
What is Kumbha Sankranti?
A bath at a river confluence on Kumbha Sankranti, followed by dana of grain, cloth and sesame, is held to carry special merit. The Kalpavasis at the Prayag Magh Mela keep their month-long vow across it. In the Tamil country Masi Magam — the Magha-nakshatra full-moon procession of temple deities to the sea or a tank — comes within the month.
The story of Kumbha Sankranti
Kumbha Sankranti's role as a bathing day belongs to the wider Magha-snana tradition praised in the Puranas; the Prayag Kumbh and Ardha Kumbh are timed by the Sun in Kumbha (or Makara) together with Jupiter's sign, an astronomical rule stated in the pilgrimage manuals.
History
Magha-snana at the Ganga–Yamuna confluence is praised in the Matsya and Padma Puranas; the twelve-yearly Kumbh cycle keyed to Jupiter's transit is described in later pilgrimage digests and is the basis of the Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik melas.
- Matsya and Padma Puranas — the Magha-snana mahatmya
- Wikipedia — Kumbha Sankranti
How Kumbha Sankranti is observed
- The Sun enters Aquarius in mid-February, opening the Tamil month of Masi.
- In a Kumbh Mela year, the Sankranti is a major bathing day at the mela; otherwise a bath at the Ganga or a nearby river, and daan, mark the day.
- In Bengal and Odisha the month of Phalgun begins, with preparations for Holi.
Regional variations
- Prayagraj and the Ganga plain. A confluence bath and dana; the Kalpavasis observe it during the Magh Mela month.
- Tamil Nadu. The first of Maasi — Maha Shivaratri and the Masi Magam sea-procession fall within the month.
Festive foods
- Til and gur — Sesame and jaggery given in the late-winter daan.
Why this date
Kumbha Sankranti falls on Sunday, 13 February 2028. Sun's sidereal ingress into Aquarius (Kumbha); Magha bathing (Kalpavas) season.
at sunrise
The astronomical basis
Kumbha Sankranti is the moment the Sun enters sidereal Aquarius (Lahiri), near 13 February. Note that the Kumbh Mela is named for the sign Kumbha but is timed by a combination of the Sun's and Jupiter's positions, not by this Sankranti alone. The sidereal date is nearly fixed in the Gregorian calendar.
Fixed to a solar ingress — the Gregorian date barely moves (a day either way as the ingress instant drifts against the civil day).
Kumbha Sankranti dates 2022–2037
| Year | Date | Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Sunday, 13 February 2022 | Sun | — |
| 2023 | Monday, 13 February 2023 | Mon | — |
| 2024 | Tuesday, 13 February 2024 | Tue | — |
| 2025 | Wednesday, 12 February 2025 | Wed | — |
| 2026 | Friday, 13 February 2026 | Fri | — |
| 2027 | Saturday, 13 February 2027 | Sat | — |
| 2028 | Sunday, 13 February 2028 | Sun | — |
| 2029 | Monday, 12 February 2029 | Mon | — |
| 2030 | Wednesday, 13 February 2030 | Wed | — |
| 2031 | Thursday, 13 February 2031 | Thu | — |
| 2032 | Friday, 13 February 2032 | Fri | — |
| 2033 | Saturday, 12 February 2033 | Sat | — |
| 2034 | Monday, 13 February 2034 | Mon | — |
| 2035 | Tuesday, 13 February 2035 | Tue | — |
| 2036 | Wednesday, 13 February 2036 | Wed | — |
| 2037 | Thursday, 12 February 2037 | Thu | — |
Dates for New Delhi; they can differ by a day elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
When is Kumbha Sankranti 2028?
Kumbha Sankranti 2028 is on Sunday, 13 February 2028. Kumbha Sankranti falls on Sunday, 13 February 2028. Sun's sidereal ingress into Aquarius (Kumbha); Magha bathing (Kalpavas) season.
Is Kumbha Sankranti the same as the Kumbh Mela?
No. The Kumbh Mela shares the name of the sign Kumbha, but its timing depends on Jupiter's position as well as the Sun's, and the great bathing days are set by specific tithis and nakshatras within the Magha season — not by Kumbha Sankranti itself, which is simply the monthly solar ingress.
What is a Sankranti?
The moment the Sun crosses from one sidereal rashi into the next — there are twelve in a year. Each is a parva for snana (bathing), dana (giving) and pitru-tarpana, and the punya kala is the few hours around the exact ingress.
Related
Same theme
Associated graha
Written and checked by AstroTathya Editorial Team · Last checked 2026-09-08.
Date & panchang computed by the AstroTathya calculation engine, Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa; muhurat and timings are worked out for each city. How we calculate this → · Editorial policy
Sources & further reading
- Matsya and Padma Puranas — the Magha-snana mahatmya
- Wikipedia — Kumbha Sankranti