Festival
Simha Sankranti 2028: Date, Rituals & Significance
Wednesday
Wednesday, 16 August 2028
Simha Sankranti 2028 is on Wednesday, 16 August 2028. Simha Sankranti is the Sun's entry into sidereal Leo. It opens Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam agricultural year and the run-up to Onam, and the Tamil month Avani; in the Himalayan foothills it is kept as Ghee Sankranti.
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Simha Sankranti 2028 puja muhurat & timings
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Krishna Ekadashi runs 16 Aug, 05:12 → 17 Aug, 03:49.
What is Simha Sankranti?
In Kerala Chingam 1 is the Malayalam New Year (Kolla Varsham) for agricultural reckoning, a day for the first harvest and for temple visits, with the Onam season following within the month. The Tamil month Avani carries Avani Avittam, the annual renewal of the sacred thread (upakarma). In Karnataka Simha Sankramana is a bathing parva.
The story of Simha Sankranti
The Malayalam solar calendar counts Chingam as its first month, an arrangement fixed by the medieval Kollam era; Avani Avittam's upakarma is prescribed in the Grihya Sutras for the full-moon of the Shravana solar month.
History
The Kollam era (Kollavarsham) has counted the Malayalam year from Chingam since 825 CE; the upakarma thread-renewal is a Vedic-era rite carried into the Tamil month Avani, kept by Yajur- and Rig-vedic brahmins on different days within it.
- Kollam era — the Malayalam solar calendar
- Wikipedia — Simha Sankranti
How Simha Sankranti is observed
- The Sun enters Leo, its own sign, in mid-August.
- In Kerala it is Chingam 1, the Malayalam New Year, at the start of the harvest month that leads into Onam.
- In Uttarakhand it is Ghee Sankranti (Olgia), when ghee is eaten and gifts of produce are exchanged; elsewhere the day is kept with a bath, Surya puja and daan.
Regional variations
- Kerala. Chingam 1 — the Malayalam agricultural new year, first-harvest offerings and the start of the Onam season.
- Tamil Nadu. The month of Avani — Avani Avittam (upakarma), Gayatri Japam and Vinayaka Chaturthi fall within it.
- Uttarakhand hills, Nepal. Ghee Sankranti / Sinha Sankranti — ghee-rich food at the height of the monsoon.
Festive foods
- Ghee — Eaten with bedu roti in Uttarakhand, in the belief that it keeps illness away.
- Chingam sadya — Kerala households cook the first feast of the new year.
Why this date
Simha Sankranti falls on Wednesday, 16 August 2028. Sun's sidereal ingress into Leo (Simha); start of the Malayalam month of Chingam (Onam season).
at sunrise
The astronomical basis
Simha Sankranti is the moment the Sun enters sidereal Leo (Lahiri), near 17 August. As with all Sankrantis the sidereal date is nearly stationary against 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).
Simha Sankranti dates 2022–2037
| Year | Date | Day | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Wednesday, 17 August 2022 | Wed | — |
| 2023 | Thursday, 17 August 2023 | Thu | — |
| 2024 | Friday, 16 August 2024 | Fri | — |
| 2025 | Sunday, 17 August 2025 | Sun | — |
| 2026 | Monday, 17 August 2026 | Mon | — |
| 2027 | Tuesday, 17 August 2027 | Tue | — |
| 2028 | Wednesday, 16 August 2028 | Wed | — |
| 2029 | Friday, 17 August 2029 | Fri | — |
| 2030 | Saturday, 17 August 2030 | Sat | — |
| 2031 | Sunday, 17 August 2031 | Sun | — |
| 2032 | Monday, 16 August 2032 | Mon | — |
| 2033 | Wednesday, 17 August 2033 | Wed | — |
| 2034 | Thursday, 17 August 2034 | Thu | — |
| 2035 | Friday, 17 August 2035 | Fri | — |
| 2036 | Saturday, 16 August 2036 | Sat | — |
| 2037 | Monday, 17 August 2037 | Mon | — |
Dates for New Delhi; they can differ by a day elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
When is Simha Sankranti 2028?
Simha Sankranti 2028 is on Wednesday, 16 August 2028. Simha Sankranti falls on Wednesday, 16 August 2028. Sun's sidereal ingress into Leo (Simha); start of the Malayalam month of Chingam (Onam season).
Is Simha Sankranti the Malayalam new year?
For agricultural and traditional reckoning, yes — Chingam 1, the first day of the Malayalam solar year, with the Onam season following within the month. In the Kumaon hills the same Sankranti is kept as Ghee Sankranti.
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
In other traditions
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
- Kollam era — the Malayalam solar calendar
- Wikipedia — Simha Sankranti