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Makara (Sanskrit: मकर) is the name of a zodiac sign in Indian languages known as Capricorn in English. "Jyoti" means "light" in Sanskrit. Thus "Makara Jyoti" (also spelt as Jyothi) means "Light of Capricorn".
The Sun appears to move from one zodiac constellation to another every month and the day on which Sun changes the constellation is called Sankrānti (= transit) in Sanskrit. Makara Sankranti (Sanskrit: मकर संक्रान्ति, Malayalam: മകര സാന്ക്രാന്തി, Tamil: தைப்பொங்கல், Telugu: మకర సంక్రాంతి ) is the Sun’s transit into Capricorn (Makara) constellation that usually occurs on 14 January every year and is a very important Hindu festival celebrated all over India in various forms. Uttarāyaṇa, the six-month period when the sun travels towards the north on the celestial sphere starts on Makara Sankranti and ends on Karka Sankranti (around July 14).
One of the places where a large number of devout Hindus reach on 14 January for worship is Sabarimala located in thick rain forests of Kerala.
Makara Jyothi is worshiped as a part of ritual in Sabarimala Temple on Makara Sankranti on 14 January every year. Devout Hindus believe that the jyothi is a celestial phenomenon and its sighting is auspicious and brings good luck and blessings.
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Popular mythical belief is that the Makara Jyothi or Makara Vilakku is lit there in commemoration of the aarathi performed by Dev rishis and Devas at the time of revelation of His Divine form (Roopa) by Manikantan (an incarnation of god Vishnu). Until recently the appearance of the light was believed to be divine, a celestial miracle and a naturally-occuring phenomenon.
This event marks the culmination of the long and arduous pilgrimage to Sabarimala shrine. The light disappears in the evening after the Thiruvaabharanam (divine ornaments) are brought into the sanctum sanctorum and are placed on the Lord. The most significant rituals of worship are performed at the day of Makara Sankaranthi (14th January every year). It draws the second largest number of pilgrims to a place of worship in India. Of particular significance is the fact that this is a remote forest in the Western Ghats in Kerala.
The myth of this divine light that shines on a particular festival day (14 January) at a particular time in the evening has been drawing millions on pilgrimage to this remote temple in the rain forests of Kerala every year. The most famous Ayyappa shrine in India is the one at Sabarimala with over 50 million devotees visiting it every year.
The huge crowd of pilgrims that witnesses the event has been on the rise every year.[1] It is believed that 1.5 million devotees witnessed Makarajyoti light in 2010.[2] The revenue collection during the Makaravilakku period was also higher compared to previous years. The total donations were Rs.720 million in 2008 against previous year’s Rs.723 million.[3]
Devout Hindus believed (and the majority still continue to believe despite photographic and other evidence and facts to the contrary established in the years 1981 to 2008) that Makara Jyothi and Makara Vilakku are divine phenomena that occur in nature. The majority of devout Hindus do not distinguish between Makara Jyothi and Makara Vilakku as one being a natural phenomenon and the other being a man-made phenomenon and both are synonyms for them.
The grandson of traditional supreme priest of the Sabarimala temple made that distinction for the first time in the history of the "Makara Jyothi" in a press conference in 2008. An attempt was made by him in the press conference to distinguish between Makara Jyothi and Makara Vilakku by stating that the former is the Makara star appearing above the hills and the latter is the light appearing thrice on the hill next to the sanctum sanctorum and Makara Vilakku is the right term because vilakku literally means a lamp or light.
Rahul Easwar, grandson of traditional supreme priest of the Sabarimala temple, Tantri Kantaru Maheswararu stated in a press conference reported in "The Hindu" newspaper on 28 May 2008.[4] that the Makara Vilakku was a fire lit by human hand on the hill neighbouring Sabarimala shrine while the Makara Jyothi was a star that appeared in the evening sky on the day marking the culmination of the annual festival. “It is the star that is worshiped as a celestial light. The Makaravilakku is merely a ritual involving the lighting of a fire as a symbolic act!” he said.
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