Makara Rasi in English
Makara rasi is Capricorn, ruled by Saturn - and the sign the Sun enters at Makar Sankranti.
Makara rasi in English is Capricorn. Makara, also written Makar rashi, is the tenth of the twelve Vedic rashis, an earth sign ruled by Saturn, and it is the sign the Sun sidereally enters every year at Makar Sankranti. Your birth date, clock time and birthplace go into the chart above, and it returns your own rashi, drawn from where the Moon sat at your birth.
By Astro Ashish · Last verified: September 24, 2026
Makara Rasi in English: the Capricorn facts
Makara runs from 270 to 300 degrees of the zodiac, the tenth of the twelve rashis. Its full fact set, including the exact 2026 and 2027 Sun-entry dates, sits in the table below.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit | Makara |
| Hindi | मकर |
| English sign | Capricorn ♑︎ |
| Symbol | Makara, a sea-creature with the head of a deer or crocodile and the tail of a fish |
| Ruling planet (lord) | Saturn (Shani) |
| Element | Earth (Prithvi) |
| Quality | Movable (Chara) |
| Nakshatras spanned | Uttara Ashadha (pada 2-4), Shravana (full), Dhanishta (pada 1-2) |
| Common spellings | Makar, Makara, Makaram, Magaram |
| Tamil / Malayalam name | Magaram (மகரம்) / Makaram (മകരം) |
| Name letters (naam akshar) | Bho, Ja, Ji, Khi, Khu, Khe, Kho, Ga, Gi (भो, जा, जी, खी, खू, खे, खो, गा, गी) |
| Sun enters Makara, 2026 (sidereal, Lahiri) - Makar Sankranti | 14 January 2026, 15:07 IST |
| Sun enters Makara, 2027 (sidereal, Lahiri) - Makar Sankranti | 14 January 2027, 21:10 IST |
| Western (tropical) Capricorn dates | 22 December - 19 January |
| Why the dates differ | The sidereal Lahiri zodiac tracks the fixed stars; the tropical zodiac tracks the equinox/solstice points. Precession has separated them by roughly 24 days. |
When is Makar Sankranti, and why is it Makara's festival?
Makar Sankranti, one of the few Hindu festivals fixed to the solar rather than the lunar calendar, marks exactly the moment the Sun sidereally enters Makara. That is why its date barely moves year to year, usually falling on 14 or occasionally 15 January, unlike most Hindu festivals, which shift across the Gregorian calendar because they follow the Moon.
On the Lahiri ayanamsa, the 2026 crossing falls on 14 January 2026 at 15:07 IST, and the 2027 crossing on 14 January 2027 at 21:10 IST. Both land on 14 January, consistent with the widely published Makar Sankranti date for these years.
The festival is celebrated under different names across India - Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Uttarayan in Gujarat, Maghi in Punjab, Bihu in Assam - but all of them mark the same underlying event: the Sun's entry into Makara, and with it the start of Uttarayana, the Sun's six-month northward movement in Vedic tradition.
Makar rashi ko English me kya bolte hain?
Makar rashi ko English mein 'Capricorn' bolte hain, aur angreji mein iska naam Capricorn hi hai, chahe Makar, Makara ya Makaram jo bhi spelling likhi jaye. Magaram rasi, jaisa ki kuch dakshin bharatiya bhashaon mein likha jata hai, yehi rashi hai.
हिंदी में: मकर राशि को अंग्रेज़ी में Capricorn (कैप्रिकॉर्न) कहते हैं। Tamil mein ise Magaram aur Malayalam mein Makaram kehte hain; dono ka English naam Capricorn hi hai.
Makara rasi in English is Capricorn, but the two names tell different stories. Makara translates roughly to 'sea-creature' or 'crocodile', reflected in its hybrid symbol. Capricorn, meaning 'horned goat', comes from a different mythological tradition. The zodiac equivalent does not erase that difference in imagery.
Saturn's second sign, and what it shares with Kumbha
Saturn rules both Makara and Kumbha, the only planet in the classical system that rules two consecutive signs this way. Makara is read as a sign of structure and discipline: themes of long timelines and earned rather than given results run through both classical descriptions and everyday readings of a Makara Moon.
For someone identifying Makara rasi in English from a birth chart, the Makara-Kumbha boundary matters more than the spelling. A Moon near the end of Makara and one near the start of Kumbha can belong to births only hours apart. An accurate birth time decides which side of that boundary the Moon occupied.
Makara's nakshatras
Makara spans three nakshatras: the last three padas of Uttara Ashadha, the whole of Shravana, and the first two padas of Dhanishta. Shravana in particular is closely tied to Makara in classical texts and is ruled by the Moon, giving a Makara Moon born in Shravana's span a notable planetary combination in its own right.
As with every rashi, the specific nakshatra and pada, not the rashi alone, is what sets the starting point of the Vimshottari dasha timeline. The chart above reports both.
Makar rashi's nine name letters follow the same padas: Bho, Ja and Ji from Uttara Ashadha; Khi, Khu, Khe and Kho from Shravana; and Ga and Gi from Dhanishta. The naming custom takes the syllable of whichever pada held the Moon at birth.
Makar rashi and the sidereal new year
Makar Sankranti is not the sidereal new year itself; that distinction belongs to Mesha Sankranti, three signs later, when the Sun enters Mesha. Makar Sankranti instead marks the start of Uttarayana, the half of the solar year read as auspicious in Vedic tradition, which is why it carries such weight as a festival despite not resetting the zodiac count.
The Mesha rashi page has the full explanation of Mesha Sankranti and its own computed 2026 and 2027 dates.
How do you find out if your rashi is Makar?
Finding Makara rasi in English on a January Sun-sign calendar does not tell you your janam rashi. The birth sign comes from where the Moon stood at your birth. Plenty of people born in January have another Moon sign, and plenty of Makara natives were born in other months.
- Fill in your birth date in the chart near the top.
- Give the time of birth; a Moon close to the Dhanu or Kumbha border can change sign the same day.
- Select where you were born.
- Check the Moon sign shown. Makara (Capricorn) means Makar is your rashi; the pada next to your nakshatra points to your name letter.
How the Makar Sankranti times were calculated
Each time on this page is the Sun's sidereal entry into Makara, computed from the Swiss Ephemeris with the Lahiri ayanamsa applied, then converted to IST. On New Year's Day 2026 the Lahiri ayanamsa measured 24 degrees 13 minutes, and that offset is why Makar Sankranti falls on 14 January while tropical Capricorn begins around 22 December.
Related
Frequently asked
What is makara rasi in English?
Makara rasi in English is Capricorn. It is the tenth sign of the Vedic zodiac, an earth sign ruled by Saturn, and the sign the Sun enters at Makar Sankranti every January.
What is makar rashi in English name?
Makar rashi in English name is Capricorn. Makar rashi and Makara rasi are two ways of writing the same Sanskrit name in English letters, so they point to one sign and share one English name: Capricorn, the tenth sign, ruled by Saturn.
What is Makaram in English?
Makaram is the Malayalam name (മകരം) for Makara rashi, and Magaram is the Tamil form (மகரம்). Makaram in English is Capricorn, and so is Makara in English: the earth sign ruled by Saturn that the Sun sidereally enters in mid-January.
What is Makar rashi's meaning in English?
Makara translates roughly to sea-creature or crocodile, referring to its hybrid mythological symbol, part deer or crocodile, part fish. In English zodiac terms it corresponds directly to Capricorn, whose own symbol is a sea-goat.
What is magaram rasi English name?
Magaram rasi is another regional spelling of Makara rashi, used in some South Indian transliterations. Magaram rasi in English name is Capricorn, the same as Makar and Makara.
When is Makar Sankranti in 2026 and 2027?
Makar Sankranti, the Sun's sidereal entry into Makara, falls on 14 January 2026 at 15:07 IST and 14 January 2027 at 21:10 IST, on the Lahiri ayanamsa. The date is stable year to year because it follows the solar, not the lunar, calendar.
What are the starting letters of Makar rashi?
Makar rashi has nine name letters: Bho, Ja, Ji, Khi, Khu, Khe, Kho, Ga and Gi (भो, जा, जी, खी, खू, खे, खो, गा, गी). For a child, tradition uses the letter of the pada in which the Moon was placed at the time of birth.
What is makar rashi today in English?
Makara rasi in English is always Capricorn, on every date; the English name does not change day to day. What does change daily is the Moon's or Sun's transiting position within Makara's three nakshatras, tracked separately in a daily panchanga.
Is Makar rashi an earth sign?
Yes. Makara is one of three earth signs in Vedic astrology, alongside Vrishabha and Kanya, associated with practicality, patience and material structure, in contrast to the fire, water and air signs.
How is Makar rashi calculated for my chart?
Makar rashi is assigned when the Moon occupies Makara's 30-degree span at your exact birth time. Once the chart above has your date, time and place of birth, the answer is calculated directly from an astronomical ephemeris.