Festival · 2027

Puthandu (Tamil New Year) 2027 — Wednesday, 14 April 2027

Puthandu, also called Varusha Pirappu, is the Tamil New Year, kept on the first day of the solar month of Chithirai when the Sun enters Aries.

In 2026

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

Sunrise / sunset: 5:56 AM / 6:46 PM
Sankranti moment: 9:32 AM

Rule: The first day of the Tamil solar month Chithirai: the day the Sun enters sidereal Aries if before sunset, else the next day.

In 2027

Wednesday, 14 April 2027

Sunrise / sunset: 5:57 AM / 6:46 PM
Sankranti moment: 3:28 PM

Rule: The first day of the Tamil solar month Chithirai: the day the Sun enters sidereal Aries if before sunset, else the next day.

Times follow New Delhi’s sunrise and sunset. In other cities the muhurat shifts by some minutes, and occasionally the day by one. Full festival calendar

What is Puthandu (Tamil New Year)?

Puthandu means “new year” in Tamil, and Varusha Pirappu “the birth of the year”. The Tamil calendar is solar: each month begins when the Sun enters a new sign of the sidereal zodiac, and the year begins with Chithirai, when the Sun enters Aries. Puthandu is therefore the same astronomical moment as Baisakhi in Punjab, Vishu in Kerala and Pohela Boishakh in Bengal, each kept by its own regional rule and customs. It usually falls in the middle of April.

The Tamil calendar names its years in a cycle of sixty, shared with much of south and west India, and each Puthandu opens a new year of that cycle with its own name. Temples and families read the new panchangam, the almanac for the year, in a ceremony called panchanga padanam or panchangam vasippu, in which the year’s main features, rains and festivals are announced. The reading is a way of beginning the year with knowledge of its shape, not with fear of it.

At home the day is quiet and bright. The house is cleaned the day before, the entrance is decorated with a kolam of rice flour, and a lamp is lit. Many families, especially in the far south, arrange a tray of fruit, flowers, gold, a mirror and coins to be seen first on waking, in a custom close to Kerala’s Vishukkani. The meal of the day includes mango pachadi, a relish of raw mango, jaggery, neem flowers and other ingredients that brings sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent tastes together, a reminder that a year holds a mix of experiences and that each should be accepted.

Puthandu is a time for new clothes, visits to temples and elders, and good wishes of “Puthandu vazhthukkal”. It also opens the month of Chithirai, which brings other large festivals, among them the Chithirai festival of the Meenakshi temple at Madurai later in the month. For Tamil communities in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere, the day is also an occasion to gather and keep the language and customs alive.

How it is observed

Cleaning the house the day before and drawing a kolam of rice flour at the entrance on the morning of Puthandu.
In many homes, arranging a tray of fruit, flowers, gold, coins and a mirror to be seen first on waking.
An early bath, new clothes and a visit to the family temple or a nearby temple.
Listening to the panchangam reading for the new year at a temple or at home.
Cooking a festive meal that includes mango pachadi, with its mix of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent tastes.
Seeking the blessings of elders and exchanging greetings of “Puthandu vazhthukkal”.

How the date is fixed

Puthandu is the first day of the Tamil solar month Chithirai. Our calendar finds the moment the Sun enters sidereal Aries (Mesha Sankranti). If that moment comes before sunset, Puthandu is that day; if it comes after sunset, Puthandu is the next day. The date above is worked out this way for the place you choose. Because the Tamil year is solar, no tithi is involved, and the date stays within a day of the same civil date from year to year.

Where practice differs

Puthandu is kept across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and by Tamil communities in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and beyond. In Sri Lanka it coincides with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, a shared national holiday. In the far south, around Kanyakumari, the customs are close to Kerala’s Vishu, with a kani seen first on waking. For a short period the Tamil Nadu government declared the first of Thai, the Pongal month, to be the Tamil New Year, and later restored Chithirai; some people still hold that Thai marks the true Tamil year, while most households keep Puthandu. Tamil almanacs use the sunset rule, so Puthandu can occasionally fall a day before Kerala’s Vishu.

Dates and times are computed by our own engine (sunrise, tithi and kalas for New Delhi, Lahiri ayanamsa). In another city, or in an almanac of another tradition, the day can differ by one — follow your family’s tradition.

Questions people ask

Why is Puthandu celebrated?

Puthandu marks the start of the Tamil solar year, when the Sun enters Aries and the month of Chithirai begins. Families clean and decorate their homes, visit temples, hear the new year’s panchangam and share a festive meal, beginning the year with gratitude and good wishes.

What is mango pachadi and why is it made on Puthandu?

Mango pachadi is a relish of raw mango, jaggery, neem flowers and other ingredients that combines sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent tastes. It is made on the new year as a reminder that life brings a mix of joys and difficulties, and that each is part of the year.

Is the Tamil New Year in Chithirai or in Thai?

Most Tamil households and almanacs keep the new year on the first of Chithirai, which is Puthandu. The state government for a time declared the first of Thai as the new year and later restored Chithirai, and a view that Thai is the true start of the year is still held by some.

Is Puthandu the same day as Vishu and Baisakhi?

All three mark the Sun’s entry into Aries and usually fall on the same day. Tamil and Punjabi calendars use sunset as the cut-off, while Vishu is the first dawn after the entry, so Vishu is occasionally one day later.