Festival · 2027
Ugadi 2027 — Wednesday, 7 April 2027
Ugadi is the new year of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, on the first day of the bright half of Chaitra, welcomed with a dish of six tastes and the reading of the year’s almanac.
In 2026
Thursday, 19 March 2026
- Tithi
- Shukla Pratipada: 19 Mar, 6:53 AM – 20 Mar, 4:52 AM
- Lunar month
- Chaitra
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:26 AM / 6:31 PM
Rule: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada at sunrise, when the new year begins; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins.
In 2027
Wednesday, 7 April 2027
- Tithi
- Shukla Pratipada: 7 Apr, 5:21 AM – 8 Apr, 4:29 AM
- Lunar month
- Chaitra
- Sunrise / sunset
- 6:04 AM / 6:42 PM
Rule: Chaitra Shukla Pratipada at sunrise, when the new year begins; if it touches no sunrise, the day it begins.
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 Ugadi?
Ugadi is the lunar new year of the Kannada and Telugu speaking regions. It falls on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first tithi of the bright half of Chaitra, the same day that Maharashtra celebrates as Gudi Padwa. The name is usually explained as yuga and adi, the beginning of an age, and in Kannada the day is also called Yugadi.
Tradition holds that Brahma began the work of creation on this day, so each year is seen as a fresh beginning of time on a small scale. The new year also brings a new samvatsara, one of the sixty named years of the cycle used in the southern almanacs, each with its own name, from Prabhava to Akshaya. People speak of the coming year by its samvatsara name, and the new almanac for that year is released and read out on Ugadi.
The most distinctive part of the day is the Ugadi pachadi in Telugu homes, or bevu bella in Kannada homes, a small preparation that combines six tastes: bitter neem flowers, sweet jaggery, sour tamarind, salt, the heat of green chilli or pepper, and the tang of raw mango. Everyone eats a spoonful first thing in the morning. The six tastes are read as the six kinds of experience a year may bring, sorrow and joy, disappointment and surprise among them, and the dish is a reminder to meet them all with an even mind.
In the evening, or sometimes in the morning, families gather at a temple or a public hall for panchanga shravanam, the listening to the new almanac. A priest or scholar reads out the year’s forecasts in the traditional style, the planetary rulers of the year and the expectations for rain and harvest. Many people enjoy it as a cultural tradition rather than as a literal prediction, and it closes a day of new clothes, festive food such as obbattu or bobbatlu, and visits to family and temples.
How it is observed
- Cleaning the house and hanging a toran of fresh mango leaves over the doorway, with rangoli or muggulu at the entrance.
- Taking an oil bath early in the morning and wearing new clothes.
- Eating the Ugadi pachadi or bevu bella of six tastes before anything else.
- Offering puja at home and visiting temples for the new year.
- Listening to panchanga shravanam, the reading of the new year’s almanac.
- Cooking a festive meal with obbattu, holige or bobbatlu, and pulihora, and sharing it with family.
How the date is fixed
Ugadi follows the same rule as Gudi Padwa. It is Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first tithi of the bright half of Chaitra, and since the new year begins with the tithi that prevails at sunrise, our calendar keeps it on the day the Pratipada holds at sunrise. If the Pratipada begins and ends without touching any sunrise (a kshaya tithi), the day it begins is taken. The date and the span of the Pratipada above are worked out this way for your place.
Where practice differs
Ugadi is celebrated across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and by Kannada and Telugu families everywhere. Konkani communities of coastal Karnataka also mark the day, and in Maharashtra and Goa the same new year is Gudi Padwa. The southern almanacs, like those of the west, are amanta, so Chaitra here begins after the new Moon, and the new samvatsara begins on Ugadi. Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which follow solar calendars, celebrate Puthandu and Vishu about two to three weeks later, at the Sun’s entry into Aries, so the new year in neighbouring states falls on different days.
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
What are the six tastes of Ugadi pachadi?
Bitter from neem flowers, sweet from jaggery, sour from tamarind, salt, heat from green chilli or pepper, and tang from raw mango. Together they stand for the mixed experiences a year brings.
Are Ugadi and Gudi Padwa on the same day?
Yes. Both fall on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada and follow the same date rule; Ugadi is the name in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra.
What is panchanga shravanam?
The public reading of the new year’s almanac on Ugadi, usually at a temple or hall. It gives the year’s samvatsara, its planetary rulers and traditional forecasts for rain and harvest, and many enjoy it as a cultural custom.
What is a samvatsara?
One of the sixty named years in the cycle used by the southern almanacs, from Prabhava to Akshaya. A new samvatsara begins each Ugadi, and the cycle repeats every sixty years.