Gudi Padwaगुढीपाडवा

Gudi Padwa is the Marathi New Year. It opens the Shaka year and the month of Chaitra, and it is one of the three and a half most auspicious days (sade-teen muhurta) of the Marathi calendar.

Next: Wednesday, 7 April 2027.

The gudi

Early in the morning a gudi is raised at the door or on a balcony: a bamboo staff wrapped with a bright silk cloth, topped with an upturned copper or silver kalash, a sprig of neem leaves, mango leaves, a garland of flowers and a string of sugar gathi. It stands until sunset and is then taken down with a short prayer.

At home

The day starts with an oil bath. Neem leaves are eaten with jaggery, tamarind and cumin, a reminder that a year holds both bitter and sweet. Shrikhand-puri or puran poli is the usual festive meal, and many families read the new year's panchang (panchang shravan) together.

Shobha yatra

In Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Dombivli and Nagpur, New Year processions (shobha yatra) with dhol-tasha pathaks, lezim and people in traditional Nauvari saree and pheta have become a large public celebration.

A good day to begin

Because the whole day counts as a muhurat, people choose Gudi Padwa to buy gold, a vehicle or a home, to start a business or to perform a griha pravesh.

How the date is fixed

The first tithi of the bright half of Chaitra, taken at sunrise. When Pratipada begins and ends between two sunrises, the festival is kept on the day it begins.

Dates are calculated for Mumbai. A printed panchang from another city or tradition can differ by a day. For rituals, follow your family priest.