Ugadi

{{short description|Kannada and Telugu Hindu New Year}} {{Other uses}} {{For|other traditions|Indian New Year's days|Lunar New Year}}

{{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Ugadi | official_name = {{lang|te|ఉగాది}} (Telugu)<br />{{lang|kn|ಯುಗಾದಿ}} (Kannada) | image = A Happy Ugadi puja tray Telugu Hindu New Year Vaisakhi.jpg | caption = Ugadi Pachadi with puja tray | type = Hindu | nickname = Samvatsaradi, Yugadi | observedby = Telugu and Kannadiga Hindus | significance = Denotes the start of the New Year | date2025 = 30 March (Sunday) | date2026 = 19 March (Thursday) | longtype = Religious (Hindu), social, cultural | frequency = Annual | celebrations = Muggu/Rangoli, visiting Temples, Feast with Bobbattu, Holige and Bevu Bella | relatedto = Gudi Padwa, Cheti Chand, Navreh }} {{Hindu festival date info}} {{Hinduism}} Ugadi Pachadi|thumb|right '''{{transliteration|te|Ugādi|italic=no}}''' ({{langx|te|ఉగాది|Ugādi}}), '''{{transliteration|kn|Yugādi|italic=no}}''' ({{langx|sa|युगादि|Yugādi|beginning of the era. Yuga, meaning “era,” and Adi, meaning “beginning”}}, {{langx|kn|ಯುಗಾದಿ|Yugādi}}) or also known as '''Saṁvatsarādi''' ({{langx|sa|संवत्सरादि|Saṁvatsarādi|beginning of the year. Samvat, meaning “era,” and Adi, meaning “beginning”}}), is the first day of the year on the Hindu calendar. It is traditionally celebrated by the Kannadigas and Telugu people in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, in some parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as well as by diaspora communities elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalal |first=Roshen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&q=ugadi |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Books India |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |pages=427 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Karen-Marie Yust|title=Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_dWh0l-iXHUC&pg=PA228|year=2006|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-4463-5|pages=228–229}}</ref> The cycle consists of 60 years—each year individually named. It is observed on the first day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Chaitra.<ref name="dalal427">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|page=427}}</ref> This typically falls in late March or early April of the Gregorian calendar.<ref name="dalal427" /> It also sometimes falls on the day after Amavasya with the 27th Nakshatra Revati. Ugadi Day is pivoted on the first new moon after the March equinox.

The day is observed by drawing colourful patterns on the floor called ''Muggulu/Rangoli'', mango leaf decorations on doors called ''torana'', buying and giving gifts such as new clothes, giving charity to the poor, oil massages followed by special baths, preparing and sharing a special food called ''pachadi'', and visiting Hindu temples.<ref name="Jagannathan2005p77"/><ref name="Fowler1997p72">{{cite book|author=Jeaneane D. Fowler|title=Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmGKHu20hA0C&pg=PA72|year=1997|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|isbn=978-1-898723-60-8|pages=72–73}}</ref> The ''pachadi'' is a notable festive food that combines all flavors {{endash}} sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent, and piquant. In Kannada and Telugu harvest traditions, it is a symbolic reminder that one must expect all flavors of experiences in the coming new year and make the most of them.<ref name=narayanan18/> Followers of the Souramana calendar system observe Ugadi in Karnataka, when the sun transits into the Aries constellation, which is also the festival of Baisakhi and is locally known as Souramana Ugadi or Mesha Sankranti.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ugadi and Astronomy |url=https://paac.ppc.ac.in/2022/04/01/ugadi-and-astronomy/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=Poornaprajna Amateur Astronomers' Club |language=en-US |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015153355/https://paac.ppc.ac.in/2022/04/01/ugadi-and-astronomy/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ugadi has been an important and historic festival of the Hindus, with medieval texts and inscriptions recording major charitable donations to Hindu temples and community centers on this day.<ref>{{cite book|author=K.V. Raman|title=Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myK8ZYEIu4YC&pg=PA97|year=2003|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-026-6|pages=97–98}}</ref> The same day is observed as a New Year by Hindus in many other parts of India, such as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, Goa, and is a national public holiday in Mauritius. It is also a public holiday in Indonesia as Hindu Saka New Year which celebrated widely in Bali as Nyepi.<ref>{{cite news |title=Happy Ugadi 2026: Wishes, Messages, Quotes, Images, Greetings, Facebook & Whatsapp status |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/events/happy-ugadi-2023-wishes-messages-quotes-images-facebook-whatsapp-status/articleshow/98863253.cms |access-date=17 March 2026 |work=The Times of India |date=18 March 2026}}</ref>

== Etymology == The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words ''yuga'' (era) and ''ādi'' (beginning): "the beginning of a new era."<ref name=narayanan18/> Yugadi or Ugadi falls on "''Chaitra Shudhdha Padyami''," or the first day of the bright half of the Indian month of Chaitra. This generally falls in late March or early April of the Gregorian calendar.<ref name=dalal427/><ref name="Jagannathan2005p77">{{cite book|author=Maithily Jagannathan|title=South Indian Hindu Festivals and Traditions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcIrkKUJH9QC&pg=PA77 |year=2005|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-415-8|pages=77–78}}</ref>

The Telugu people use the term Ugadi<ref>{{cite news |date=March 25, 2020 |title=Hyderabad people celebrate Ugadi with food and family amid lockdown {{!}} Hyderabad News – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/people-celebrate-ugadi-with-food-and-family-in-hyderabad/articleshow/74807558.cms |access-date=4 April 2021 |work=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref> (ఉగాది),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mar 31 |first1=TOI-Online |title=Ugadi 2021 date, time and significance of Yugadi – Times of India |language=en |work=The Times of India |publisher=Times of india |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/festivals/ugadi-2021-date-time-and-significance-of-yugadi/articleshow/81773856.cms |access-date=4 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411112928/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/festivals/ugadi-2021-date-time-and-significance-of-yugadi/articleshow/81773856.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Kannadigas use the term Yugadi (ಯುಗಾದಿ) for this festival.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ಸೋಹೋನಿ|first=ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ|date=2018-03-15|title=ಯುಗಾದಿ ಎಂಬ ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಷ... ಏನಿದರ ಮಹತ್ವ?|url=https://kannada.oneindia.com/festivals/ugadi/significance-and-importance-of-ugadi-festival-136802.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=kannada.oneindia.com|language=kn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ugadi Festival in Telugu {{!}} ఉగాది చరిత్ర విశిష్టత విధానం|url=https://www.intelugu.net/ugadi/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=www.intelugu.net|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413031854/https://www.intelugu.net/ugadi/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Practices == thumb|Muggu (rangoli) arrangement in April 2009 The Kannada and Telugu communities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are required. The day begins early with ritual showers, rubbing the body with perfumed oil, followed by prayers.<ref name="Fowler1997p72"/>

thumb|upright=0.8|Ugadi Pacchadi (right) is a symbolic dish prepared by Hindu people during this festival Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough clean.<ref name="Fowler1997p72"/> People buy new clothes, including dhoti, and buy new items for the festival to decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves.<ref name="Jagannathan2005p77"/> Mango leaves and coconuts are considered auspicious in the Hindu tradition, and they are used on Ugadi. People also clean the front of their house with water and cow dung paste, then draw colorful floral designs.<ref name="Jagannathan2005p77"/> People offer prayers in temples. The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment.<ref>Gabriella Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi 91977), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2741405 Ritual as Language: The Case of South Indian Food Offerings] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330015239/http://www.jstor.org/stable/2741405 |date=30 March 2017 }}, Current Anthropology, University of Chicago Press, Vol. 18, No. 3 (September 1977), pages 507–514</ref><ref name=narayanan18>{{cite journal | last=Narayanan | first=Vasudha | title=Y51K and Still Counting: Some Hindu Views of Time | journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies | publisher=Butler University | volume=12 | issue=1 | year=1999| pages=17–18 | doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1205 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Ancient Tree 2009, pages 36-37">Neem - Ancient Tree, Modern Miracle, Warm Earth, National Library of Australia, No. 83, Mar/Apr 2009, pages 36-37</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Devagi Sanmugam|author2=Shanmugam Kasinathan|title=Indian Heritage Cooking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQWJAAAAQBAJ |year=2011|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-981-4435-08-6|pages=96–97}}</ref> According to Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of religion at the University of Florida:<ref name="narayanan182" />

Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, foods such as pulihora, bobbatlu (bhakshalu/polelu/oligale), New Year burelu and pachadi, and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. Of these, ''pachadi'' (or ''Ugadi pacchadi'') is the most notable and consists of a chutney-like dish that combines all six flavours of food: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, and astringent.<ref>Gabriella Eichinger Ferro-Luzzi 91977), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2741405 Ritual as Language: The Case of South Indian Food Offerings], Current Anthropology, University of Chicago Press, Vol. 18, No. 3 (September 1977), pages 507–514</ref> This festive Hindu food is made from tamarind paste (sour), neem flowers (bitter), brown sugar or sweet jaggery (sweet), table salt (salty), green chili (spicy), and raw mango (astringent). It is a symbolic reminder of complex phases of life one should reasonably expect in the new year.<ref name="narayanan182">{{cite journal|last=Narayanan|first=Vasudha|year=1999|title=Y51K and Still Counting: Some Hindu Views of Time|journal=Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies|publisher=Butler University|volume=12|issue=1|pages=17–18|doi=10.7825/2164-6279.1205|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Ancient Tree 2009, pages 36-37"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WQWJAAAAQBAJ|title=Indian Heritage Cooking|author1=Devagi Sanmugam|author2=Shanmugam Kasinathan|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|year=2011|isbn=978-981-4435-08-6|pages=96–97}}</ref>

In Karnataka, foods such as Holige or Obattu and mango pickles are made. In addition, a speciality of Yugadi in Karnataka is to create "bevu bella" a mixture of neem and jaggery, to signify both the sweet and the bitter, or the sihi-kahi(ಸಿಹಿ-ಕಹಿ). This symbolizes life's own experiences with a bit of bitterness and a hint of sweetness.<!-- In Kannada, the greeting is Yugadi Habbada Shubhaashayagalu - ಯುಗಾದಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು ("Greetings for the festival of Yugadi") or Hosa varshada shubhashayagalu - ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಷದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು ("Greetings on the New Year").{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In Telugu, the traditional greetings for Ugadi are kroththa yeta, ugadi panduga, palukarimpulu or ugadi subhaakankshalu – "క్రొత్త ఏట" / "ఉగాది పండుగ" పలుకరింపులు, లేదా ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు ("Greetings for the festival of Ugadi") and Nutana samvastara shubhaakankshalu -నూతన సంవత్సర శుభాకాంక్షలు ("Greetings on the New Year").{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} -->

==Related festivals== Maharashtran Hindus refer to the festival, observed on the same day, as Gudhi Padwa ({{langx|mr|गुढी पाडवा}}).<ref>{{cite news |title=Share the love with a delectable Mavinakayi Chitranna recipe as you stay home this Gudi Padwa |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/share-the-love-with-a-delectable-mavinakayi-chitranna-recipe-as-you-stay-home-this-gudi-padwa/articleshow/74807075.cms |access-date=4 April 2021 |work=The Economic Times |publisher=The economic Times}}</ref> The Sindhis celebrate the same day as Cheti Chand, which is the beginning of their calendar year.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/04/stories/2005040402650300.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050406060740/http://www.hindu.com/2005/04/04/stories/2005040402650300.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=6 April 2005 | location=Chennai, India | work=The Hindu | title=Ugadi a time to rejoice | date=4 April 2005}}</ref> Manipuris also celebrate their New Year as Sajibu Nongma Panba on the same day.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-03-18|title=Navratri, Gudi Padwa, Sajibu Cheiraoba, Ugadi geetings flood Twitter|url=https://www.thestatesman.com/india/navratri-gudi-padwa-sajibu-cheiraoba-ugadi-geetings-flood-twitter-1502603827.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=The Statesman|language=en-US|archive-date=13 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413032117/https://www.thestatesman.com/india/navratri-gudi-padwa-sajibu-cheiraoba-ugadi-geetings-flood-twitter-1502603827.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Hindus of Bali in Indonesia also celebrate their new year on the same day as Nyepi.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2020-03-24|title=Bali's Silent Nyepi and India's Ugadi - A Time for Introspection|url=https://www.softpowermag.com/balis-silent-nyepi-and-indias-ugadi-a-time-for-introspection/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Center for Soft Power|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Hindu festivals Category:Religious festivals in India Category:Culture of Andhra Pradesh Category:Festivals in Maharashtra Category:Festivals in Andhra Pradesh Category:Festivals in Karnataka Category:Festivals in Telangana Category:March observances Category:April observances Category:Culture of Karnataka Category:New Year in India Category:Observances in India Category:Hindu festivals in India