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Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)

🗓️ Sun enters Mesha Rashi — first of Boishakh (mid-April)

The story behind Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)

Pohela Boishakh opens the Bengali year on the first of Boishakh, when the Sun enters Mesha. Its distinctive custom is commercial: the Haal Khata, when a trader closes the old year's ledger, opens a new one after a puja to Ganesha and Lakshmi, and invites customers to settle accounts over sweets. The day is greeted with Prabhat Pheri processions and the singing of Esho he Boishakh. It is kept across West Bengal, Assam's Barak valley and Bangladesh, by Bengalis of every community.

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) Puja Vidhi

  1. 1

    Snana & Alpana

    Bathe early, wear new clothes, and draw an alpana at the threshold with a mangal ghot of water, mango leaves and a coconut.

  2. 2

    Ganesh-Lakshmi Puja

    Worship Bhagwan Ganesha and Maa Lakshmi for the year ahead, at home or at the place of business.

  3. 3

    Haal Khata

    Close the previous year's ledger and open the new one after the puja, marking it with sindoor and the swastika before the first entry.

  4. 4

    Mishti & Nimantran

    Invite customers, neighbours and kin, distribute sweets, and share the new year's meal.

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) Mantra

ॐ श्रीं ह्रीं क्लीं महालक्ष्म्यै नमः॥

Meaning

Salutations to Mahalakshmi, invoked at the opening of the new year's accounts.

How to chant

Chant during the Haal Khata puja, before making the first entry in the new ledger.

When is Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)?

YearDate
2025Tuesday, 15 April 2025
2026Wednesday, 15 April 2026
2027Thursday, 15 April 2027
2028Friday, 14 April 2028
2029Sunday, 15 April 2029

Dates are computed with the Drik (observational) method from real solar and lunar positions, using sunrise-to-sunrise Tithi assignment for New Delhi.

Does Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) fall on the same date everywhere?

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) begins at the exact moment the Sun crosses into a new zodiac sign — the same instant everywhere on Earth. Which calendar day it's observed on in a given city depends on local convention relative to that instant (in most places, whether it falls before or after that city's own sunrise), so Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) can land on different dates in different countries even though the underlying moment is the same for everyone.

CityDate
New DelhiWed, 15 April
New YorkTue, April 14
LondonWed 15 April
TorontoTue, April 14
SydneyWed 15 April
DubaiWed, 15 April
SingaporeWed, 15 April

These dates follow the panchang convention computed for each city's own coordinates — they are not a universal verdict. Some temples and communities shift observance to a weekend regardless of the computed date, and published panchang authorities recommend using your own city's panchang rather than a single worldwide date. Confirm with your local temple or community before treating a date as final.

Festivals around Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)

All Hindu festivals →See the full Vedic calendar →Today's Panchang & muhurtas →

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) FAQs

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) falls on 15 April 2026, based on Kaala's Drik Panchang calculation for the corresponding Tithi.

Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) is dated according to the lunar Tithi, not the fixed Gregorian calendar, so its Gregorian date shifts from year to year while its position in the lunar calendar stays consistent.

The astronomical event Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) marks happens at the same instant everywhere in the world, but which calendar day that instant falls on locally depends on each city's own timing — so cities in different countries can observe Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year) a day apart.