🙏 Surya Dev & Devi Lakshmi

Puthandu (Tamil New Year)

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

The story behind Puthandu (Tamil New Year)

Puthandu opens the Tamil year on the first of Chithirai, when the Sun enters Mesha. The custom that defines it is the kanni — the auspicious sight arranged the night before, of fruit, gold, betel, a mirror and coin, so that the first thing seen on waking is abundance. The day's dish is mangai-pachadi, made of raw mango, neem flower, jaggery and chilli, deliberately holding all tastes at once: the year ahead is not expected to be only sweet.

Puthandu (Tamil New Year) Puja Vidhi

  1. 1

    Kanni Arrangement

    The night before, arrange fruit, betel leaves, gold or coin, a mirror and a lit lamp on a tray, to be viewed first on waking.

  2. 2

    Snana & Kolam

    Bathe with oil at dawn, wear new clothes, and draw a kolam at the entrance with a lamp at its centre.

  3. 3

    Panchanga Sravanam

    Listen to the reading of the new year's panchangam at the temple or at home, which sets out the year's reckoning.

  4. 4

    Mangai-Pachadi Naivedya

    Prepare mangai-pachadi holding all six tastes, offer it to the deity, and share it as the first food of the year.

Puthandu (Tamil New Year) Mantra

ॐ सूर्याय नमः॥

Meaning

Salutations to Surya, whose entry into Mesha begins the Tamil year.

How to chant

Chant at sunrise on viewing the kanni, facing east.

When is Puthandu (Tamil New Year)?

YearDate
2025Monday, 14 April 2025
2026Tuesday, 14 April 2026
2027Wednesday, 14 April 2027
2028Friday, 14 April 2028
2029Saturday, 14 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 Puthandu (Tamil New Year) fall on the same date everywhere?

Puthandu (Tamil 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 Puthandu (Tamil New Year) can land on different dates in different countries even though the underlying moment is the same for everyone.

CityDate
New DelhiTue, 14 April
New YorkTue, April 14
LondonTue 14 April
TorontoTue, April 14
SydneyTue 14 April
DubaiTue, 14 April
SingaporeTue, 14 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 Puthandu (Tamil New Year)

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

Puthandu (Tamil New Year) FAQs

Puthandu (Tamil New Year) falls on 14 April 2026, based on Kaala's Drik Panchang calculation for the corresponding Tithi.

Puthandu (Tamil 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 Puthandu (Tamil 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 Puthandu (Tamil New Year) a day apart.