Ugadi (Telugu & Kannada New Year)
🗓️ Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — lunar new year (Mar–Apr)
The story behind Ugadi (Telugu & Kannada New Year)
Ugadi opens the lunar year in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — the name is yuga plus adi, the beginning of an age, the tithi on which tradition holds Bhagwan Brahma began creation. Its defining preparation is Ugadi pachadi, made of six tastes at once: neem for bitterness, jaggery for sweetness, salt, tamarind, raw mango and chilli. Eaten on the first morning, it states the year's terms plainly — that all six will come, and are to be taken together.
Ugadi (Telugu & Kannada New Year) Puja Vidhi
- 1
Abhyanga Snana & Toranam
Bathe with sesame oil before sunrise, wear new clothes, and hang a toranam of mango leaves at the door.
- 2
Ugadi Pachadi
Prepare the pachadi of neem flower, jaggery, salt, tamarind, raw mango and chilli, offer it to the deity, and take it as the first food of the year.
- 3
Panchanga Sravanam
Listen to the reading of the new year's panchangam at the temple or from an elder, which sets out the year's predictions and reckoning.
- 4
Puja & Bhojan
Worship the household deity with the new year's sankalpa, then share the festive meal — traditionally including pulihora and bobbatlu or holige.
Ugadi (Telugu & Kannada New Year) Mantra
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय॥
Meaning
Salutations to Bhagwan Vasudeva — invoked at the turn of the yuga, at the beginning of the new year.
How to chant
Chant 108 times during the morning puja, before taking the Ugadi pachadi.