About Gudi Padwa
Gudi Padwa is the Marathi and Konkani new year, the first day of the lunar month Chaitra, and in 2027 it falls on Wednesday, 7 April 2027. Families in Maharashtra, Goa and the Konkan raise a gudi at a window or doorway, eat a neem-and-jaggery preparation before anything else, and treat the day as one of the most auspicious in the year for starting something new.
"Padwa" comes from the Sanskrit pratipada, the first day of a lunar fortnight. Gudi Padwa is therefore the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, the day the Marathi calendar turns over. It arrives with the mango blossom and the end of the cool weather, which is why so much of the day's food is built around raw mango, neem flower and jaggery.
What is the gudi raised on Gudi Padwa?
The gudi raised on Gudi Padwa is not a flag in the national sense but a household object assembled the same morning: a bamboo pole four or five feet long, a bright silk or cotton cloth tied near the top, a bunch of neem and mango leaves, a garland of flowers, often a string of gathi sugar crystals, and an inverted metal pot of copper, brass or silver set on the end like a head.
Each part is read for meaning in Marathi households. The neem stands for what is bitter in the year. The mango leaves stand for what grows. The upturned kalash is the part most people point to first: a vessel turned over is a victory sign, and by tradition it recalls the return of King Shalivahana to Paithan after he defeated his enemies. The Shaka era he is credited with founding is the same reckoning the Government of India adopted for the Indian national calendar in 1957, with Chaitra as its first month.
The gudi is usually tied at a front window or on the terrace, on the right as you face out, high enough to be seen from the road. Most families take it down before sunset the same day, with a short prayer and an offering of jaggery.
How is Gudi Padwa celebrated at home?
A Gudi Padwa morning runs from cleaning the threshold and an oil bath, through raising the gudi and the first bite of neem, to the meal, and the gudi comes down before sunset.
- Clean and drawThe threshold is washed and a rangoli goes down, often with a swastik in the middle. Mango-leaf torans are tied over the doors.
- Abhyang snanAn oil bath at or before sunrise, then new clothes. Men in many families wear a pheta, women a nauvari sari for the temple or the procession.
- Raise the gudiThe pole is assembled, the pot set on top, and the gudi tied up with haldi-kumkum, flowers and a lamp. A short puja follows.
- The first biteEveryone eats a small portion of the neem preparation: tender neem leaves or flowers with jaggery, tamarind, carom seeds and salt, on an empty stomach, before any sweet.
- Panchang and plansThe new almanac is read or bought, and families that have been waiting for a good day sign papers, book a flat, open a shop or bring home a vehicle.
- The mealPuran poli, or shrikhand with puri, with amti and often a raw-mango dish in coastal homes. Sweet comes after bitter, in that order, deliberately.
- Lower the gudiBefore sunset the gudi comes down. The cloth is usually folded away and reused next year.
Gudi Padwa is one of the sade teen muhurat, the three and a half days in the Maharashtrian year treated as auspicious from end to end, along with Akshaya Tritiya, Vijayadashami and the Kartik Pratipada that Gujarat keeps as its new year. On those days people do not hunt for a separate window of good time. That is why car showrooms and builders in Maharashtra plan launches and deliveries around this date.
Where is Gudi Padwa celebrated?
Gudi Padwa is kept across Maharashtra, and Konkani families in Goa, coastal Karnataka and Kerala keep the same tithi as Samvatsar Padvo.
| Where | What the day is called | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai, Pune, Nashik | Gudi Padwa | Shobha yatras with dhol-tasha pathaks and lezim troupes; the Girgaon procession in south Mumbai sets off around dawn, with thousands in nauvari saris and phetas |
| Marathwada and Paithan | Gudi Padwa | A strong local attachment to the Shalivahana story, since Paithan is named as the king's capital in the tradition |
| Goa and coastal Karnataka | Samvatsar Padvo, Sanvsar Padvo | Konkani and Gaud Saraswat families keep the same tithi; in the evening a temple priest reads the year's panchang aloud for the congregation |
| Konkani families in Kerala | Samvatsar Padvo | Kept at home by Konkani-speaking families rather than as a street event |
The same tithi opens the year for other communities too: Ugadi in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Cheti Chand for Sindhi Hindus, and Navreh for Kashmiri Pandits. The President of India's spring message names them together. Gujarat is the western exception, since its year turns after Diwali as Bestu Varas. Chaitra Navratri begins on the same tithi as Padwa and closes on its ninth day with Ram Navami.
What to write
Gudi Padvyachya hardik shubhechha, Aai and Baba. Send me a photo of the gudi on the window, and save me one puran poli.
Happy Gudi Padwa. May the year be more sweet than bitter, though I know we eat both this morning.
Wishing you and your family a very happy Gudi Padwa. Hope the new year brings you the projects you actually want.
Congratulations on opening on Padwa, of all days. Muhurat or no muhurat, you have done the hard part. Wishing the shop a very good first year.
Samvatsar Padvo chya shubhechha. Hope the panchang reading promises you a good year and a better monsoon.
Happy Gudi Padwa from all of us here. No gudi on your balcony this year, so we put up a second one for you. Eat some neem anyway.
Happy Gudi Padwa to you and the family. Thank you for putting up with a week of dhol practice downstairs.
Happy first Gudi Padwa in your own home. May this be the first of many gudis you raise together.
Do
- Say Gudi Padwa to Marathi friends and Samvatsar Padvo to Konkani and Goan ones. The day is the same; the word is not.
- If you are invited home, go in the morning. The gudi comes down by evening and the meal is usually at midday.
- Offer to take the photograph of the gudi with the family standing under it. Most households want one and nobody is free to hold the phone.
Avoid
- Don't refuse the neem preparation if it is offered. A small taste is the whole point, and the sweet follows straight after.
- Don't send a festive wish to a family that has had a death in the past year without checking. Many Maharashtrian households do not raise a gudi during the mourning year.
- Don't assume every Maharashtrian reads the day politically. The processions have grown into large public events, but at home it is still a family morning.
- Gudi
- The bamboo pole, cloth, neem, garland and inverted pot raised at the door or window
- Gathi
- Garlands of hard sugar crystals sold across Maharashtra in the week before Padwa
- Sade teen muhurat
- The three and a half fully auspicious days of the Maharashtrian year
- Nauvari
- The nine-yard Maharashtrian sari, worn for processions and temple visits
- Pheta
- The Maharashtrian turban, usually saffron or gold, tied for the day
- Gudi Padvyachya hardik shubhechha
- "Heartfelt wishes for Gudi Padwa" in Marathi
- Samvatsar Padvo
- The Konkani name for the same day, used in Goa and coastal Karnataka
How to wish someone on Gudi Padwa
A good Gudi Padwa wish points at what the family is actually doing that morning: the gudi going up, the first bitter-sweet bite, the shrikhand and puri, a new shop or flat being opened on the day. Marathi speakers say Gudi Padvyachya hardik shubhechha. Keep it hopeful rather than grand. For a Goan or Konkani friend, use Samvatsar Padvo instead, and for anyone starting a business that day, wish the venture well by name.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + regional language.
When is Gudi Padwa in 2026 and 2027?
Gudi Padwa is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 19 days later than in 2026.
- 2026may vary by location
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Gudi Padwa in 2027?
Gudi Padwa 2027 falls on Wednesday, 7 April 2027.
Why is the pot on the gudi upside down?
The metal pot, or kalash, sits inverted at the top of the gudi as a sign of victory and of a household that has filled its year and turned the vessel over. Marathi tradition links it to King Shalivahana's return to Paithan, when people are said to have raised flags to welcome him.
What do people eat first on Gudi Padwa?
The first thing eaten is a small portion of tender neem leaves or neem flowers mixed with jaggery, tamarind, carom seeds and salt, taken on an empty stomach. The bitterness stands for the hard parts of the year ahead, and the jaggery that follows for the good ones.
Is Gudi Padwa the same as Ugadi?
They fall on the same lunar day, Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, and both open a new year, but they are different observances. Gudi Padwa is Marathi and Konkani and centres on raising the gudi at home; Ugadi is Kannada and Telugu and centres on the six-taste pachadi and the public reading of the almanac.
How do you wish someone in Marathi on Gudi Padwa?
Say "Gudi Padvyachya hardik shubhechha", which means heartfelt wishes for Gudi Padwa. "Nutan varshabhinandan", congratulations on the new year, also works, and Konkani speakers in Goa and coastal Karnataka say Samvatsar Padvo instead.
Why do people buy cars and property on Gudi Padwa?
Gudi Padwa is one of the sade teen muhurat, three and a half days in the Maharashtrian year treated as auspicious from start to finish, so no separate muhurat has to be calculated. Dealers and developers in Maharashtra time launches and handovers to the date for that reason.
Can I wish a Maharashtrian colleague if I am not Hindu?
Yes. Gudi Padwa is a new-year greeting as much as a religious one, and "Happy Gudi Padwa" or "Nutan varshabhinandan" is ordinary courtesy in any Maharashtrian workplace. Nobody expects you to know the rituals.
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