About Gujarati New Year
Bestu Varas, the Gujarati New Year, falls on the first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik, the morning after Diwali, and in 2026 that is Tuesday, 10 November 2026. Gujarat is the one large region that starts its Vikram Samvat year in autumn rather than spring, so the Samvat number changes here while the rest of north India waits until Chaitra.
Most of India changes its Vikram Samvat year in spring, on the first day of Chaitra. Gujarat does not. Here the year turns on Kartik Sud Ekam, the first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik, which is the morning after Diwali. Almanacs call the two systems Chaitradi and Kartikadi reckoning, and Gujarat is the largest region that follows the Kartikadi one.
The practical result catches people out. A Gujarati household and a household in Uttar Pradesh may both say they are in Samvat 2083, but they did not enter it on the same day, and for part of the year they are a month or so out of step. The Vikram era itself is counted from 57 BCE, which is why the Samvat number usually runs about 57 ahead of the Gregorian year.
Bestu Varas is the everyday Gujarati name for the day, usually explained as the year taking its seat. The same day is Govardhan Puja and Annakut elsewhere in the north, and Balipratipada in Maharashtra. Gujarat keeps all of that and puts a new year on top of it.
How is the Gujarati New Year celebrated?
On the Gujarati New Year the greeting comes before anything else, and it comes early. Families are awake before dawn, and the phone starts ringing by six. Younger people touch the feet of elders and say Saal Mubarak; the elder usually answers with the same words and a hand on the head.
- Sathiya at the doorA swastik and shubh-labh are drawn in kumkum at the threshold, with a rangoli beside it and an asopalav toran of ashoka leaves over the door.
- Mangla darshanMany families go to the temple before sunrise. Pushtimarg havelis and Swaminarayan mandirs open early, and the shrine is banked with an annakut, a mountain of cooked food offered to Krishna.
- Saal MubarakThe rounds begin. Elders first, then neighbours, then anyone who lives close enough to reach on foot.
- The nasta trayGuests are fed mathiya, suvali, ghughra and chevdo, all of it fried days earlier, with mukhwas and mithai at the end.
- Phone and postRelatives in Mumbai, Surat, Nairobi and Leicester are called. Cards and sweets go out to business contacts.
- Rest of the weekMarkets stay shut. Gujarat does not really return to work until Labh Pancham, the fifth day.
How do Gujarati businesses mark the new year?
Gujarat's new year is also its accounting year, and the sequence is precise. Chopda Pujan, the worship of new account books, is done on Diwali evening along with Sharda Pujan, when traders invoke Lakshmi and Saraswati over a fresh ledger. The books then formally open in the new Samvat. Shops and offices stay closed through the visiting days and reopen on Labh Pancham, the fifth day of Kartik, at a muhurat published in the local papers down to the minute; in one recent year the windows were 8.10 am to 12.20 pm and 1.50 pm to 3.10 pm. Many traders paint a swastik and write Shubh and Labh on the threshold before the first sale.
If you do business with a Gujarati firm, expect the week after Diwali to be quiet and the new year's first invoice to carry a new Samvat number. A note wishing the new accounting year well is read as thoughtful, not mercenary.
Who else begins a new year the day after Diwali?
The day after Diwali is also a new year for Jain families in Gujarat and an accounting new year for Marwari and other trading communities, while Kutch keeps Bestu Varas but starts its own year in Ashadh.
| Community or region | What the day is | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Gujarati Hindus | Bestu Varas, Nutan Varsh | Vikram Samvat year number advances; new ledgers open |
| Jain families in Gujarat | New year of the Vira Nirvana Samvat | The era counted from Mahavira's nirvana, traditionally 527 BCE, advances the day after Diwali |
| Marwari and other trading communities | Bali Pratipada with chopda pujan | The accounting year turns, though the household new year may be in Chaitra |
| Kutch | Bestu Varas is kept, but the Kutchi year is Ashadhi Beej | The Kutchi calendar starts in Ashadh, around the monsoon's arrival in mid-July |
| Gujarati diaspora | Bestu Varas | Mandirs in Britain, East Africa and North America hold annakut darshan on the nearest convenient day |
Gujarat's autumn new year sits oddly beside the spring ones kept in Maharashtra and the Deccan, where Gudi Padwa opens the year in Chaitra. Both are Hindu lunisolar calendars. They simply start counting in different months.
What to write
Saal Mubarak, Mummy and Pappa. I will call before you leave for darshan. Keep two ghughra aside, the ones with the good filling.
Nutan Varshabhinandan and Saal Mubarak. May this Samvat be kinder to you than the last one, and may your mathiya stay crisp.
Saal Mubarak to you and your team. Wishing the new Samvat a steady year, clean books and fewer surprises than the last.
Saal Mubarak, Ba and Dada. Touching your feet from far away this year. Bless the year for all of us.
Nutan Varshabhinandan. Wishing you a peaceful new year as the Vira Nirvana Samvat turns, and a calm Gyan Panchami.
Happy Gujarati New Year. Yes, ours is the day after Diwali. Saal Mubarak, and don't send it again in April.
Saal Mubarak from home. The sathiya is drawn, the annakut was enormous, and everybody asked about you.
Saal Mubarak on your first Bestu Varas together. May the first year in the new house be the easy one everybody promises.
Do
- Wish early. Saal Mubarak belongs to the morning, and a message at 9 pm reads like an afterthought.
- If you visit, visit briefly and eat something. The tray is offered to everyone and refusing it outright is awkward.
- Send business greetings before the ledgers open. A wish for the new accounting year is normal courtesy in Gujarat.
Avoid
- Don't wish a Gujarati friend "Happy New Year" in Chaitra assuming it is their new year. Their Samvat turned after Diwali.
- Don't gift leather, or anything made from animal products, to a Jain household. Sweets, dry fruit or flowers are safe.
- Don't send festive wishes to a family in mourning. Many Gujarati households skip Diwali and Bestu Varas entirely in the year after a death.
- Bestu Varas
- Gujarati for the new year, literally the year that takes its seat
- Kartik Sud Ekam
- The first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik, when the Gujarati year begins
- Saal Mubarak
- "Happy new year", the greeting of the morning
- Nutan Varshabhinandan
- "Congratulations on the new year", the more formal Gujarati wish
- Sathiya
- The swastik drawn in kumkum at the threshold, usually with shubh and labh beside it
- Annakut
- The mound of cooked food offered to Krishna in temples on the same day
- Chopda Pujan
- Worship of new account books, done on Diwali evening
- Labh Pancham
- The fifth day of Kartik, when Gujarat's shops reopen at a published muhurat
The day after Bestu Varas is Bhai Beej, so keep some time for Bhai Dooj as well.
How to wish someone on Gujarati New Year
Saal Mubarak is said early, in person or by phone, and the day runs on visits rather than gifts. A good wish names the household's own year: a shop that opened, a child who moved out, a ledger that finally balanced. For business friends, wishing the new accounting year well is not crass, it is the point. Jain families begin Vira Nirvana Samvat the same morning, so Nutan Varshabhinandan suits them better than a Lakshmi-heavy line.
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 Gujarati New Year in 2026 and 2027?
Gujarati New Year is set by the Hindu lunisolar calendar, so it falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 11 days earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Gujarati New Year the day after Diwali?
Gujarat follows the Kartikadi reckoning of the Vikram Samvat calendar, in which the year begins on the first day of the bright fortnight of Kartik. That is the morning after Diwali. Most of north and central India uses the Chaitradi reckoning and changes the Samvat year in spring instead.
What is the difference between Bestu Varas and Nutan Varsh?
They refer to the same day. Bestu Varas is the colloquial Gujarati name for the new year, and Nutan Varsh, meaning new year, is the more formal one used in greetings such as Nutan Varshabhinandan. Both are said on Kartik Sud Ekam.
How do you say Happy New Year in Gujarati?
Say "Saal Mubarak", which is the everyday greeting, or "Nutan Varshabhinandan" for something more formal. Both are said in the morning, usually along with touching the feet of elders in the family.
What do Gujarati families eat on the new year?
The new-year tray is built from snacks fried in the days before Diwali: mathiya, suvali, ghughra and chevdo, with mithai and mukhwas at the end. Temples and many homes also prepare an annakut, a large spread of cooked dishes offered to Krishna.
When do shops reopen in Gujarat after Diwali?
Most Gujarati businesses stay shut through the new-year visiting days and reopen on Labh Pancham, the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik. Local newspapers publish the auspicious windows for reopening, and traders often start the day by writing Shubh and Labh at the entrance.
Do Jains celebrate the Gujarati New Year too?
Jain families in Gujarat begin their own year the same morning, counted in the Vira Nirvana Samvat, the era dated from Mahavira's nirvana, traditionally placed in 527 BCE. Nutan Varshabhinandan is the natural greeting for a Jain household, and the fifth day is kept as Gyan Panchami.
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