Gudi Padwa 2027
7 April 2027

Gudi Padwa, Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, is Maharashtra’s new year, also called Samvatsar Padvo. Its sign is the gudi itself: bright cloth or a small saree tied to the top of a bamboo pole, topped with an inverted copper or silver pot, neem and mango leaves, and a garland of sugar crystals (gathi), raised at a window or doorway where it can be seen from outside. Tradition holds it as a vijay dhwaj, a victory banner, rather than a flag for any one deity.

Tradition going back to the Brahma Purana holds that Brahma began creation on this very tithi, which is one reason it is kept as the year’s first day; popular belief in Maharashtra also ties the gudi to the joy with which Ayodhya is said to have welcomed Rama home after his fourteen years away. Many business families open new ledgers on this day, and homes share a small paste of neem leaves and jaggery, a custom meant to greet the new year with its mix of bitter and sweet.

• Bamboo pole (kathi)
• Bright cloth or a small saree for the gudi
• An inverted copper or silver pot (kalash)
• Neem and mango leaves
• A garland of sugar crystals (gathi)
• Marigold flowers, roli and akshat
• Neem leaves and jaggery for the paste
• Diya and incense

Source: Creation on this tithi: tradition going back to the Brahma Purana. Rama’s return to Ayodhya, and the Shalivahana era: popular tradition of Maharashtra

Tradition going back to the Brahma Purana holds that Brahma began the work of creation on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, after the long dissolution between one age and the next, which is why this tithi is kept as the turning of the year rather than any ordinary Pratipada.

Popular tradition in Maharashtra also remembers that when Rama returned to Ayodhya after fourteen years in exile and his victory over Ravana, the people raised banners of joy at their doors and windows; the gudi raised today is said to carry forward that same welcome. A separate, historical tradition ties the day to the Shalivahana era, begun, popular belief holds, when King Shalivahana’s forces overcame the Shakas on this tithi, which is why the Indian national calendar’s new year also falls on Chaitra Pratipada.

What to do

• Raise the gudi high enough to be seen from the street, since the custom is for the whole mohalla to see the year’s new banner, not just the household.
• Taste the neem-jaggery paste mindfully rather than rushing past it, as it stands for the year’s mix of hard and good days still to come.
• If your family keeps business ledgers, open the new year’s account today, as many communities in Maharashtra do.

What to avoid

• Avoid leaving the gudi up well past sunset; lowering it the same evening, respectfully, is the custom most families keep.
• Avoid starting the day without cleaning the home first, since tradition links a fresh, swept house to a fresh year.

The same tithi, Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, is Ugadi in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; Cheti Chand, the Sindhi new year and Jhulelal Jayanti; and Navreh among Kashmiri Hindus. Each community keeps its own custom on the day, Maharashtra’s being the gudi.