Hindu New Year
Hindu New Year, or Nav Varsh, is a diverse yet connected set of festivals that plays out in different forms in different regions of India and Hindu communities around the world. The colorful celebrations are commonly marked by prayer, special meals, and convivial rituals to start the year on an auspicious note. The Nav Varsh follows the lunar calendar and typically falls between March and April annually. Whether it is celebrated as Gudi Padwa, Ugadi, Cheti Chand, or Bestu Varas, the new year unites followers of Sanatana Dharma around the world in a celebration of new beginnings, growth, and prosperity.
Gudi Padwa, celebrated by Marathi and Konkani Hindus, is said to be the day Bhagwan Brahma created the universe and introduced the Hindu calendar. The festival is characterized and named after a “Gudi dhwaja” (a flag-like structure) placed at the entrance of the home. Often draped in a bright silk cloth and adorned with neem leaves, sugar garlands, mango leaves, and a silver or copper pot, the gudi is believed to invite good fortune into the household. It is also considered the “Brahmadhwaj”, or flag of Brahma, to symbolize the creation of the universe. Other celebrations include rangoli (colorful floor decorations) and festive foods such as srikhand.
Similarly, Ugadi, celebrated in Southern India, welcomes the New Year by drawing Muggulu (colorful patterns), decorating houses with mango leaves called torana, buying and giving gifts such as new clothes, giving charity to the poor, oil massages followed by special baths, preparing and sharing a special food called Pachadi, and visiting Hindu temples. Ugadi has been an important and historic festival to Hindus, with medieval texts and inscriptions recording charitable donations to Hindu temples on this day.
Both Ugadi and Gudi Padwa are observed on the first day of the Chaitra month, and this year the day also marks the start of Chaitra Navratri.
Cheti Chand, the New Year for Sindhi Hindus, commemorates the birth of Sai Jhulelal, their Ishta Devata, who is believed to have saved the Sindhi community from oppression including forced conversions in the 10th century. It falls on the Sindhi month of Chet (Chaitra) and is celebrated by taking a statue of Sai Jhulelal and Behrana Sahib an offering consisting of an oil diya, cardamom, sugar, fruits, and Akho) to a lake or river, lighting special five-wicked diyas (lamps), and enjoying a flavorful Sindhi feast with family and friends.
Emblematic of Hinduism’s diversity and the importance of local traditions we find other Hindu communities observing the start of their new year at other times–such as the Baisakhi celebrations in Punjab and part of North India, the Vishu celebrations in Kerala and Poila Boishakh and Bohag Bihu in Bengal and Assam respectively.
Conversely in Gujarat, the New Year is celebrated much earlier. Referred to as Bestu Varas, it falls on the day after Diwali, called Shukla Paksha Pratipada, in the Hindu month of Kartik. Bestu Varas not only signifies spiritual renewal, but also economic prosperity. In a ritual called Chopda Pujan, new account books are opened and marked with auspicious writings in the presence of Goddess Lakshmi to seek blessings. This festival is also characterized by the lighting of firecrackers and rich sweets such as lapsi and ladoo.
Although it manifests in different ways and places, Nav Varsh remains a unifying celebration for Hindu communities globally, with its spirit rooted in honoring the past, embracing the present, and welcoming the future with gratitude.
The author, Anusha, is a CoHNA youth volunteer.