Gudi Padwa

{{For|other traditions of celebrating the lunar new year|Lunar New Year}}

{{short description|Marathi and Konkani Hindu new year festival}}

{{Infobox holiday

| holiday_name = Gudi Padwa

| type = Hindu

| image = A new year procession on Gudi Padwa festival, Dombivli Maharashtra.jpg

| caption = A Gudhi Padwa new year festive procession in Maharashtra

| official_name = Gudi Padwa

| nickname = Marathi New Year, Hindu New Year

| longtype = Religious (Hindu), social, cultural

| observedby = Marathi and Konkani Hindus

| date = {{Hindu festival date}}

| celebrations = 1 day

| observances = People clean and decorate their houses with colourful rangolis and Gudis.

| frequency = Annual

| relatedto = Ugadi, Cheti Chand

| date2023 =

}}

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Gudhi Padwa is a spring festival marking the start of the lunisolar new year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus.{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC|year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|page=150}} It is celebrated in and around Maharashtra, Goa and Daman at the start of Chaitra, the first month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar. The festival is characterised by colourful floor decorations called rangoli, a special gudi dvaja; which is a saari or dhoti or other piece of cloth garlanded with flowers, mango and neem leaves; a sugar crystal garland called gathi, topped with upturned silver or copper vessels. Celebration also includes street gathering, dancing and festive foods.{{cite web |url=https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/maharashtra/festival/gudi-padwa |title=Gudhi Padwa, Government of Maharashtra |website=maharashtratourism.gov.in |access-date=1 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329141935/https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/maharashtra/festival/gudi-padwa|archive-date=29 March 2017}}

File:Gudipadwagudi.jpg

In Maharashtra, the first day of the bright phase of the moon is called gudi pāḍwā ({{langx|mr|गुढी पाडवा}}), pāḍvo ({{langx|knn|पाडवो}}); pāḍya ({{langx|kn|ಪಾಡ್ಯ}}); pāḍyami (Telugu: పాడ్యమి). Konkani Hindus variously refer to the day as sausāra pāḍavo or sausāra pāḍyo (सौसार पाडवो and सौसार पाडयो, respectively).Kannada Hindus in Karnataka refer to it as Yugādi/Ugadi (ಯುಗಾದಿ),while ,Telugu Hindus celebrate the same occasion as Ugadi (ఉగాది). Sindhi people celebrate the day as Cheti Chand, it is observed as the emergence of the day of Jhulelal. Prayers are offered to Jhulelal, and the festival is celebrated by making delicacies like tahiri (sweet rice) and sai bhaji''.{{Cite news|date=13 April 2021|title=Cheti Chand 2021: History and Significance of Jhulelal Jayanti|url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/cheti-chand-2021-history-and-significance-of-jhulelal-jayanti-3634508.html|access-date=13 April 2021|work=News18|language=en}} Kashmiri Pandits celebrate this day as Navreh.Kashmiri New Year is the celebration of the first day of the Kashmiri new year by Kashmiri Hindus, with the largest Kashmiri Hindu community being the Kashmiri Pandits. Kashmiri Pandits dedicate Navreh festival to their Goddess Sharika, a form of Goddess Durga or Shakti,[1] and pay homage to her during the festival. It takes place on the first day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) on the month of Chaitra (March–April) of the Kashmiri Hindu calendar.

However, this is not the universal new year for all Hindus. For some, such as those in and near Gujarat, the new year festivities coincide with the five-day Diwali festival, also known as Bestu Varas. For many others, the new year falls on Vaisakhi between 13 and 15 April, according to the solar cycle part of the Hindu lunisolar calendar and this is by far the most popular not only among Hindus of the Indian subcontinent but also among Buddhists and Hindus of Southeast Asia.{{cite book|author1=Karen Pechilis| author2=Selva J. Raj|title= South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kaubzRxh-U0C&pg=PA48| year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-44851-2|pages=48–49}}

Etymology

Gudi means 'flag'; according to Kittel, the term is of South Indian origin.{{cite book|last1=Gowda|first1=Deve|last2=Gowda|first2=Javare|title=Village Names of Mysore District: An Analytical Study|year=1998|isbn=81-206-1390-2|page=55|publisher=Asian Educational Services |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sU5A5SG9GWcC&q=gudi&pg=PA55|access-date=17 March 2018}} The word pāḍavā is derived from the Sanskrit word pratipad for the first day of each fortnight in a lunar month, or the first day on which the moon appears after the "new moon" day (amāvāsya) and the first day after the full moon. A Gudhi is also hoisted on this occasion, gives this festival its name. The term padva or padavo is also associated with Balipratipada.{{Cite news|date=15 November 2020|title=Balipratipada: Bali Puja 2020 date: Bali Pratipada story and significance|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/religion/rituals-puja/bali-puja-2020-date-bali-pratipada-story-and-significance/articleshow/79167061.cms|access-date=13 April 2021|work=The Times of India|language=en}}

Significance

Gudi Padva signifies the arrival of spring and the reaping of rabi crops.{{cite web |url=http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/festivals/gudhipadwa/significance.php |title=Significance of Gudhi Padwa |publisher=Hindu Jagriti Samiti |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414224831/http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/festivals/gudhipadwa/significance.php |archive-date=14 April 2013 }} The festival is linked to the day on which the Hindu god Brahma created time and the universe.{{Cite web|title=Gudi Padwa 2021: Date, Time, History, Celebration, Significance|url=https://news.jagatgururampalji.org/gudi-padwa-festival/|access-date=13 April 2021|website=S A NEWS|language=en-US|date=12 April 2021}} To some, it commemorates the coronation of Rama in Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana, or the start of the Shalivahan calendar after he defeated the Huns in the first century.[https://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/maharashtra/festival/gudi-padwa Gudi Padva], government of Maharashtra Tourism Office According to Anne Feldhaus, in rural Maharashtra, the festival is linked to Shiva's dance and the coming together of the community as they carry the Gudi Kavads together to a Shiva temple.{{cite book|author=Anne Feldhaus|title=Connected Places: Region, Pilgrimage, and Geographical Imagination in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsaADAAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4039-8134-9|pages=48–57, 72–83}}

The guḍhī

During Gudi Padwa, gudi (or gudhi) are arranged at every household. It is a bright, colorful silk scarf-like cloth tied at the top of a long bamboo. On top of it, one or more boughs of neem and mango leaves are attached with a garland of flowers. It is capped with a silver, bronze, or copper pot (handi or kalash), signifying victory or achievement.{{cite book|author=William D. Crump|title=Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cDTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114 |year=2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-9545-0|page=114}}

Some temples are located on the top of hills, and groups work together to help reach the kavad to the top.{{cite book|author=Anne Feldhaus|title=Connected Places: Region, Pilgrimage, and Geographical Imagination in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GsaADAAAQBAJ |year=2003|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-4039-8134-9|pages=48–57}}

File:A new year procession on Gudi Padwa festival, Dombivli Maharashtra 2.jpg

Some of the significances attributed to raising a gudi are as follows:

It symbolises the victory of King Shalivahana and was hoisted by his people when he returned to Paithan.
It symbolises Brahma's flag mentioned in the Brahma Purana, and may also represent Indra's flag.
It is believed to ward off evil, invite prosperity and good luck into the house.

Festivities

File:Rangoli of Lights.jpgTraditionally, families prepare a special dish that mixes various flavours, particularly the bitter leaves of the neem tree and sweet jaggery (gur, gul). Additional ingredients include sour tamarind and astringent dhane seeds. This, like the pacchadi recipe used in Ugadi festival, is eaten as a reminder of life's sweet and bitter experience and a belief that the neem-based mixture has health benefits.{{cite book|author=Ernest Small|title=Top 100 Exotic Food Plants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Au3RBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA411|year=2011|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-5688-8|page=411}}

Other names

The festival is also known as{{cite web |url=http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/festivals/gudhipadwa |title=Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (Gudhi Padwa) |publisher=Hindu Janajagruti Samiti}}