Ugadi (Kannada New Year)

Lord Brahma / Lord Shiva (Ishtalinga puja)

Lingayat / Veerashaiva

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Ugadi is the Kannada (and Telugu) New Year, celebrated on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada of the Hindu lunar calendar. For the Lingayat community of Karnataka, Ugadi is a sacred new beginning — marked by Ishtalinga puja at sunrise, the preparation and tasting of Ugadi Pachadi, community gatherings, and the recitation of Basavanna's Vacanas. Temples across Karnataka host special pujas, and the day begins a new samvatsara (year-name cycle).

Dates 2026–2027

March 19, 2026

Mantra

ॐ नमः शिवाय

Om Namah Shivaya

Om Namah Shivaya — beginning the new year with devotion to Lord Shiva

How to recite

Begin Ugadi day with Ishtalinga puja before eating anything. Then partake in Ugadi Pachadi with family, accepting all six flavours as a reminder that life brings all experiences. Visit the local Veerashaiva temple for new year blessings and recite Basavanna's Vacanas.

Benefits

Ugadi marks the beginning of the new lunar year for Kannada communities. For Lingayats, starting the year with Ishtalinga puja, Ugadi Pachadi, and Basavanna's Vacanas sets a tone of spiritual resolve, gratitude, and community. The six-taste Pachadi symbolises acceptance of all of life's varied experiences — joy, sorrow, surprise, fear, and contentment.

✦ Special Note

Ugadi Pachadi is the defining ritual of the day — tasting all six flavours together is said to prepare the heart for every experience the coming year may bring. Begin the day with Ishtalinga worship before eating anything. The new year is named from the 60-year Vedic cycle (Samvatsara) — 2026 falls in the Vikari Samvatsara. Dates per the Kannada Drik Panchang (drikpanchang.com, Karnataka reckoning), cross-checked against astronomical tithi computation.

Foods Allowed

Ugadi Pachadi — six-taste chutney of neem, jaggery, tamarind, raw mango, salt, and green chiliBisi bele bath (hot lentil rice with vegetables and spices) — ideal for partial or light fasting daysAkki roti (rice flour flatbread) with coconut chutney or shenga chutneyJolada roti (sorghum/jowar flatbread) with hulli (lentil curry)Shenga roti (peanut flatbread) — Karnataka specialtyAvalakki (flattened rice / poha) uppittu with coconut and curry leavesRagi mudde (finger millet balls) with hulli or sambarSajjige (semolina upma or sweet kesari with ghee)Shenga chutney (peanut chutney) — with coconut, tamarind, and green chiliCoconut-based dishes — coconut rice, coconut chutney, kosambari with grated coconutHolige (obbattu) — sweet flatbread with lentil or coconut fillingKosambari (fresh lentil salad)Milk, curds, and dairySeasonal fruits and coconut

Foods to Avoid

Non-vegetarian food — Lingayat tradition is strictly vegetarianAlcohol

Meal Idea

Ugadi Pachadi — a chutney blending six tastes: bitter neem flowers, sweet jaggery, sour tamarind, tangy raw mango, salty rock salt, and spicy green chili — tasted first as a symbol of the full spectrum of experiences the new year will bring

🪔 Aarti

Om Jai Shiv Omkara

ॐ जय शिव ओंकारा, स्वामी जय शिव ओंकारा । ब्रह्मा, विष्णु, सदाशिव, अर्द्धांगी धारा ॥ एकानन चतुरानन पंचानन राजे । हंसासन गरुड़ासन वृषवाहन साजे ॥ दो भुज चार चतुर्भुज दसभुज अति सोहे । त्रिगुण रूप निरखत त्रिभुवन जन मोहे ॥ अक्षमाला वनमाला मुंडमाला धारी । त्रिपुरारी कंसारी कर माला धारी ॥ श्वेतांबर पीतांबर बाघंबर अंगे । सनकादिक गरुड़ादिक भूतादिक संगे ॥ कर के मध्य कमंडलु चक्र त्रिशूलधारी । सुखकारी दुखहारी जगपालनकारी ॥ ब्रह्मा विष्णु सदाशिव जानत अविवेका । प्रणवाक्षर के मध्ये ये तीनों एका ॥ काशी में विराजे विश्वनाथ, नंदी ब्रह्मचारी । नित उठ दर्शन पावत, महिमा अति भारी ॥ त्रिगुणस्वामी जी की आरती, जो कोई नर गावे । कहत शिवानंद स्वामी, मनवांछित फल पावे ॥

Karpur Gauram Karunavataram

कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम् । सदावसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि ॥

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