How is Ugadi Celebrated in Telugu States, Karnataka and Maharashtra

Ugadi 2022: Ugadi, a major festival in Karnataka (also Yugadi), Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra (Gudi Padwa), is celebrated as New Year’s Day, as per the Hindu calendar. In 2022, the day falls on April 2nd, which happens to be Saturday.

Ugadi Word - Full Form

The word “Ugadi” is a combination of two words— “Yuga” (age) and “Adi” (beginning). The term Ugadi is derived from the word Yugadi. Primarily, the term Yugadi is the combination of two great words: Yuga, which means age or period; and Adi, which means the beginning of something. Therefore, Ugadi means the origination of the New Year. The festival carries a greater amount of significance for people who celebrate this festival to recognize the work of Lord Brahma. The Lord is entrusted to be the creator of ages and is adulated on the day of the festival.

Also Read: 10 Festive Gift Ideas For Ugadi, Yugadi, Gudi Padwa, Vishu, Puthandu, Baisakhi

As per Hindu mythology, it was on this day that Lord Brahma created the universe. He then went on to create days, weeks, months, and years. So, Ugadi is believed to be the first day of the creation of the universe.

An auspicious occasion, the day is celebrated with much pomp and gusto. People from every sphere of society enjoy the day by wearing new clothes and gorging on delicious delicacies. Prayers are offered in temples to welcome the New Year while people clean their homes and decorate them with Rangoli—a traditional way to decorate floors by creating various patterns with coloured rice or flower petals.

Ugadi In Telugu States

Ugadi is also one of the renowned Telugu festivals better known as the Telugu New Year day which begins in the month of The Chaitra (April or May). The people in the region celebrate this day with enthusiasm and the celebrations for the festival begin weeks before the festival. On the festival day, people decorate their house entrances with mango leaves to please their beloved deity Kartik who is called to be very fond of the mangoes.

Ugadi Pachadi is a famous dish that is associated with the festival and contains as many as six different types of ingredients. The six different flavours are said to define the six different types of feeling that you are going to face in the upcoming year.

Ugadi festival, the Telugu New Year, is celebrated with gaiety & religious zeal in the Telugu States and without the “Panchanga Sravanam” Ugadi celebrations are incomplete.

Yugadi In Karnataka

Bevu-Bella in Kannada symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise), which should be accepted together and with equanimity through the New Year.

In Karnataka, a special dish called Obbattu or Holige is prepared. It consists of a filling (Bengal gram and jaggery/sugar boiled and made into a paste) stuffed in flat roti-like bread. It is usually eaten hot/cold with ghee or milk topping or coconut milk at some places in Karnataka.

Gudi Padwa In Maharashtra

Gudi Padwa (Sanvsar Pādvo in Konkani) marks the traditional New Year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus and the end of the agricultural “Rabi” season. It also commemorates the coronation of Lord Rama after his return to Ayodhya after completing 14 years of exile.

It is a very special day for Maharashtrians and Goans when they spring-clean their homes decorate them with rangoli, wear new clothes and traditional jewellery called dejhor.

The legend associated with Ugadi in Karnataka is the same as that associated with Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra. It is believed that it was on this day that Brahma created the universe and organized it into days, weeks, months, and years to be able to calculate time. It also marks the beginning of the Satyuga, an era of truth and justice.