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Ugadi - Hindu New Year
A festival of summer, Ugadi )also known as Visu in Tamil Nadu and Kerala) is one of the most looked-forward-to summer festivals in India. Also known as ‘Yugadi,” which literally means, ” Start of a new ‘Yug(Era in Sanskrit),” this festival marks the beginning of a New Year in the Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Ugadi falls on the first day when the moon’s orbit undergoes a change. Festivals in India follow the Indian astronomical charts, and Ugadi is celebrated a day after the first new moon and after the sun passes the celestial equator on the spring equinox.
Ugadi is incomplete without the “Ugadi Pacchadi. ” Every festival in India begins with a refreshing oil bath and hair wash ritual, known as Abhyanga. The benefits of Abhyanga(rooted in Ayurveda) have been studied widely and is identified as one of the most non-invasive and relaxing ways to maintain good health.
Also, every festival brings with it a slew of specialities that are particularly identified with the festival. The “Ugadi Pacchadi” requires 6 ingredients- Raw mango, Neem, Tamarind, Jaggery, Chilli and Salt. Legend has it this amalgamated dish serves as a perfect representation of life itself- happiness, sorrow, anger, bitterness, surprise and fear. Today, social psychologists and behaviour therapists insist that every emotion needs to be welcomed for good emotional health. This ritual serves as the perfect understanding of the importance and the inevitability of every human emotion.
There is a certain significance to Ugadi being the New Year, and not the first of January, in terms of what is occurring in the planet and in the human physiology and mind on this day. Ugadi follows the lunisolar calendar, which has a direct connection with the way the human body is made. The Indian calendar is very significant not just culturally but scientifically because it connects you with the movements of the planet.
Chandramana Ugadi is the beginning of a new year as per the lunisolar calendar largely followed by the Indian people for many millennia. As in everything else that comes from the East, even the calendar is in terms of what it does to the human physiology and consciousness. The tilt of the globe renders the northern hemisphere to receive the highest amount of the Sun’s energy during the 21-day period that starts from Ugadi. Though it may be uncomfortable for humans in terms of the temperature soaring, this is the time when the earth’s batteries are charged. Ugadi is on the first day of the waxing moon after the first new moon post equinox, suggesting a new beginning.
Every new beginning is a reminder that we can always start afresh.
Happy Ugadi to you and your family.
© Skywalker
Ugadi falls on the first day when the moon’s orbit undergoes a change. Festivals in India follow the Indian astronomical charts, and Ugadi is celebrated a day after the first new moon and after the sun passes the celestial equator on the spring equinox.
Ugadi is incomplete without the “Ugadi Pacchadi. ” Every festival in India begins with a refreshing oil bath and hair wash ritual, known as Abhyanga. The benefits of Abhyanga(rooted in Ayurveda) have been studied widely and is identified as one of the most non-invasive and relaxing ways to maintain good health.
Also, every festival brings with it a slew of specialities that are particularly identified with the festival. The “Ugadi Pacchadi” requires 6 ingredients- Raw mango, Neem, Tamarind, Jaggery, Chilli and Salt. Legend has it this amalgamated dish serves as a perfect representation of life itself- happiness, sorrow, anger, bitterness, surprise and fear. Today, social psychologists and behaviour therapists insist that every emotion needs to be welcomed for good emotional health. This ritual serves as the perfect understanding of the importance and the inevitability of every human emotion.
There is a certain significance to Ugadi being the New Year, and not the first of January, in terms of what is occurring in the planet and in the human physiology and mind on this day. Ugadi follows the lunisolar calendar, which has a direct connection with the way the human body is made. The Indian calendar is very significant not just culturally but scientifically because it connects you with the movements of the planet.
Chandramana Ugadi is the beginning of a new year as per the lunisolar calendar largely followed by the Indian people for many millennia. As in everything else that comes from the East, even the calendar is in terms of what it does to the human physiology and consciousness. The tilt of the globe renders the northern hemisphere to receive the highest amount of the Sun’s energy during the 21-day period that starts from Ugadi. Though it may be uncomfortable for humans in terms of the temperature soaring, this is the time when the earth’s batteries are charged. Ugadi is on the first day of the waxing moon after the first new moon post equinox, suggesting a new beginning.
Every new beginning is a reminder that we can always start afresh.
Happy Ugadi to you and your family.
© Skywalker
