Gudi Padwa / Ugadi 2003
New-year day of the Deccan — the gudhi is hoisted and neem-jaggery shared.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)05:48
- Sunset18:14
- Fasting window (tithi)00:48 → 2003-04-03 · 03:08
- Parana (tithi ends)03:082003-04-03
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Gudi Padwa / Ugadi puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaGudi Padwa / Ugadi — Frequently Asked Questions
When is Gudi Padwa?
On the Shukla Pratipada of Chaitra, the first day of the Hindu lunar year, usually in late March or early April. It also opens Chaitra Navratri. This year's date is shown above.
What does the gudi represent?
The gudi — a bright cloth on a bamboo topped with an upturned pot, neem and mango leaves — is a flag of victory and welcome, raised for the new year and, in tradition, for Rama's return to Ayodhya. It is worshipped and lowered by sunset.
Why is neem eaten with jaggery on Gudi Padwa?
Taking the bitter neem with sweet jaggery at the year's first meal is an acceptance of both the bitter and the sweet the year will bring, and has a seasonal logic — neem cools and purifies the blood as the summer heat begins.
Is Gudi Padwa the same as Ugadi?
They are the same day — the Chaitra Shukla Pratipada new year — kept as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and the Konkan and as Ugadi in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana, with regional customs.
Other major festivals in 2003
- Makar Sankranti — 14 January 2003
- Vasant Panchami — 6 February 2003
- Maha Shivaratri — 1 March 2003
- Holika Dahan — 17 March 2003
- Holi — 19 March 2003
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 2 April 2003
- Ram Navami — 11 April 2003
- Akshaya Tritiya — 4 May 2003
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 1 July 2003
- Guru Purnima — 13 July 2003
- Nag Panchami — 3 August 2003
- Raksha Bandhan — 12 August 2003
- Krishna Janmashtami — 19 August 2003
- Hartalika Teej — 30 August 2003
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 31 August 2003
- Anant Chaturdashi — 9 September 2003
- Pitru Paksha begins — 11 September 2003
- Sharad Navratri begins — 27 September 2003
- Durga Ashtami — 3 October 2003
- Maha Navami — 4 October 2003
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 4 October 2003
- Karwa Chauth — 14 October 2003
- Dhanteras — 23 October 2003
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 24 October 2003
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 25 October 2003
- Govardhan Puja — 26 October 2003
- Bhai Dooj — 27 October 2003
- Chhath Puja — 30 October 2003
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 8 November 2003
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 8 November 2003
- Hindu Festivals 2003 →