All About Gudi Padwa

Gudi Padwa is the festival that augments the new year and is usually celebrated on the first day of the Indian month of Chaita according to the lunar calendar.

Most of the Indian festivals have a very special and intriguing history and it is interesting to see the manner in which they are celebrated.

Gudi Padwa Festival Celebration - The Maratha New Yearr
Known as a traditional festival, Gudi Padwa is the most popular Marathi term that shows the festival of Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. It shows the first days of the Chaitra month.

This month indicates the New Year as mentioned in the Hindu calendar. The real Gudi Padwa Festival Meaning shows that Paddavo as the first day of the lunar month.
This festival will celebrate as the New Year in Maharashtra. And other traditional events will celebrate Yugadi (Kannada New Year), Ugadi (Telugu New Year), and Navreh (Kashmiri New Year).

This special day is celebrated by various names in the country. Many Hindu rituals and traditional customs will perform from the sunrise at this festival.

The main importance of Gudi Padwa lies in worshipping the Lord Brahma, as the creator of the universe.

Gudi Padwa is the most popular first Hindu festival of Hindus as per the Hindu lunar calendar. It is a holy and special Hindu Marathi festival that shows the arrival of the New Year.

Gudi Padwa Story

There is a legendary story behind Gudi Padwa's in the traditional style. Gudi Padwa is the most popular spring-time festival, which marks the arrival of the traditional New Year for Marathi Hindus.

This festival will celebrate in and near Maharashtra on the first day of the Chaitra month. It rings the bell for the arrival of New Year as per the Hindu calendar.

In addition, it also shows the starting of a new spring season. In Maharashtra, local people celebrate this festival just by honoring Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja and his victory over his enemies.

On the same day, Lord Rama got the victory over Bali, so the popular festival is celebrated with all Hind rituals. It shows the symbol of victory.

Gudi Padwa Puja And Shobha Yatra

Gudi Padwa shows the starting of the New Year for people of Maharashtra. So, it is a very special day to begin the day with a holy bath after rubbing the oil in the early morning.

Every family member wakes up in the early morning, bathes and puts up new clothes. After taking a holy bath, they can perform the rituals cheerfully.

The first ritual of the festival is to wash the front floor of the houses. People make colorful designs and decorate the designs uniquely with fresh flower petals.

People also draw beautifully ‘rangolis’ in their homes. They also prepare different types of Sweets and Prasad in their houses. So, they offer the Prasad to God after the family members eat traditional food.

In the honor of this festival, Shobha Yatra will commence by devotee because it is the main attraction of the day. People wear traditional Maharashtrian outfits such as Pheta, and Pagdi as headwear.

On this special day, the women wear Nauvari Saree because they take part in Shobha Yatra. So, Gudi Padwa Shobha Yatra is the main attraction of the festival.
Decoding the Gudi

Think of Gudi Padwa and the first image that flashes in front of your eyes is the gudi. An integral part of the celebrations, it consists of a small inverted pot placed over a stick (mostly bamboo).While there are several beliefs and stories regarding the gudi, here's looking at some popular ones....

Kalash

Gudi is hoisted outside every house a night before the first day of Chaitra so that the rays of the sun hit the Kalash (pot), generally a silver or copper one, first and brings in positive energy to the house. It is believed that Lord Rama returned on this day after defeating Ravana. Marking his triumph over him, the gudi is hoisted in his honour. The Gudi is to be removed before the sun sets so it brings in positivity to one's house. This pot is later used to store drinking water since it is believed it has positive frequencies. It is also believed that this was the day when Lord Brahma created the universe and thus, the Gudi is also known as Brahmadhwaja.

The cloth

Since this season marks the end of one harvest season and beginning of a new one, only a green coloured cloth was used earlier. The colour stands for earth and all-things-new with the hope that the upcoming harvest season will produce abundant supply of grains. Of late, though, fancy and multi-coloured cloth in reds and pinks is also being used.

The garlands, leaves and sweet candies

The gudi is adorned with a garland, mostly of marigold, mango, neem leaves and sweet candies, also known as bataasha. The proportion of the spiritually pure component is more in mango leaves when compared to others and thus, it has more capacity to attract the divine principle. Following this closely are neem leaves that absorb the Prajapati frequencies subtly .

When should the Gudi be removed?

The Gudi is to be removed before the sun sets so it brings in positivity to one's house. This pot is later used to store drinking water since it is believed it has positive frequencies. It is also believed that this was the day when Lord Brahma created the universe and thus, the Gudi is also known as Brahmadhwaja

What can you buy on Gudi Padwa?

According to Hindu mythology, buying gold on the occasion of Gudi Padwa brings lot of prosperity in house. You can buy gold ornaments, jewellery, gold coins and other gold items during Gudi Padwa. Apart from gold, you can also buy other things like silver, pearls or platinum on the occasion of Gudi Padwa.

Summary

Gudi Padwa is the most popular Indian festival, which will celebrate in the southern states of India, especially in Maharashtra.

It will celebrate with all Hindi Rituals, Pooja, and Shobha Yatra. This special day is full of zeal and excitement as the beginning of the first day of New Year in India.