Ugadi / Gudi Padwa in Dharmasthala

Date and timing in this city

In Dharmasthala (धर्मस्थल), Karnataka, the festival known in the Deccan as Ugadi is observed on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — the first tithi of the waxing fortnight of Chaitra. Because the tithi is reckoned from the local sunrise, the date is computed for Dharmasthala's own horizon rather than for a single all-India reference point.

For the coming years, the date in Dharmasthala is:

• 2026: Thursday 19 March 2026
• 2027: Wednesday 7 April 2027

Dharmasthala follows Asia/Kolkata as its time zone. The observance marks the lunar new year as kept across the Deccan, and the presiding deity associated with the day is Brahma.

Why the date can differ from India

Panchangam calculations are not made for a country as a whole; they are made for a place, using that place's sunrise. A tithi begins and ends at specific moments, and the day on which Chaitra Shukla Pratipada is counted depends on whether that tithi is running at sunrise where you are.

This is why a festival date printed for "India" and a date computed for Dharmasthala can fall on the same day in most years and diverge in others. The difference is not an error in either reckoning — it is the ordinary consequence of local sunrise, local longitude and the shifting boundary of the tithi.

Communities also differ in how they name and frame the same observance. In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana it is Ugadi; in Maharashtra the related observance is Gudi Padwa. Regional and sampradaya conventions — including amanta and purnimanta reckonings — can shift how the month and the day are described. Where traditions differ, it is best to follow the panchangam used in your own family or lineage rather than to assume one reading is universal.

Where and how the community celebrates (general, no venue claims)

Ugadi in the Deccan is a lunar new year observance, and its character is domestic and communal at once. Households clean and decorate the entrance, arrange a kalasha, and prepare the traditional Ugadi pachadi — the preparation that gathers several tastes in one dish, taken as a reminder that the year ahead holds mixed experience.

The day is also one for a fresh start: new account books, new resolves, and the reading or hearing of the panchangam for the year. In Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, these customs take regional forms, and families often keep their own variations.

Practical tips

• Confirm the tithi timing for Dharmasthala's sunrise before fixing your observance, especially if you are travelling.
• If you are outside India, note that your local sunrise may place the tithi on a different day than the Dharmasthala date above.
• Follow the panchangam of your own tradition where North and South, or Smarta and Vaishnava, conventions differ.
• For personal charts and muhurta, consult a qualified jyotishi.