Paṇā Saṅkrānti marks the Sun's entry into Meṣa and opens the Odia new year. At dawn households offer paṇā, a cooling drink of bel fruit, yoghurt and spices, and worship Caṇḍī. The Odia san year counts forward by one from this ingress. It is a day of fresh beginnings, taken up with the first taste of paṇā. How the day is fixed: The festival is the civil day, reckoned from local sunrise, on which the Sun enters Meṣa. It is a solar date, not a lunar tithi, and usually comes in mid-April. Keep in mind: When the ingress happens close to sunrise, the civil day can differ by one from place to place. Follow the sunrise of the town where you live. This year: The 2026 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Bel paṇā: Bel fruit, yoghurt and spices are ground together into paṇā. It is offered at dawn and then shared in the family. Caṇḍī pūjā: Households and Caṇḍī temples hold worship of the goddess to open the year. People visit the temple after the morning offering. Worth remembering: Pohelā Boiśākh, Puthāṇḍu and Viṣu are other solar new years tied to the same season, and each is kept as its own festival. Paṇā Saṅkrānti is the Odia new year alone. The recipe for paṇā and the order of the morning differ from village to village and house to house. Some families add more fruit or spice, and some visit a particular Caṇḍī shrine that the household has always gone to. What stays the same is the offering at dawn and the welcome of the new Odia year. Beyond that, follow the practice the elders of your own house have kept.
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