🌾 Baisakhi / Vishu / Bihu / Puthandu (Mesha Sankranti — the solar new year) Vrat Katha
The story
Baisakhi 1699: Guru Gobind Singh called an assembly at Anandpur Sahib and, sword in hand, said 'I need a head' — five came forward one by one (Daya Ram, Dharam Das, Himmat Rai, Mohkam Chand, Sahib Chand) — they returned alive from the tent, the Guru gave them amrit (the pahul of the khanda and bowl) and founded the 'Panj Pyare' and the Khalsa Panth, the name 'Singh', the five Ks; then he took amrit from them himself — 'Aape Gur Chela'; hence Baisakhi is Khalsa Sirjana Divas. On the same day in 1919 the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar) — a day of remembrance too.
Vishu: Krishna slew Narakasura/Rama slew Ravana and let the Sun rise from the east (folk beliefs) — on Vishu the Sun is exactly in the east (the equinox); the tradition of the Vishukkani — if the year's first sight is auspicious, the whole year is auspicious; the konna (kanikkonna) is dear to Shri Krishna — the yellow laburnum that blooms in April, 'the gold of Kerala'; kaineettam = the blessing-money of elders.
Bihu and the Sun/farming: Bohag Bihu is the beginning of the farming season of Assam — the worship of cows (Goru Bihu) because they are the basis of field life; Mesha Sankranti is Maha Vishuva — the Sun on the equator, day and night equal (in ancient reckoning); the Pana Sankranti of Odisha = Hanuman Jayanti (the Odia tradition) and the basundhara theki — the offering of water to Mother Earth (Basundhara) in the heat; the sattu of Satuani — the first grain of the new crop to the Sun and the ancestors, then oneself (coolness); Jur Sital — elders sprinkle water with the blessing 'stay cool'.
Why this katha — the significance
Astronomy: the Sun in sidereal Aries — the beginning of the Vedic solar year (Maha Vishuva — once the point of equal day and night, now around 14 April because of the ayanamsha); all the solar calendars (Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese, Odia, Punjabi-Nanakshahi, Nepali Vikram-solar) count from here; if the Sankranti falls after sunset the festival is the next day (the 14th) — the date above follows this rule.
Baisakhi 1699: Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib (the Panj Pyare) — like a religious new year for Sikhs; the Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 was on Baisakhi too; the farmers' celebration of the rabi harvest — 'Jatta aai Baisakhi'; the Ganga bath of Mesha Sankranti at Haridwar-Rishikesh (believed the beginning of Satya Yuga), Ganga Saptami linked to the descent of the Ganga is separate.
Vishu: seeing the 'kani' first thing in the morning (the Krishna idol, the yellow flowers of the konna (Indian laburnum), rice, fruit, gold and coins, a mirror, a lamp — in an uruli) = prosperity all year; kaineettam (coins) from elders; Bihu: the worship of cows (Goru Bihu — after the harvest), the new year (Manuh Bihu — a gamosa for elders), Bihu songs and dance (dhol-pepa), pitha; Puthandu: the kani (Tamil), manga pachadi (six tastes), hearing the panchang; Pohela Boishakh: the halkhata (new account books), the prabhat pheri (Kolkata), panta bhaat (Bangladesh).
How the katha is heard
- Hear or read the katha after the puja, before the aarti — the whole family sits together.
- The one keeping the vrat should listen with a calm mind; keep a lamp lit and a little akshat-flowers in hand.
- At the end, offer the flowers at the deity's feet and bow; share the prasad with everyone.
Frequently asked questions
When is Baisakhi/Vishu/Bihu in {Y} — 13 or 14 April?
This year's Mesha Sankranti date is above — if the moment of the Sun's entry into Aries is after sunset the festival is the next day (usually 14 April; sometimes 13); Baisakhi-Vishu-Puthandu-Pohela Boishakh-Pana Sankranti are on the same day; the Goru Bihu of Bohag Bihu a day earlier (the Chaitra Sankranti) and Manuh Bihu on Mesha Sankranti; Jur Sital the day after Satuani; match your state's panchang.
What is the link between Baisakhi and the Khalsa?
On the Baisakhi of 1699 Guru Gobind Singh gave amrit to the Panj Pyare at Anandpur Sahib and founded the Khalsa Panth — hence for Sikhs Baisakhi is Khalsa Sirjana Divas (Vaisakh 1 in the Nanakshahi calendar); nagar kirtan, akhand path and langar at the gurdwaras; along with it the farmers' festival of the rabi harvest — both on one day.
What is the Vishukkani and how to set it up?
'Kani' = the year's first sight — seeing auspicious things the moment one opens one's eyes on Vishu dawn so that the year is auspicious; at night in an uruli (brass vessel) raw rice, the yellow flowers of the konna (laburnum), cucumber-jackfruit-mango-banana-coconut, gold jewellery, coins, a mirror (in which the kani and one's own face), new cloth, a scripture, a lit nilavilakku — before the idol of Krishna/Guruvayurappan; at dawn the eldest woman of the house sees it first, then brings everyone with eyes closed; then kaineettam (coins).
What are the seven days of Bihu?
Bohag/Rongali Bihu: 1 Goru Bihu (the Chaitra Sankranti — bathing and worshipping cows and bullocks), 2 Manuh Bihu (Mesha Sankranti — the new year, bath, new clothes, gamosa-pranam, pitha), 3 Gosain Bihu (the household deity/namghar), 4 Tator Bihu (the loom and cloth), 5 Nangolor Bihu (the plough and tools), 6 Gharosia Jibar Bihu (domestic animals), 7 Chera Bihu (the close) — the order and names vary by region; the Bihu dance and husori through all seven days.
Why six tastes in the manga pachadi?
In the pachadi of the Tamil Puthandu and Kerala Vishu — raw mango (sour), neem flowers (bitter), jaggery (sweet), chilli (hot), salt (salty), tamarind/raw banana (astringent) — six tastes = the acceptance of all of life's joys and sorrows; in the first mouthful of the new year — the Ugadi pachadi (Telugu-Kannada) carries the same spirit (neem-jaggery).
What is the halkhata?
The new account book of Bengal's merchants on Pohela Boishakh (the 'halkhata' bound in red cloth) — the first page with swastika-sindoor along with the Lakshmi-Ganesha puja, the old dues closed, customers invited to the shop for sweets and calendars; the account-book puja at Kalighat-Dakshineswar; the Bengali form of the Diwali chopda puja of north India.
🏠 Baisakhi / Vishu / Bihu / Puthandu (Mesha Sankranti — the solar new year) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals