Is Nuakhai the same as Onam or Pongal?

They are all harvest festivals and they are separate observances on separate calendars. Nuakhai is western Odisha's, fixed to a Bhadrapada tithi with its hour set locally.

Nuakhai

Also called Nuakhai Bhetghat, Nabanna

When

Tuesday, 15 September 2026 in 5 days

New Delhi · change location

Sunrise6:09 AM

Sunset6:22 PM

Chaturthi until 7:44 AM

Swati until 3:21 PM

3:19 PM – 4:51 PM

See the complete panchang for that day →

Why this date?

Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami, the day after Ganesh Chaturthi. The muhurta for receiving the new rice is fixed each year by the priests of the Samaleswari temple at Sambalpur.

Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
Governed by the whole day rather than a specific period
The written guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar

Dates come from the calculation engine and are independent of the written guide. How we calculate →

Dates in the coming years

Published to 2030. Later years appear as the dataset is extended and validated.

This is not commonly observed in North India, the region you've set. It is kept in Odisha (Odia). We show it rather than hide it — a calendar that only shows you your own region tells you less about the country you live in, not more.

What In short

Western Odisha's new-rice festival. The season's first harvested rice is offered to the presiding deity and then eaten by the household, eldest first. The greeting round that follows — Nuakhai Bhetghat — is as much the festival as the meal.

Deity: Samaleswari

Why The reason behind it

Nua means new and khai means to eat, and the sequence is the point: nothing of the new crop is eaten by anyone until it has been offered. The eldest-first order at the meal, and the visiting that follows, put the household and then the community back in order around the new harvest.

Traditional basis

Western Odisha agrarian tradition — The Nabanna family of new-rice observances, of which Nuakhai is the Sambalpuri form.

Samaleswari temple practice — The annual determination of the Nuakhai lagna, which fixes the hour of the offering.

How At home, step by step

Offer the first new rice — the nabanna — to the household deity at the appointed lagna.
Eat it in order of age, eldest first.
Go visiting: Nuakhai Bhetghat is the greeting round after the meal.

Fasting and breaking the fast

Not a fasting day.

Fasting guidance here describes traditional practice. It is not medical advice — if you are pregnant, diabetic, on medication or unwell, ask a doctor about your own circumstances.

Personal In your region

Odisha (Odia)
Concentrated in western Odisha; Sambalpur's temple sets the hour the region follows.

For children

The day the first rice of the new harvest is eaten — but only after it has been offered first, and the oldest person in the house eats before anyone else.

Common questions

Is Nuakhai the same as Onam or Pongal?: They are all harvest festivals and they are separate observances on separate calendars. Nuakhai is western Odisha's, fixed to a Bhadrapada tithi with its hour set locally.

This guide has not yet been reviewed by a named scholar or practising priest. The dates and times on this page come from the calculation engine and are independent of it; the explanatory text is editorial and may not reflect your family's practice. Tell us if something is wrong.