HinduCalendar.in New Delhi

Thai Pongal

Also called Pongal, Perum Pongal, Surya Pongal

When

Friday, 15 January 2027 in 127 days

New Delhi ยท change location

Sunrise7:19 AM
Sunset5:41 PM
Saptami until 2:13 PM
at sunrise. This observance is governed by sankranti-instant, not by the sunrise tithi โ€” which is why the tithi named here is often not the one the festival is named for.
Revati until 11:51 PM
11:12 AM โ€“ 12:30 PM

See the complete panchang for that day โ†’

Governed by sankranti-instant

Why this date?

Thai 1 โ€” the first day of the Tamil month Thai, reckoned from the Sun's entry into Makara. It is a SOLAR observance, which is why it sits on nearly the same civil date every year.

  • Computed by the panchanga engine for your location
  • Follows a written selection rule, not a copied list
  • The governing period is stated, and the rule is applied to it
  • 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 โ†’

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 Tamil Nadu (Tamil). We show it rather than hide it โ€” a calendar that only shows you your own region tells you less about the country you live in, not more.

What In short

The Tamil harvest festival and the second of the four Pongal days. Rice is boiled with new jaggery in a clay pot outdoors until it boils over, and the household calls out Pongalo Pongal as it does.

Why The reason behind it

The boiling over is the whole festival in one image โ€” abundance that cannot be contained. It is offered to the Sun, whose northward turn the day marks, and the new rice is the harvest that turn produced. Nothing about the ritual is metaphorical: the pot is watched, and the moment it spills is the moment the year is declared good.

Traditional basis

Tamil solar calendar convention โ€” Thai 1 as the month's and the harvest year's beginning, from the Makara sankranti.

Sangam-era harvest observance โ€” The offering of the first rice to the Sun, among the oldest continuously kept Tamil observances.

How At home, step by step

  1. Cook the pongal outdoors at sunrise in a new clay pot, with new rice, milk and jaggery.
  2. Let it boil over deliberately, and call Pongalo Pongal.
  3. Offer it to Surya first, with sugarcane and turmeric plants beside the pot.
  4. Draw the kolam at the entrance.
What you'll need
  • A new clay pot, marked with turmeric
  • New rice, jaggery, milk
  • Whole sugarcane and turmeric plants
  • Kolam powder
Fasting and breaking the fast

Not a fasting day.

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

Personal In your region

For children

Rice and milk and jaggery are boiled outside in a new pot until it bubbles over the top, and everyone shouts Pongalo Pongal. Boiling over is supposed to happen.

Common questions

Is Pongal the same as Makar Sankranti?
Same solar event, different festival. Both mark the Sun entering Makara; Pongal is the Tamil four-day harvest observance and Makar Sankranti is the pan-Indian day with its own customs. Neither is a translation of the other.

Not the same day

These fall nearby or share the tithi, and are often confused with this observance. They are separate, and this site dates them separately.

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.