📅 14 April 2026Returns next year
Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) वैशाखी
Sun / Guru Gobind Singh · No fasting required
Solar New Year and Punjabi harvest festival on Mesha Sankranti — when the Sun enters Aries. Also commemorates 1699 CE, when Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib, baptising the Panj Pyare with Amrit. Farmers thank the divine for the rabi harvest; Sikhs celebrate the birth of the Khalsa identity.
Rituals (vidhi)
- 1.Pre-dawn bath in the Ganga, Yamuna, or local river
- 2.Visit to Gurdwara for Akhand Path and Amrit Sanchar
- 3.Nagar Kirtan procession led by Panj Pyare
- 4.Bhangra and Gidda performances around bonfires
- 5.Langar seva (community meal) at gurdwaras
Significance
Astronomically marks the Sun's entry into Mesha rashi, the start of the Hindu solar year shared with Tamil Puthandu, Vishu, Pohela Boishakh, and Bihu. Spiritually, the Khalsa foundation day for Sikhs — when Guru Gobind Singh dissolved caste through the shared Amrit ceremony.