Pana Sankranti (ପଣା ସଂକ୍ରାନ୍ତି), also called Maha Vishuva Sankranti or Maha Bishuba Sankranti, is the traditional New Year of Odisha. It falls on the first day of the Odia solar month of Baisakha, usually 14 April, and takes its popular name from pana, a sweet, cooling drink of bael fruit, water and jaggery that families prepare, offer to the gods and share with neighbours.

What does Pana Sankranti celebrate?

Pana Sankranti marks the sun's entry into Mesha (Aries) in the sidereal zodiac followed by Odia almanacs, and so begins the new solar year in the Odia calendar. The word vishuva comes from the traditional term for the equinox; the festival keeps that name although, in the sidereal reckoning, it now falls a few weeks after the astronomical spring equinox. Because the date is fixed by the sun rather than the moon, Pana Sankranti almost always falls on 13, 14 or 15 April.

The day also opens the hottest part of the year in Odisha, and many of its customs are about water and cooling. The new panjika (almanac) for the year is released around this time, giving the dates of festivals, eclipses and auspicious moments for the coming twelve months. For a guide to Odia almanacs and festival dates, see the Odiapedia festival calendar.

Pana Sankranti belongs to the same family of solar new year days as Vaisakhi, Bohag Bihu and Songkran, which fall on or around the same date elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia.

Main rituals and customs

Bela pana and Basundhara theki

The central household ritual is the preparation of bela pana. Ripe bela (bael, also called wood apple) is broken open, its pulp is mashed with water and jaggery, and families add their own extras such as coconut, banana or spices. The pana is first offered to household deities and the tulasi (holy basil) plant, and then shared with family, neighbours and passers-by as an act of hospitality in the summer heat.

A second widely followed custom is Basundhara theki (also called Basundhara ghadi): a small earthen pot with a hole in its base is hung over the tulasi plant, and a wick of grass or thread lets water drip slowly onto the plant. According to tradition, the dripping pot keeps the sacred plant, and symbolically the earth (Basundhara), cool through the summer months.

Hanuman Jayanti

In Odia tradition, Maha Vishuva Sankranti is also the birthday of Hanuman, so Hanuman temples across Odisha hold special worship and see large crowds on the day. This differs from most of north India, where Hanuman Jayanti follows a lunar date. Temples of Shiva and of the goddess (Shakti shrines) also hold festivals on Pana Sankranti.

Jhamu Yatra and fire-walking

Several goddess shrines hold Jhamu Yatra, a vow-based festival in which devotees walk barefoot across a bed of burning embers. On Pana Sankranti 2026 (14 April), OdishaTV reported Jhamu Yatra at the Maa Sarala shrine in Jagatsinghpur district, where ghata sevakas who had spent the preceding weeks carrying the goddess's pot from village to village ended their vow with the fire-walk. Other Jhamu festivals in the Chaitra season, such as the one at the Maa Mangala temple in Kakatpur, follow their own temple calendars. See also Jagatsinghpur district.

The end of Danda Nacha

Pana Sankranti is the closing day of Danda Nacha (Danda Jatra), the penitential dance-ritual of the Chaitra month that is strongest in Ganjam and neighbouring districts of southern Odisha. In Ganjam the day is locally called Meru Sankranti, and the danduas (participants) complete their vows with a final ritual offering. Read more in Odiapedia's article on Danda Nacha and the Ganjam district page.

Where and how is it celebrated?

Pana Sankranti is observed in every part of Odisha, in towns as well as villages, and by Odia communities across India and abroad. It is a state public holiday in Odisha (the Government of Odisha's 2026 list shows it on 14 April, together with Dr B. R. Ambedkar Jayanti).

Typical observances include:

  • an early bath and visits to Hanuman, Shiva and goddess temples;
  • preparing bela pana and offering it at home and to the tulasi;
  • sharing pana with neighbours, visitors and passers-by;
  • releasing or buying the new year's panjika;
  • regional fairs and performances, such as Jhamu Yatra in coastal districts and the final day of Danda Nacha in the south.

Food associated with Pana Sankranti

The festival's signature item is bela pana. Many households also eat chhatua, a flour of roasted grains that is mixed with water and sweetened before eating. Both are light, cooling foods suited to the start of summer. For other Odia dishes, see famous foods of Odisha.

Pana Sankranti dates

YearDateDaySource
202614 AprilTuesdayGovernment of Odisha holiday list 2026
202714 AprilWednesdayDrik Panchang (Bhubaneswar)

Rule: Pana Sankranti is the day of Mesha Sankranti, the first day of the solar month of Baisakha in the Odia calendar. Check a current Odia panjika for the exact sankranti moment.