Article: The Tamil New Year for the year 2025

The Hindu Astrology uses 12 Zodiacal signs as the basis for drawing an astrological chart. These 12 signs seem to correspond to the 12 ‘stars’ in the English astrological predictions. As for instance, the Aries is equivalent to the one, called maesham / maedam in Tamil. Taurus is equivalent to rishabam in Tamil. While these twelve are called as stars in English, they are called raasi in Tamil; hence raasi is translated as ‘zodiac’ in English.

In a Hindu based calendar, a month is defined on the basis of the movement of either the moon or sun. This year, our Telugu sisters and brothers celebrated their New Year (Yugaadhi) on Sunday 30.03.2025 whereas our Hindu calendar indicates Monday 14.4.2025 as the first day of the Tamil month of Chitthirai, which is the first month of our Tamil year. The Telugu speakers define their month from the first phase of the waxing moon (the first thithi of the bright side of the moon) till the corresponding New Moon Day. The Tamil speakers base their definition of a month on the basis of the movement of the sun. The day, when the sun enters a particular zodiacal sign, is considered to be the first day of that Tamil month. Hindu astrology is very technical in its calculation of the movements of the nine planets through these zodiacal signs, that it states the exact time when the sun enters a particular zodiacal sign.  Accordingly, this year the sun enters the zodiacal sign, maesham, at 4.59 a.m. on Monday the 14th of April 2025, according to the ‘Ragunathaiyar Vaakkiya Panchaanggam’. Therefore, the actual time of the birth of our Tamil New Year, Visuvaavasu, is 4.59 a.m. on Monday. Consequently, we enable ourselves to welcome our New Year at the exact time of its birth with God’s blessings, by having a special poojaa at the exact time of the birth of the New Year. 

Since the Tamil calendar uses the position of the sun to keep track of its months, the Sun naturally has a special regard in respect to the Tamil New Year. Therefore, after praying to the Almighty to guide us throughout the ensuing New Year, we offer prayers to the sun along with the offering of sweet rice; the sun plays a significant role in regulating the climatic conditions, which should be conducive for the well-being of human beings, animals and plants. We offer sweet rice to the sun with the expectation that the ensuing year will be relatively ‘sweet’ to us. This year, as the New Year is being born at 4.59 a.m., early in the morning, the Sooriya Ponggal can be done after the New Year Special Poojaa, since the sun will already be up in the sky by then.

Therefore, this year, we have our special prayers at Sri Kandaswamy Temple, at 4.59 a.m. on Monday 14.04.2025, to make sure we receive the full blessings of God at the very instant when the New Year is born. We offer our gratitude to sun, through special prayers during which we offer the sweet rice by cooking it directly under the sunlight.

The main norms of a Tamil New year is to have a head bath using Marutthuneer, pray as a family at the home altar (and offer our prayers to the sun, doing the ponggal directly under sun), obtain the blessings of our parents and respectable elders who play a significant role in our lives, exchange good wishes among one another and firmly believe that everything is going to be fine throughout the Visvaavasu year with God’s grace and His guidance!    

A Happy Visvaavasu New Year to all Hindu brothers and sisters! May the kind Lord continue to bless and guide all of us along His graceful path!

“...Kantha kadambanai kaarmayil vaahananai

Chanthunai podhum maravaadhavarkku oru thaazvillaiyeh”

Translation: For those who do not forget the One, who wears the fragrant garland of Kadambu, and who has the peacock as his vehicle, until they leave this world, they will not have any shortcomings!

By Dr.K.Thilagawathi