Bhogi Pandigai 2023: Date, History, Significance, Rituals and Celebrations of First Day of Pongal Festival

Bhogi Pandigai 2023: In the southern states of India, Bhogi Pandigai is celebrated as the first day of the four-day Pongal harvest festival. It is the day of discarding the old and bringing new fortune and prosperity into the lives of people.

On the day of Bhogi Pandigai, people rise early in the morning, typically before sunrise, and light a bonfire known as “Bhogi Mantalu” using wood and other solid fuels. It occurs on the last day of the Hindu Solar Calendar’s Agrahayaa or Margasira month.

On Saturday, January 14, 2023, Bhogi Pandigai 2023 will be celebrated. It is a festival celebrated widely in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Pongal’s four days are known as Bhogi Pandigai, Pedda Panduga, Mattu Pongal, and Kaanum Pongal. As we prepare to celebrate Bhogi Pandigai 2023, here is all the information you need about the festival’s date, observance, significance, and more.

Bhogi Pandigai 2023: Date

On January 13, 2023, a day prior to Makar Sankranti, Bhogi Pandigai will be observed. People begin the Bhogi celebration in the evening by cleaning their homes and discarding all old items. People then begin bonfires in which they dispose of old, unnecessary items and begin the new year with renewed optimism and optimism. In 2023, the Bhogi Sankranti Moment will occur on January 13 at 8:57 p.m.

Category	Pongal 2023
Festival celebration date	15 January to 18 January
Four days of Pongal	First day Bhogi Pongal Second day Surya Pongal Third day Mattu Pongal Fourth day kannum pongal
Year	2023
Area of the festival	Tamil Nadu, South India

When Is Thai Pongal 2023? Date, Traditions, Shubh Muhurat and Significance

Bhogi Pandigai Rituals and Festivities

Bhogi Pandigai is observed on the last day of the Tamil month of Margazhi, or during Makar Sankranti, when the sun shifts from the southern to the northern hemisphere. The English calendar places it between January 13 and January 16. The southern states celebrate Sankranti for four days.

The primary purpose of Bhogi Pandigai festivities is to discard and burn old items in order to bring spiritual bhogam (prosperity) into the home. Women embellish their homes with kolam (rangoli) made of rice flour and flowers.

Later, puja is performed during which ‘Bholi’ (battercake with lentil or coconut filling made with jaggery) is offered as naivedhyam to the divine. The celebration is marked by rural sports such as kite flying, cockfighting, and bullfighting.

Pongal 2023: Significance, How to Celebrate, Recipes to enjoy

Certain rituals are performed on each of the four days, which are designated as follows:

Day 1 – The first day is Bhogi, also known as Bhogi Pandigai.

Day 2 – Makar Sankranti, which is known as Pedda Panduga in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Day 3 – Kanuma Panduga in Andhra Pradesh and Mattu Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

Day 4 – Mukkanuma in Andhra Pradesh and Kaanum Pongal in Tamil Nadu.

When the sun enters Capricorn, the Pongal festival marks the end of the winter solstice and the beginning of the sun’s six-month journey northward. Additionally known as Uttarayana “Pongal” means “to boil” and refers to the traditional dish consisting of newly harvested rice boiled in milk with jaggery.

Makar Sankranti 2023: Date, Significance and celebrations