Pola Festival The bullocks' own day, and the one day in the year they are not worked.
Pola 2027 falls on Tuesday, 31 August, computed for Chennai.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
- English
- Pola
- हिन्दी
- पोला
Only the names actually in use are listed. A blank script is not an omission: the day may simply not be kept there, or be kept under a different festival's name.
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place: a tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh calendar, computed for Chennai
- Tuesday, 31 August 2027
- Sunday, 20 August 2028
- Saturday, 8 September 2029
Where Pola falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 31 Aug
- 2028: 20 Aug
- 2029: 8 Sep
The dates, year by year
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh calendar, computed for Chennai
| Year | Pola |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Saturday, 23 August 2025 |
| 2026 | Friday, 11 September 2026 |
| 2027 | Tuesday, 31 August 2027 |
| 2028 | Sunday, 20 August 2028 |
| 2029 | Saturday, 8 September 2029 |
| 2030 | Wednesday, 28 August 2030 |
| 2031 | Monday, 18 August 2031 |
| 2032 | Saturday, 4 September 2032 |
| 2033 | Wednesday, 24 August 2033 |
| 2034 | Tuesday, 12 September 2034 |
| 2035 | Sunday, 2 September 2035 |
| 2036 | Thursday, 21 August 2036 |
Worked out for Chennai, Lahiri ayanamsa. A date is a function of the place: set yours above and the next three come back for where you are.
What the day is
The bullocks' own day, and the one day in the year they are not worked. They are washed in the morning, their horns oiled and painted, a new rope and a bell put on them, and they are honoured at the door and fed by hand before the house eats. The children are given the nandiya baila, a pair of clay bullocks on a board, and the clay chakki and pots that go with them, and those are the toys a Chhattisgarhi childhood is measured in. In the evening the pairs are taken out and walked or run through the village street together.
- Deity
- Nandi, Shiva, Pola Mata
- Kind
- Festival Days of celebration: the house is decorated, a feast is cooked and the temple is visited.
The hour
Clock times for Tuesday, 31 August 2027 at Chennai
Bhadrapada Amavasya at sunrise in the purnimanta reckoning, the new moon that closes the amanta Shravana and the one the north keeps as Pithori Amavasya.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise | 05:58 | the udaya tithi, the tithi running as the sun comes up |
Sunrise 05:58, sunset 18:21, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The fast
No fast is kept. The bullocks are fed the chila or the puran poli by hand before the household eats, and that order is the point of the day.
Where the regions differ
Chhattisgarh keeps it as Pola and gazettes it; Maharashtra and Vidarbha keep the same new moon as Pola and Bendur, and Telangana as Polala Amavasya for the children of the house. The north keeps it as Pithori Amavasya with the kushotpatini bath.
The dates above are the Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it. A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.