Bestu Varas (Gujarati New Year)

About

Bestu Varas is the Gujarati New Year. It is the first day of the Kartikadi Vikram Samvat, which begins on Kartika Shukla Pratipada, the day after the main Diwali night in Gujarat. Bestu means "the beginning" and varas means "year". Gujaratis also call it Nutan Varsh, the new year.

Significance and stories

A common question is why Gujarat starts its year in autumn when much of North India begins on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in spring (see the page on Ugadi and Gudi Padwa). Both count years in the same Vikram Samvat era. The difference is where the year changes.

In Gujarat the year-number changes at Kartika Shukla Pratipada, right after Diwali. This is the Kartikadi system (Kartika + adi = beginning with Kartika). In North India the year-number changes at Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the Chaitradi system. So a Gujarati and a North Indian speak of the same era but may be a year apart for the months between Kartika and Chaitra. Month names can differ too, because North India usually counts months from full moon to full moon and Gujarat from new moon to new moon (see the page on Amanta and Purnimanta).

The new year follows Diwali and Chopda Pujan, the worship of account books on Diwali night, which closes the business year. Bestu Varas opens a new one. Families see it as a fresh page: forgive, begin again, and ask for blessings on the year ahead.

Traditionally this day is also Annakut and Govardhan Puja, so many temples hold a large food offering. Tradition links the beginning of the Vikram era to King Vikramaditya.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Rise early, bathe and wear new or fresh clothes, often the best of the family wardrobe.
2. Draw or refresh the rangoli at the entrance, and keep the festive lamps and toran (door garland) in place.
3. Light a lamp before the family shrine and offer flowers, kumkum, rice and a sweet to Lakshmi, Ganesha and your family deity.
4. Seek blessings from elders by touching their feet. Visit a temple if possible.
5. Greet relatives, neighbours and friends. The usual greeting is "Saal Mubarak", with the reply "Saal Mubarak" or "Nutan Varshabhinandan".
6. Business families start a fresh account book (chopda) with a short prayer, often writing "Shubh" and "Labh" and a swastika on the first page. Chopda Pujan itself is done on Diwali night.
7. Share a festive meal with sweets and snacks.

Puja items (samagri)

• Lamp (ghee or oil), incense, camphor
• Kumkum, turmeric, rice grains, flowers
• Images or murtis of Lakshmi, Ganesha and your family deity
• New account book or diary, pen
• Sweets, fruit, dry fruits for offering
• Rangoli colours or flower petals

Fasting and food

There is no fast. Families prepare a festive vegetarian meal with sweets such as mohanthal or shrikhand, snacks such as ghughra and mathri, and farsan. Because the day is also Govardhan Puja and Annakut, many households offer a variety of dishes before the family meal.

Regional customs

In Gujarat and among Gujaratis worldwide, Bestu Varas is the biggest social day of the year. Families visit one another with sweets, and temples hold Annakut. Business communities in places such as Ahmedabad and Surat hold ledger rituals. In Maharashtra the same day is Padwa or Bali Pratipada. In Rajasthan and Marwari families it is also the start of the business year for some communities. Jain families observe the New Year as well, with a visit to the temple, and the Jain Vir Nirvana Samvat year also begins on Kartika Shukla Pratipada, the day after Diwali.

Celebrating in the USA

Gujarati associations and temples in the USA often hold New Year gatherings on the nearest weekend. If Bestu Varas falls on a workday, greet family by phone in the morning, light a lamp before work, and plan the main get-together for the evening or weekend. Sweets and farsan are easy to find at Gujarati grocery stores, or you can make a simple one at home. If you run a business, begin a fresh digital ledger or notebook and offer a short prayer with it. Rangoli stickers or coloured powder work well in an apartment hallway, but check building rules first.