April 2026 runs from Mina (Chaitra) 18 to Mesha (Baisakha) 17 in the Odia calendar. Its big days are Utkal Divas (1 April), Chaitra Parba (2 April), Pana Sankranti (14 April) and Akshaya Tritiya (20 April). Below is every important date of the month, with its rituals.
- Odia months
- Chaitra and Baisakha
- Sankranti
- Pana Sankranti, 14 April
- Purnima
- 2 April
- Amavasya
- 17 April
April 2026Chaitra 18 – Baisakha 17
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Chaitra 18Festival: Utkal Divas (Odisha Day) | 2Chaitra 19Festival, Purnima: Chaitra Parba; Chaitra Purnima | 3Chaitra 20Festival: Good Friday | 4Chaitra 21 | |||
| 5Chaitra 22 | 6Chaitra 23 | 7Chaitra 24 | 8Chaitra 25 | 9Chaitra 26 | 10Chaitra 27 | 11Chaitra 28 |
| 12Chaitra 29 | 13Chaitra 30Ekadashi: Baruthini Ekadashi | 14Baisakha 1Festival, Sankranti: Pana Sankranti (Odia New Year); Hanuman Jayanti | 15Baisakha 2 | 16Baisakha 3 | 17Baisakha 4Amavasya: Amavasya | 18Baisakha 5 |
| 19Baisakha 6Festival: Parashuram Jayanti | 20Baisakha 7Festival: Akshaya Tritiya; Chandan Yatra begins | 21Baisakha 8Festival: Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti | 22Baisakha 9 | 23Baisakha 10 | 24Baisakha 11 | 25Baisakha 12Festival: Sita Navami |
| 26Baisakha 13 | 27Baisakha 14Ekadashi: Mohini Ekadashi | 28Baisakha 15Festival: Madhusudan Das Jayanti | 29Baisakha 16 | 30Baisakha 17Festival: Nrusingha Chaturdashi | ||
Important dates in April 2026
| Date | Festival or observance |
|---|---|
| 1 AprilWednesday | Utkal Divas (Odisha Day) |
| 2 AprilThursday | Chaitra Parba; Chaitra Purnima |
| 3 AprilFriday | Good Friday |
| 13 AprilMonday | Baruthini Ekadashi |
| 14 AprilTuesday | Pana Sankranti (Odia New Year); Hanuman Jayanti |
| 17 AprilFriday | Amavasya |
| 19 AprilSunday | Parashuram Jayanti |
| 20 AprilMonday | Akshaya Tritiya; Chandan Yatra begins |
| 21 AprilTuesday | Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti |
| 25 AprilSaturday | Sita Navami |
| 27 AprilMonday | Mohini Ekadashi |
| 28 AprilTuesday | Madhusudan Das Jayanti |
| 30 AprilThursday | Nrusingha Chaturdashi |
Rituals, date by date
1 April: Utkal Divas (Odisha Day)
Schools, offices and towns hold programmes in Odia, and the state song, Bande Utkala Janani, is sung.
Why it matters: Odisha became a separate province on 1 April 1936, the first in India formed by language.
2 April: Chaitra Parba; Chaitra Purnima
In the tribal villages of Koraput and southern Odisha, the spring festival is kept with music, feasting and the Dhemsa dance. The month-long Baisakha brata begins.
Why it matters: The welcome to spring and the new season in the hills.
In Koraput: The Tribal Museum in Koraput town shows the dress, tools and instruments of the communities who keep it.
3 April: Good Friday
Christians keep a day of prayer and fasting, with services remembering the crucifixion.
13 April: Baruthini Ekadashi
Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.
14 April: Pana Sankranti (Odia New Year); Hanuman Jayanti
Families make pana, a cool drink of wood apple, curd, jaggery and chhena, offer it and share it. A pot of water with a small hole is hung over the tulsi plant to drip through the hot days. The new panjika is read, Hanuman's birthday is kept, and devotees walk on fire (Jhamu Yatra) at Devi temples.
Why it matters: The first day of Baisakha and of the Odia year.
17 April: Amavasya
A day for offerings of water and sesame to the ancestors (tarpana); many families avoid starting new work.
19 April: Parashuram Jayanti
Temples and Brahmin associations worship Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, with processions.
20 April: Akshaya Tritiya; Chandan Yatra begins
Farmers sow the first handful of seed (Akhi Muthi Anukula), families buy gold and fix weddings, and at Puri the building of the Rath Yatra chariots begins. The 21-day Chandan Yatra, with the deities' evening boat rides on the Narendra tank, starts the same day.
Why it matters: A day when any good beginning is said never to wane.
21 April: Adi Shankaracharya Jayanti
Mathas and temples read Shankaracharya's hymns and hold discourses on his teaching.
25 April: Sita Navami
Married women fast and worship Sita and Rama on Sita's birthday.
27 April: Mohini Ekadashi
Families fast from rice and other grains, worship Vishnu, and break the fast after sunrise the next day.
28 April: Madhusudan Das Jayanti
Odisha honours Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, born on this day in 1848, with tributes at his statues.
30 April: Nrusingha Chaturdashi
Devotees fast until dusk, the hour Narasimha appeared, then worship him at temples such as Simhachalam.
Koraput in April
April days are warm and dry; even in May, Koraput stays below 35 °C, so a non-AC room is fine. Gupteswar, Upper Kolab and the Tribal Museum suit the month.
March 2026 · May 2026 · How the Odia calendar works, and every month
Dates from the Kohinoor Press Sankhyepa Panjika 2026, Cuttack.
