Engili Pula Bathukamma (first day)
Saturday, October 10
Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, New Jersey, Dallas, Bay Area, Chicago, London, Sydney
At a glance
- Engili Pula Bathukamma (first day)
- Saturday, October 10 · India and USA
- Saddula Bathukamma (last day)
- Sunday, October 18 · India and USA
Saddula Bathukamma wishes in Telugu and English
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Bathukamma 2026: the nine days
Each day has its own name and naivedyam. In 2026 the dates are the same in India, the USA and everywhere else.
- 10Oct
Day 1 · Saturday
Engili Pula Bathukamma
Also called Engili Puvvula Bathukamma. Begins on Pethara (Mahalaya) Amavasya. Naivedyam of sesame, rice flour and broken rice.
- 11Oct
Day 2 · Sunday
Atukula Bathukamma
Naivedyam of plain boiled dal, jaggery and atukulu (flattened rice).
- 12Oct
Day 3 · Monday
Muddapappu Bathukamma
Naivedyam of soft-cooked dal, milk and jaggery.
- 13Oct
Day 4 · Tuesday
Nanabiyyam Bathukamma
Naivedyam of soaked rice mixed with milk and jaggery.
- 14Oct
Day 5 · Wednesday
Atla Bathukamma
Naivedyam of atlu (dosas).
- 15Oct
Day 6 · Thursday
Aligina Bathukamma
The Goddess is said to be upset: no Bathukamma is played and no naivedyam is offered.
- 16Oct
Day 7 · Friday
Vepakayala Bathukamma
Naivedyam of rice flour shaped like neem fruits and fried.
- 17Oct
Day 8 · Saturday
Vennamuddala Bathukamma
Naivedyam of sesame, butter and ghee rolled into balls.
- 18Oct
Day 9 · Sunday
Saddula Bathukamma
The grand last day. Five kinds of saddulu, such as curd rice, tamarind rice and sesame rice, are offered to Gauramma, and the Bathukammas are set afloat in water.
The date in your city
Cities that share a date are grouped together. Where it differs from India, it’s highlighted.
Saddula Bathukamma (last day)
Sunday, October 18
Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, New Jersey, Dallas, Bay Area, Chicago, London, Sydney
What is Bathukamma?
Bathukamma is a vibrant floral festival celebrated mainly by women in Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh. The name means "the mother who gives life" (bathuku = life, amma = mother). It honours Goddess Gauri, a form of Parvati, and celebrates nature, water and the bond women share with the earth.
It comes with Devi Navaratri and runs for nine days: it begins on Mahalaya Amavasya with Engili Pula Bathukamma and ends with Saddula Bathukamma, around Durgashtami.
How it is celebrated
- 1
Stacking the flowers
In the days before, women and girls gather seasonal flowers, many of them wild flowers with medicinal and water-purifying properties: gunugu (celosia), tangedu (Cassia auriculata, the most sacred for the festival), banti (marigold), chamanthi (chrysanthemum) and lotus. They stack them in circular layers on a wide plate (tambalam) into a cone like a temple gopuram, with a small turmeric idol of Gauri on top.
- 2
Evenings of songs and dance
Every evening for nine days, women in silk sarees and girls in pattu langas, with flowers in their hair, set their Bathukammas in the middle of a courtyard or village square. They circle them, clapping and dancing to Bathukamma patalu: folk songs that praise the Goddess and tell of history, mythology and the joys and sorrows of village life.
- 3
Saddula Bathukamma and the immersion
The last day, Saddula Bathukamma, is named after the saddulu, the many kinds of flavoured rice (pulihora, daddojanam and more) cooked for it. After the songs and dances, women carry their Bathukammas on their heads to a lake, pond or river and gently set them afloat at dusk, sending the Goddess home; the flowers are said to help purify the water. Afterwards they share maleeda, rotis crushed with jaggery, as prasadam.
Saddula Bathukamma (last day)
Saddula Bathukamma, the grand last day of Bathukamma in Telangana, when the flower Bathukamma is set afloat in water at dusk.
Devi Navaratri begins
Nine nights of the Goddess from Ashvayuja Shukla Padyami. She is worshipped in a different form each day (Kanaka Durga at Vijayawada), and Bathukamma is celebrated across Telangana.
Questions
What is Bathukamma?
Bathukamma is a vibrant floral festival celebrated mainly by women in Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh. The name means "the mother who gives life" (bathuku = life, amma = mother). It honours Goddess Gauri, a form of Parvati, and celebrates nature, water and the bond women share with the earth. It comes with Devi Navaratri and runs for nine days: it begins on Mahalaya Amavasya with Engili Pula Bathukamma and ends with Saddula Bathukamma, around Durgashtami.
What are the nine days of Bathukamma called?
Engili Pula Bathukamma, Atukula Bathukamma, Muddapappu Bathukamma, Nanabiyyam Bathukamma, Atla Bathukamma, Aligina Bathukamma, Vepakayala Bathukamma, Vennamuddala Bathukamma, Saddula Bathukamma.
When is Saddula Bathukamma 2026?
Saddula Bathukamma (last day) is on Sunday, October 18 in India and the USA.
When is Saddula Bathukamma 2026?
Saddula Bathukamma, the ninth and last day of Bathukamma, falls on on Sunday, October 18 in India and the USA.
When is Engili Pula Bathukamma 2026?
Engili Pula Bathukamma (also written Engili Puvvula Bathukamma), the first day of Bathukamma, falls on Mahalaya Amavasya, on Saturday, October 10 in India and the USA.
Why is the date different in the USA?
A festival is kept on the day whose sunrise falls in the right tithi. Sunrise in America comes about 10 hours after sunrise in India, so the tithi at sunrise can differ and the festival can fall a day earlier or later. Always go by your own city’s date.
Can I get a reminder before each festival?
The Teluguvaari Calendar app sends an alert the evening before or the morning of every festival you choose, with the date for your own city. It is free, with no ads.