Pola 2026

Quick facts

• Also known asBail Pola, Pithori Amavasya, Bendur (around Kolhapur)
• WhereMaharashtra, above all Vidarbha and Marathwada; Chhattisgarh too
• Puja forThe bullocks
• In one lineThanks to the bullocks who grow the grain: the one day in the year they are spared the work.

Pola, in a little more detail

1. 01

   About the festival

   Pola comes on the new moon of Shravana, Pithori Amavasya. Shravana ends, and the farmer throws a festival for his closest partner: his bullock.

   Ploughing, sowing, threshing: there's a bullock's sweat in every grain, fruit and vegetable. Today he does no work. Today he's the guest of honour.

   And the lesson is simple: thank the ones who work for you. From the heart, and out loud.

2. 02

   Polasur, and the little Pola

   In some parts they tell this story: Kamsa sent a demon named Polasur to kill the infant Krishna. But the baby killed the demon instead, and that day, they believe, is Pola.

   That's why children are made much of on this day.

   And Vidarbha has a day of its own for the children: Tanha Pola, the little Pola, the day after. Raghuji Bhonsale II of Nagpur is said to have started it in 1789, so that young cowherds would learn early what the bullock means to farming. Children still dress up wooden bullocks and take them from house to house.

3. 03

   In Maharashtra and beyond

   The day before, the bullocks' shoulders are warmed with turmeric and ghee or oil. On Pola they're bathed, their horns painted and foiled, and they're dressed in a jhul, a bashing headpiece and bells. New nose ropes and new reins, too.

   Puran poli for the bullocks as naivedya. Then a procession with drums, to a toran of mango leaves strung up near the village boundary. Once it breaks, Pola has begun!

   Pola is biggest in Vidarbha, and on Tanha Pola Nagpur carries out the Marbat: a yellow one and a black one, effigies of what is wrong in society, burned at the end of the procession.

   The day isn't the same everywhere. Around Kolhapur, Karnataka-style Bendur is kept on another day, the day after Vat Purnima. Chhattisgarh keeps Pola in a big way too.

How to do the puja

In short: The bullocks' day off: a bath, finery, a puja, puran poli and the procession.

1. 1Invite the bullocks the day before, and warm their shoulders with turmeric and ghee or oil.This warming (khande shekane) soothes the spot where the yoke rubs.
2. 2In the morning take them to a river or stream for a bath, and let them graze.Wash them gently; keep water and soap out of their eyes and ears.
3. 3Dress them up: paint the horns, put on the jhul, and tie on the bashing and strings of bells.Use colours that are safe for animals, and no sharp foil on the tips of the horns.
4. 4Worship them: haldi-kunku, a garland and an aarti.The family greets the bullocks with a thali and a lamp of ghee.
5. 5Feed them puran poli, and a good full meal.Only a little of the sweet, with fodder and plenty of water.
6. 6Join the procession, with drums, to the toran at the edge of the village.Walk them calmly: no running, no beating, and keep them away from firecrackers.
7. 7In town, with no bullocks, worship clay bullocks at home.The clay bullocks are dressed up, worshipped and given naivedya.
8. 8In Vidarbha, on Tanha Pola, let the children take their decorated bullocks door to door.At each house the children get a treat or a little money.

What you needTick as you go

• Turmeric, and ghee or oil (for the shoulders)
• Colours that are safe for animals
• The jhul, bashing, strings of bells and garlands
• New ropes and nose rope
• Haldi, kunku and flowers
• Puran poli, fodder and water
• An aarti plate and a ghee lamp
• In town: clay bullocks

Frequently asked questions