January is arguably the busiest month on the entire Tamil calendar. It opens with Vaikunta Ekadashi at Perumal temples, moves straight into the four-day Pongal harvest festival, and closes out with the start of Thai month — widely considered one of the most auspicious stretches of the year for weddings, housewarmings, and new business launches. This page lays out every date that matters in Tamil Calendar January 2026, in the order they actually fall, so you don’t have to piece it together from five different sources.
All dates here follow the traditional Tamil Panchangam and the Amanta lunisolar system used across Tamil Nadu. We’ll update this page if any date is revised closer to the month.
Download the Tamil Calendar 2026 January PDF
Prefer a copy you can save to your phone or print out for the kitchen wall? A downloadable PDF of the January 2026 Tamil calendar is linked below, along with a high-resolution image version if you just want to check dates quickly without opening a file. Both carry the same Panchangam details covered on this page — Tithi, Nakshatra, Pradosham and Ekadashi days, and the Pongal and Muhurtam dates.
Tamil Calendar Festivals & Muhurtam Dates — January 2026
| Date | Day | Festival / Muhurtam / Event |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 | Thu | New Year Day |
| Jan 3 | Sat | Vaikunta Ekadashi (Perumal Temple Special Day) |
| Jan 4 | Sun | Dwadashi |
| Jan 10 | Sat | Pradosham |
| Jan 13 | Tue | Bhogi Festival |
| Jan 14 | Wed | Thai Pongal / Surya Pongal — Thai Month Begins (Highly Auspicious) |
| Jan 15 | Thu | Mattu Pongal |
| Jan 16 | Fri | Kaanum Pongal |
| Jan 17 | Sat | Thiruvalluvar Day |
| Jan 18 | Sun | Uzhavar Thirunal (Farmers’ Day) |
| Jan 20 | Tue | Amavasai (New Moon — Ancestor Tarpanam Day) |
| Jan 25 | Sun | Shashti Vratham |
| Jan 27 | Tue | Ekadashi |
| Jan 29 | Thu | Pradosham |
| Jan 30 | Fri | Pournami (Full Moon) |
| Jan 14 onward | — | Thai Muhurtam Period — favourable for marriage, housewarming, and new business |
Understanding Pongal: The Heart of January
Pongal isn’t a single day — it’s a four-day sequence, and each day has its own purpose.
Bhogi (January 13) is the clearing-out day. Old, worn-out household items are traditionally burned in a bonfire before sunrise, a way of letting go of the past year before Thai month begins.
Thai Pongal / Surya Pongal (January 14) is the main event, and it’s also the day Thai month opens on the Tamil calendar. Fresh rice is boiled outdoors in a new clay pot with milk and jaggery until it overflows — the moment everyone waits for — as an offering to Surya, the Sun god, for a good harvest.
Mattu Pongal (January 15) turns the focus to cattle. Bulls and cows are washed, decorated with bells, flowers, and painted horns, and fed a special meal in gratitude for their role in farming.
Kaanum Pongal (January 16), followed closely by Thiruvalluvar Day (January 17) and Uzhavar Thirunal (January 18), rounds out the festival with family visits, outings, and — depending on the region — public tributes to the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and the farming community. Many families treat this stretch as a short holiday window for reconnecting with relatives before regular routines resume.
Vaikunta Ekadashi — January 3, 2026
Vaikunta Ekadashi is considered one of the most sacred Ekadashi days in the Vishnu temple calendar, and in 2026 it falls early in the month, on Saturday, January 3. This date belongs to the Margazhi month that began in mid-December 2025, since Vaikunta Ekadashi is always observed during Margazhi (Dhanurmasa), which straddles the December–January boundary.
Temples such as Srirangam, Tirupati, and other major Perumal shrines open a symbolic “Paramapada Vaasal” (gateway to Vaikuntam) on this day, and devotees who pass through it are believed to receive a direct path to moksha. If you’re planning a temple visit, expect significantly larger crowds than a typical Ekadashi, with special early-morning darshan timings at most major temples.
Thai Muhurtam Period 2026: Good Days for Marriage & New Beginnings
The moment Thai month begins on January 14, Tamil households traditionally treat the weeks that follow as one of the better windows in the year for starting something new — weddings, housewarmings (Griha Pravesam), shop openings, and even signing property documents. Unlike Margazhi, the month just before it, which is largely avoided for such events, Thai carries a reputation as a genuinely fresh, favourable start.
That said, “auspicious month” doesn’t mean every single day within it works equally well. The exact Muhurtam — the precise date and time — still depends on matching Nakshatra, Tithi, and the individual horoscope (Jathakam) of those involved. If you’re planning a wedding or Griha Pravesam within this window, it’s worth confirming the exact time with a family priest or astrologer rather than picking a date off a calendar alone.
Ekadashi & Pradosham Days This Month
Beyond Vaikunta Ekadashi, January 2026 carries the usual monthly rhythm of fasting days: a second Ekadashi on January 27, and two Pradosham days — January 10 and January 29 — each falling on the Trayodashi tithi, roughly two days before the new moon and full moon. Pradosham is best observed in the twilight window around sunset, and is dedicated to Lord Shiva, while Ekadashi fasting is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is usually broken the next morning during the Parana window.
How This Compares to Other Popular Calendars
If you’re used to checking calendars from familiar names like GRT — the South Indian jewellery brand known for distributing printed Tamil calendars every Pongal season — or panchangam apps such as Nithra, you’ll notice the core festival and fasting dates line up closely with what’s listed here, since all of them are ultimately derived from the same Panchangam methodology. Where they can differ slightly is in city-specific sunrise-based timings for Rahu Kalam, Parana, and exact Muhurtam windows, so it’s normal to see a few minutes’ difference between sources for the same event.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Pongal in January 2026? Thai Pongal falls on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, preceded by Bhogi on January 13 and followed by Mattu Pongal (Jan 15) and Kaanum Pongal (Jan 16).
Is January 2026 a good month for marriage? The second half of January, once Thai month begins on January 14, is traditionally considered favourable for weddings and other new beginnings. The exact date should still be matched against the couple’s horoscope.
When is Vaikunta Ekadashi in January 2026? Saturday, January 3, 2026. It belongs to the Margazhi month that began in December 2025.
How many Pradosham days are there in January 2026? Two — January 10 and January 29.
What is the difference between Bhogi and Thai Pongal? Bhogi (Jan 13) is a clearing-out ritual involving a bonfire of old household items, observed the evening before. Thai Pongal (Jan 14) is the main harvest-thanksgiving day, marked by boiling rice in a new pot outdoors.
Does the Tamil calendar for January 2026 match calendars like GRT or Nithra? Yes, the core dates for festivals and fasting days match across sources, since they follow the same Panchangam system. Minor differences in exact timings can appear depending on the city the calendar is calculated for.