Thai Amavasya or Thai Amavasai is the No Moon day in Thai month in Tamil calendar. In 2026, Thai Amavasya date is January 18.
Though on every amavasai, devotees offer Tharpanam to their dead ancestors, Thai amavasai is even more auspicious as it is the first Amavasya in Utharayanam.
Thai Amavasya is also known for Punya snana in Rameshwaram, Srirangam, Tiruchendur, and some other famous pilgrimages.
Thai Amavasya falls on Poushya Amavasya in Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Telugu calendars; and on Magh Amavasya in North Indian Hindi calendars. It is also celebrated as Mauni Amavasya.
It is to note that the first day of Thai month is celebrated as Thai Pongal and Thai Pournami is celebrated as Thaipusam.
Significance
As the first Amavasya after Pongal’s harvest celebrations, it invites ancestral blessings for prosperity and family harmony. Observed with silence in some traditions (as Mauni Amavasya northward), it relieves negative karma through rituals.
Key Rituals
-
Perform tarpanam and shraddha at sacred rivers or theerthams with sesame seeds, water, and darbha grass.
-
Offer pinda daan, light lamps, and chant mantras for ancestors; fast or eat once after sunset.
-
Donate food, clothes, and grains to Brahmins and the needy.
Observance in South India
In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana (including Hyderabad), massive gatherings occur at Rameswaram Agni Theertham, Ganga Sagaram, and local temples for holy dips and tharpanam. Special buses and trains facilitate pilgrimages.
Every hindu family consider monthly amavasyas as sacred and offerings are being made including the current thai amavasya in 2013. I shall be happy and obliged if it is indicated the actual date of occurrence of THAI AMAVASAI
in 2014