When is Bail Pola 2026?
Bail Pola 2026 falls on Saturday, 29 August 2026. The festival is observed on Shravana Amavasya— the new-moon day that closes the Shravana month in the Marathi calendar. Pola always lands at the end of the sowing season, when the monsoon crops are established and the farmer's cattle can be given a day of rest.
What is Bail Pola?
Bail Pola (बैल पोळा) is one of Maharashtra's most cherished folk festivals — a day on which farmers honour their bullocks and oxen for their year of work in the fields. On the morning of Pola the bulls are washed in the river, their horns painted and polished, and they are dressed in fresh garlands, bells and colourful cloth. In the evening the decorated bullocks are led through the village in a lively procession, one of the most photogenic traditions in rural Maharashtra.
Rituals & how it is celebrated
- The bullocks are bathed, and their horns are oiled, painted and decorated.
- They are adorned with garlands, bells, shawls and ornaments — and given the day off work.
- Families prepare special dishes such as puran poli and offer them to the cattle first.
- A decorated bull procession moves through the village in the evening.
- Farmers offer prayers of gratitude for a productive farming season.
Tanha Pola
The day after Bail Pola, children celebrate Tanha Pola— a miniature version of the festival. Children carry small wooden or clay bulls from house to house, mirroring the adults' celebration and learning the tradition of honouring the animals that sustain the harvest.
Bail Pola in the Marathi Calendar
Pola is one of several major festivals in the Shravana–Bhadrapada season. See every tithi and festival for the year on the Marathi Calendar 2026 — including Gudi Padwa, Nag Panchami, Narali Pournima, Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali.
Frequently asked questions
When is Bail Pola 2026?
Bail Pola 2026 falls on Saturday, 29 August 2026 — observed on Shravana Amavasya, the new-moon day of the Shravana month.
What is Bail Pola?
A Maharashtrian harvest festival on which farmers thank and honour their bullocks and oxen. The bulls are bathed, painted, garlanded and taken in colourful village processions.
What is Tanha Pola?
A children's version of Pola observed the day after Bail Pola, when children carry small wooden bulls door to door.
Why is Bail Pola celebrated?
It expresses gratitude to the bullocks and oxen central to farming, and falls when the sowing season closes and the cattle are given a day of rest and honour.