Skip meat till next Ugadi on Sundays

Pandits who read out the almanac during Panchanga Shravan, on Ugadi advised people to abstain from eating non-vegetarian food on Sundays for the next 12 months

Bachampally Santosh Kumar from Karimnagar read out the Panchangam at the programme organised by the state government at Pragati Bhavan in Begumpet.

He said if people wanted good things to happen, they would have to dutifully follow one rule and not eat non-vegetarian food on Sundays for the next year.

According to Hindu Shastra, every day of the week has some significance.

Each day is associated with a specific god and is ruled by a specific planet. Fasts are kept on Sundays in the name of Surya Narayan, or the Sun God.

Somashekara Sharma, a senior purohit from the Sri Ganesh Temple near Secunderabad Railway Station, echoed similar sentiments.

He said that there were many benefits of offering prayers to the Sun by abstaining from eating non-vegetarian food.

“It helps boost confidence and improves communication. It eliminates the negative effects of graha dosh and removes all sorts of hindrances from our personal and professional lives. It also brings us prosperity in health and wealth, and peace,” he said.

According to Hindu beliefs, abstinence from the consumption of nonvegetarian food on Sundays to please the Sun God has always been advised.

However, with western culture slowly seeping into our lives, and Sunday being a holiday, families have started making a habit of eating non-vegetarian food on Sundays.

Mr Sharma said that such practices had to be stopped.

“With Ugadi falling on a Sunday this time, it is the Sun God who is the ‘Raju’. And so, it is advisable to switch to the consumption of vegetarian food on Sundays for the next 12 months,” he said.