Krishna
Vishu
The year begins with what the eyes first see — a golden arrangement before Krishna.
Tithi: Medam 1 — the Malayalam solar new year.
In the simplest words
Kerala's new year begins with a surprise: eyes closed, you're led to see the 'kani' — a golden arrangement of Krishna, fruits and lamps — so the year starts with beauty.
The story & purpose
Vishu turns on a single beautiful idea: the year will be coloured by its first sight. So the night before, the family arranges the Vishukkani — 'the first thing seen' — before Krishna: golden konna blossoms, raw rice, a val-kannadi hand mirror, fruits, coins, a lit lamp. At dawn each person is led to it with eyes closed.
Elders then press Vishukkaineetam — coins — into younger palms: the year's first act is giving. Sadya fills the afternoon, and in the mirror among the kani each face sees itself part of the year's abundance.
What is done
Vishukkani
Arranged the night before in an uruli before Krishna; seen first at dawn with closed-then-opened eyes.
Vishukkaineetam
Elders gift coins to children and household — prosperity set flowing on day one.
Sadya
The banana-leaf feast, with mampazha pulissery and the season's first mangoes and jackfruit.
Krishna jaap
Om Kleem Krishnaya Namah or the Gopala mantra before the kani.
Best timings
The kani is seen at brahma-muhurta, before anything else of the day.
Exact muhurat varies by city and tradition — for the precise hour, consult a local panchang for your location.
Worth knowing
The kani-konna (golden shower tree) flowers exactly for Vishu — Kerala's roadsides turn gold.
Guruvayur's Vishukkani, arranged for Guruvayurappan, draws lakhs before dawn.
Vishu means 'equal' — an old memory of the equinox that once fell here.