Is Gudhi Paadawaa the Indrotsava mentioned in the Mahabharata?!
गुढी पडवा (Gudhi Padawaa) is celebrated as the Hindu new year in Maharashtra and parts of Goa and Karnataka. This is the first day in the month of चैत्र (Chaitra) which occurs at the beginning of spring and is celebrated with different names and slight variations across India, that is, Bharat. The origins of this festival go way back in antiquity and a description that comes in a story in the Mahabharata has incredible similarities to how the festival is celebrated even today! This story is in the 63rd Adhyaaya of the Adiparva (Gita Press edition) and is about Raja Uparichara Vasu (उपरिचर वसु), the father of Satyavati and the grandfather of Maharshi Ved Vyas who is the author of the Mahabharata. Raja Uparichara was the king of Chedidesha (चेदिदेश). The kingdom of Chedidesha was a prosperous one in both material and natural wealth and was gifted to Uparichara by the lord of the Devas, Indra, himself. Chedidesha was abundant in beautiful forests full of varied species of animals and bird