Calendar error: Caturmasya/Damodara vrata should end on Nov 9 in Indi

[Guest guest]

However for those who are doing Caturmasya and ending on Purnima I would

have to tend to agree with Goloka Candra das that the probably they would

have to wait as GCDA has said until after the Purnima to break their

CAturmasya if that is the rule. [i observe ekadasi to ekadasi on caturmasya

which is the preferred method by most Gaudiyas (although some sadhus also do

on Purnimas) so I don't know about the Purnima breakfast regulation.] I

never looked up the rules for breaking Damodar Vrata whether it is broken

after purnima or on purnima. It is something to check.

 

As far as Bhisma pancaka is concerned it starts on ekadasi and it ends

during the Purnima. Not after it.

Bhisma Pancaka / Visnu Pancaka is a different vrata from Damodar vrata and

it has its seperate rules as explained above. This is another reason why I

do ekadasi to ekadasi so i can end my caturmasya and then start Bhisma

Pancaka/ visnu Pancaka. I don't combine the two I run them one after

another.

 

Some persons read this text and though we should break fast for Visnu

Pancaka on the second Purnima day. I think they are confused that these are

two different vratas. Visnu Pancaka references say to break fast on purnima

itself. it doesn't say to wait until after purnima. If it had said that

then we should break fast on the third day. However since it says once

purnima starts one should fast until sunset and then break fast. So how

long Purnima continues after that seems irrelevant. BCS also agrees with

this understanding. It is very clear in both Skanda and Padma Purana that

fast is to be broken on the night of purnima on the purnima day. So I don't

find any reason as to why a two day purnima would indicate adding another

day to the brata. Actually on the second day in the evening probably the

Purnima is already passed, as an additional point.

 

The fact that the next morning is a lunar eclipse also doesn't seem relevant

as we would have broken our Visnu Pancaka vrata already prior to that.

 

As far as the changes or corrections in the VCAL program, I have nothing to

say and I assume that what you are saying is correct---that it needs to be

corrected. I have no way of ascertaining. It makes sense that if Damodar

vrata ends after purnima then a double purnima would affect that. It should

also be mentioned in VCAL that one can observe Caturmasya from Ekadasi to

Ekadasi as an option. For me I have trouble while travelling finding out

when Purnima is but ekadasi everyone knows in ISKCON.

 

As far as Bhisma pancaka is concerned it starts on ekadasi and it ends

during the Purnima. Not after it.

Bhisma Pancaka / Visnu Pancaka is a different vrata from Damodar vrata and

it has its seperate rules as explained above. This is another reason why I

do ekadasi to ekadasi so i can end my caturmasya and then start Bhisma

Pancaka/ visnu Pancaka. I don't combine the two I run them one after

another.

 

Yours in service,

 

 

Jayapataka Swami