Correct dates of festivals for 2009-10

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Dear friends,

Namaskar!

Best wishes for Vasanti

Navratras-cum-Ugadi-cum-Gudi-Padva-cum-Navreh which start from February 26, 2007.

 

A list of important festivals for

2009-10 is ready and being enclosed/uploaded as 2009-10 file in pdf format in

the files section. The criteria for these festivals are as follows:

 

1. As everybody knows, Vedic years

are seasonal. Since, as per all the Vedas, a year comprises six seasons

and every season has two months (Madhuschai Madhavaschai Vasantikav Ritu...), therefore

all the Vedic solar months are related to seasons/seasonal years. Seasonal

year is known as Tropical year as per modern astronomy. As lunar (synodic)

months are superimposed on solar months, they also get aligned to seasons

automatically.

 

2. There

being no Mesha, Vrisha etc. rashis in the Vedas or the Vedanga Jyotisha etc., but

only Madhava/Vaishakha etc. names of the months, it has been decided

to use that very nomenclature of and for Vedic months. Thus the new

solar year starts from the month of solar Madhava-cum-Vaishakha on March 20, 2009.

 

3.

We find that in the sidhantas and Puranas, the names of Vedic months like

Madhava etc. have been clubbed with Mesha, Vrisha etc. rashis. All

these sidhantas and Puranas are unequivocal in declaring that Makara Sankranti

is just another name of Uttarayana i.e. Winter Solstice and

Karka Sankranti a synonym of Dakshinayana i.e. Summer Solstice and so on. It

is thus a certainty that all the sidhantas and Puranas are talking of so called sayana

Rashis as against nirayana rashis, which no shastra or sidhanta has touched

even with a barge pole! As such, these very sidhantic and Pauranic

(sayana) synonyms of Vedic solar months also have been indicated side by side

in the list.

 

4. Most of the states use these

very names of months-cum-Rashis in their day to day lives e.g. Chittirai and/or

Meshadi are actually Tamil equivalents and Mesha/Medam Malayalam

equivalents of the Vedic month Madhava-cum-Vaishakha. Chittirai is

also the start of the new solar Year in TN. As these regional names too could

never have been so called nirayana by any stretch of imagination, these have also been

indicated side by side with the Vedic names.

 

5. Same is the case with Makaradi

etc. months. Thus the much talked about Makara Sankranti, as per all the

sidhantas and Puranas (and not as per the Vedas or the VJ since there are no

rashis in them!) is another name of the Vedic month Tapah-cum-Magha. It has

been shown accordingly in the list. Other solar months also have been shown in

a similar manner. i.e. (sayana) Kumbha for Phalguna, (sayana) Mina for Chaitra

and so on.

 

5. Lunar New year (Vasanti

Navratra) has been taken as starting with the first New Moon (Amanta) on

February 26 after the start of Vasanta Ritu-cum-Madhu on February 18. Feb. 26

is also the start of lunar Chaitra Shukla paksha.

 

6. Similarly, Sharadiya Navratras

have been taken as starting from the first New Moon on September 19, 2009, after

the start of Sharat Ritu-cum-solar-Ashvina on August 23, 2009. September 19 is

also the start of the lunar Ashvina Shukla paksha, as such.

 

7. The names of lunar months follow

those of solar months with the first New Moon being the start of the lunar

month. E.g. Vaishakha Shukla pratipat is the first New Moon on March 27 after Vedic

solar Vaishakha on March 20.

 

6. The names of lunar months are as

per Gauna-mana, also known as Purnimanta, as are followed in UP, Bihar, J & K,

Punjab, Haryana, HP etc. etc. In these

states, lunar months start with Krishna Paksha. However, the names of months as

per Mukhya-mana also have been indicated in brackets simultaneously. In such

cases, Krishna paksha follows Shukla Paksha.

E.g. Vaishkha Krishna paksha is supposed to precede Vaishakha Shukla paksha as

per Gauna mana in UP, HP etc. whereas in SI, Gujarat,

Maharashtra etc., Vaishkha Krishna paksha is supposed to follow/succeed

Vaishakha Shukla paksha. Since both the systems viz. Purnimanta as well as

Amanta, have been indicated in the Vedas, both the systems are therefore Vedic.

Shukla Paksha remains the same in Gauna as well as Mukya-mana.

 

7. Such festivals where inclusion/consideration

of nakshatras is a must, have been decided as per the position of Junction star

of that nakshatra on that date. For example, the criterion for

“Pancharatra Shri Krishna Jayanti” as per page 106 of the Report of

Saha Calendar Reform Committee is “…Observed in Rohini nakshatra of

solar Bhadrapada (Krishna Paksha)”. It will be clear from the list that

solar Bhadrapada starts on July 23, 2009. Krishna

paksha after that starts on August 7, 2009. The longitude of Rohini (Alpha Tauri)

Junction star these days is about 70 degrees. As such, in order to be in that

naksahtra, the longitude of the Moon has to be near that star. And the

longitude of the Moon on August 15, 2009 at 5-30 am IST

is about 68 degrees. Thus the Moon will be conjunct Rohini star on that date

and hence Pancharatra Shri Krishna Jayanti is actually on August 15, 2009 and not on

any other date.

Similarly, the criterion for Onam

Day on the same page of CRC Report

is “Shravana nakshatra of Solar Bhadrapada, madhyahna vyapini”. As

we have seen already, solar Bhadrapada starts on July 23 and the longitude of

Shravana (Alpha Aquilae) Junction star these days is around 302 degrees. The

longitude of Moon at about 12-00 Noon

IST (madhyahna) on August 5, 2009 is

about 304.66 degrees. It can thus be said safely that the Moon will be in

Shravana nakshatra at the Madhyahna of August 5. Hence the real Onam is on

August 5 and not on any other date.

 

Then again, the criterion for Thai

Pusam is “Observed in Pushya nakshatra of Saura Magha, nakshatra covering

the period 6 ghatis from sunrise. If it occurs on two days, first day is to be

selected”.

 

Solar Magha-cum-Uttarayana will

start on December

21, 2009. The longitude of Pushya (Delta Cancri) Junction star

these days is about 129 degrees. The longitude of Moon on January 3, 2010, at about

6-30 am IST is about 134 degrees.

Moon will neither be conjunct nor be plus/minus by six degrees of this junction

star on any other day in the entire month of solar Magha. As such, the real

Thai Pusam is on January

3, 2010 and not on any other date.

 

I may mention in the passing that

in my initial attempts, I had tried to correlate junction stars with so called

Lahiri nirayana nakshatra divisions but the dates of important festivals

arrived that way were plus/minus one day in several cases. I had, as such, to

revise the parameters and correlate the festivals with actual longitudes of

Junction Stars.

 

I am a human being and can make

mistakes especially in deciding festivals etc. on an entirely different pattern

for which there are no precedents available. Besides, one cannot usually

detect one’s own mistakes! Pl. therefore, let me know if you find any bugs

so that those could be removed and a corrected version of the list uploaded.

 

Pl. also let me known if you would

like some more festivals to be included. If possible, pl. send criteria for

them.

Pl. pass on this message as well as

the list 2009-10 to all concerned so that we observe festivals on correct days.

 

 

Pl. do give your feedback.

With regards,

A K Kaul