Hinduism - 23.

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and devotees,

 

Bhakti is eternal.

 

The subject of Hinduism has been discussed in 22 parts so far. We have

gone through some details of performing arts from the Hindu culture and

also results out of chanting Mantras etc. In Hinduism, the Hindu

calendar constitutes an element of auspiciousness, play a vital role and

it connects a true Hindu to his/her religion. Even though it may not be

possible to follow all the aspects of this culture in today's

environment, it is good to be aware of it and strive to reach the

ideals. These are otherwise named as " Astrology " . I am not at

all an astrologer. While giving the details of Hinduism, I intended to

give these connected details also and any lapses may please be ignored

or even corrected by the veterans of that field.

 

HINDU CALENDAR (Panchanga): A true Hindu always looks for an auspicious

time to perform any activity, may it be a Vedic ritual, sowing seeds,

planting, digging wells, starting construction of a home or a building,

entering a new home (gruhapravesa), go on a travel for a special

purpose, wear new clothes, and even a hair-cut. He/she finds this

auspicious time by using a calendar known as " Panchanga " .

Astronomy is used in the preparation of the panchanga which lists the

daily movements of planets and stars and other related events. The

influence of these planetary movements on a human life is determined by

a discipline called " jyotisha " (Astrology). A true Hindu

worships the planets and stars to bless him/her in his/her daily life.

So the panchanga becomes very important in determining whether a

particular time is favorable in terms of the planetary position at that

time, i.e. whether a person will be blessed if a particular activity is

performed at that time. Panchanga means five limbs (pancha + anga) and

these are called " Tithi " , " Vara " (week day), " Nakshatra " (star), " Yoga " and

" Karana " . The Panchanga is based on two types of calculations of time, Sauramana

(solar calendar) and Chandramana (lunar calendar) and both are in practice.

 

The entire year is filled with special days or festivals observed by

various kinds of prayers and rituals. In addition, special activities

called Samskara Karmas (naming ceremony, marriage etc.) are performed on an

auspicious day picked by the astrologers and they use the Panchanga to do that.

Also in every ritual one does what is known as

`Sankalpa' in the beginning to declare the purpose. This sankalpa includes

connecting the day to cosmic time in terms of `Samvatsara' (name of the year),

`Ayana' (solstice, northern or southern), `Rutu' (season), `Masa' (month),

`Paksha' (fortnight), `Tithi', `Vara',

`Nakshatra', `Yoga', and `Karana' and these are recorded in the panchanga for

every day of the year.

 

Let us look at each of these elements in more detail.

 

Sauramana (Solar Calendar):

 

The Sauramana is a calculation of time based on the apparent movement of

the sun along the ecliptic. The time taken for one complete circle or

360 degrees is a solar year. A belt 18 degrees wide centered on ecliptic

(9 degrees on each side) is called zodiac. This zodiac is divided into

12 equal parts of 30 degrees each and each part is called a sign or

Rasi. The time taken by the sun to pass a complete sign is a solar month

and 12 such moths make up a solar year. The names of the Rasis are also

the names of the months. The first sign is called Mesha (Aries) and is

the point of intersection of the ecliptic and the equator. Mesha is the

first solar month of the solar year. The names of the 12 solar months or

rasis are as follows.

 

Solar Month - Rashi - Months spanned English (Western) Calendar

 

1) Mesha - Aries - April-May

 

2) Vrushabha - Taurus - May-June

 

3) Mithuna - Gemini - June-July

 

4) Karkataka - Cancer - July-August

 

5) Simha - Leo - August-September

 

6) Kanya - Virgo - September-October

 

7) Tula- Libra - October-November

 

8) Vruschika - Scorpio - November-December

 

9) Dhanus - Sagittarius - December-January

 

10) Makara - Capricorn - January-February

 

11) Kumbha - Aquarius - February-March

 

12) Meena - Pisces - March-April

 

Ayana (solstice):

 

Every year, the Sun transits through the northern solstice from December

to June. This period is called Uttarayana. Likewise during June to

December, the sun transits through the southern solstice and this period

is called the Dakshinayana.

 

The time of Sun's transit from one sign to the next is called

Sankranthi and the name given is the name of the entered sign. Thus

Makara Sankranthi is when the Sun enters the Makara Rasi. These

Sankranthis are special days and are celebrated as festivals. Makara

Sankranthi is also special in that it is the beginning of the Sun's

journey in the northern solstice and is called Uttarayana Punya Kala.

This is a very auspicious period. (In the epic, Mahabharata, Bheesma

chose his time of death to be in this period). Likewise the sun begins

his journey in the southern solstice (Dakshinayana) on Karkataka

Sankranthi.

 

Vara:

 

There are seven solar days in a vara (week). The names of these days

correspond to the names of seven planets. A day is the period between

two sunrises. This period is divided into 24 equal parts each part being

called a `hora' (about an hour), and the horas are ruled by the

seven planets. The lords of the horas are in the order of the distances

to planets from the earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury,

and Moon and then it repeat. The days of the vara go by the names of the

planets who rule the first hora or the hora at sunrise of that day. Thus

on Sunday, the first hora is ruled by Sun, on Monday the first hora is

ruled by Moon and so on. So the vara names and the ruling planets are as

follows:

 

Day of Week Vedic Name Ascendant planet

 

1. Sunday - Ravivara or Bhanuvara - Surya (Ravi or Bhanu) - the Sun

 

2. Monday - Somavara - Soma - the Moon

 

3. Tuesday - Mangalavara - Kuja (Mangala) - Mars

 

4. Wednesday - Budhavara - Budha - Mercury

 

5. Thursday - Guruvara - Guru (Brihaspathi) - Jupiter

 

6. Friday - Sukravara - Sukra - Venus

 

7. Saturday - Sanivara - Sani - Saturn

 

The days of the week, Sunday through Saturday, are also associated with

particular deities, such as Sun, Siva, Ganesha, Skandha, Guru, Devi, and

Sani respectively.

 

It is also interesting to note that the names of the weekdays in the

Western Calendar are also derived from the same planets.

 

Most of the Hindus are observing fast, on one day or other in a week and

worshiping the particular deity of the day. I am giving those details

separately under the heading FASTINGS ON SUNDAY TO SATURDAY.

 

Contd . . . (Hindu Calendar- 2)

 

With love and regards,

 

Sastry