Hindu festivals are determined according to a lunar calendar, in which a year
is made of twelve lunar months. The
lunar month is divided into two halves,
each of which has fifteen days. In northern India the lunar month begins with
the dark (krishna) half—when the moon
is waning. This phase lasts fifteen days,
ending with the new moon. This is followed by the light (shukla) half of the
month—when the moon is waxing. This
phase lasts fifteen days, ending with the
full moon. The day after the full moon is
the first day of the next lunar month,
and so on. Any given lunar day is designated by the name of the month, the
half (light or dark), and the lunar day (1
to 15). In southern India the pattern is
reversed, with the lunar month starting
with the light half and ending on the
new moon.
The lunar month, as with all Hindu
conceptions of time, represents changing times of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness, peaks and valleys marking
times that are more or less propitious.
The full moon, with its associations of
fullness, abundance, and light, is always
auspicious. It is believed that religious
rites performed on this day generate as
much merit as those performed for an
entire month. The new moon, with its
associations of darkness and emptiness,
is a more ambiguous time. At times the
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new moon can be highly auspicious, as
on the occasion of a Somavati
Amavasya (new moon falling on
Monday). Several major festivals (such
as Diwali) fall on the new moon. Despite
this, the new moon is less auspicious
than the full moon. Within each fortnight various days are also associated
with particular deities, and their devotees (bhakta) often do particular rites on
those days: The eleventh day (ekadashi)
is dedicated to the god Vishnu, the
eighth day (ashtami) to the Goddess, the
evening of the thirteenth day (trayodashi) and the fourteenth to the god
Shiva, and the fourth day (chaturthi) to
the god Ganesh.
As mentioned earlier, the lunar calendar is the basis for almost all Hindu
holidays. To correct the discrepancy
between the lunar and solar year (about
eleven days), and thus keep these festivals at about the same time every year,
an intercalary month is inserted every
21⁄2 years. Although this extra month
keeps the calendar in balance, it is considered highly inauspicious, perhaps
because it is an unusual occurrence.
During this month people take normal
precautions to protect themselves during inauspicious times—basically
putting off any new activities until the
month is over, and propitiating protective deities until the end of the month.
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