Reference
The Hindu Months
Twelve lunar months, each named after the nakshatra the full moon falls near. The year opens at Chaitra, and because twelve lunar months fall about eleven days short of a solar year, a thirteenth is inserted every two to three years.
Chaitra
चैत्रThe first month of the Vikram Samvat year in most of India; the new year begins on its Shukla Pratipada.
Vaishakha
वैशाखHolds Akshaya Tritiya, an unbroken muhurat requiring no further calculation.
Jyeshtha
ज्येष्ठThe hottest month; Nirjala Ekadashi, the waterless fast, falls in it.
Ashadha
आषाढ़Chaturmas begins at Devshayani Ekadashi; auspicious ceremonies pause for four months.
Shravana
श्रावणThe month of Shiva. Its Mondays are observed as fasts across north and west India.
Bhadrapada
भाद्रपदAlso called Bhado. Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of ancestral rites, closes it.
Ashwin
आश्विनThe great festival month; Navratri opens on its Shukla Pratipada.
Kartika
कार्तिकDiwali falls on its Amavasya. Chaturmas ends at Dev Uthani Ekadashi and the marriage season reopens.
Margashirsha
मार्गशीर्षAlso called Agrahayana. A dense month for weddings, Chaturmas having just closed.
Pausha
पौषTraditionally a malmas for weddings; Makar Sankranti at its close turns the Sun northward.
Magha
माघThe month of ritual bathing; the Magh Mela and Kumbh fall in it.
Phalguna
फाल्गुनThe last month of the year. Holi falls on its Purnima, and the year turns at the next Pratipada.
Two reckonings
Amanta and purnimanta
The same twelve names, offset by a fortnight.
An amanta month runs new moon to new moon and is followed across the south and west — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu. A purnimanta month runs full moon to full moon and is followed across the north.
They agree during the waxing fortnight and differ by one month during the waning one. That is why Diwali is Ashwin Amavasya in Gujarat and Kartika Amavasya in Delhi — the same night, two month names.
Our panchang shows both, always. Which one is “right” depends on where you are from, and that is not a choice we should be making silently on your behalf.
The six seasons
Ritus
Vasanta
वसन्तSpring · mid-March to mid-May
The year opens here. Holi and Vasant Navratri fall in this ritu.
Grishma
ग्रीष्मSummer · mid-May to mid-July
The hot season, closing with the onset of the monsoon.
Varsha
वर्षाMonsoon · mid-July to mid-September
Chaturmas falls here — four months in which marriages are traditionally not held.
Sharad
शरद्Autumn · mid-September to mid-November
The festival season: Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali all fall in this ritu.
Hemanta
हेमन्तPre-winter · mid-November to mid-January
The cool season, closing at Makar Sankranti and the turn to Uttarayana.
Shishira
शिशिरWinter · mid-January to mid-March
The cold season. Maha Shivaratri and Holi close the year here.
The leap month
Adhika Masa
Twelve lunar months run about 354 days against the solar year's 365, so the calendar would drift through the seasons within a few years. The correction is an extra month, inserted every two to three years.
The rule is precise: a lunar month inside which the Sun changes no zodiac sign — one containing no sankranti — is an adhika (intercalary) month. It takes the name of the month that follows, and that following month is then called nija (true). Auspicious ceremonies are generally deferred from the adhika month to the nija one.
We compute this rather than tabulate it, so it stays correct in future years — the most recent was Adhika Shravana in 2023, which our engine detects from the sankranti rule alone.