Hindu month
Jyeshtha ज्येष्ठ
The hottest month; Nirjala Ekadashi, the waterless fast, falls in it.
- Position
- 3rd of 12
- Named after
- Jyeshtha nakshatra
- Season (ritu)
- Grishma — Summer
- Gregorian
- May–June
- Purnimanta equivalent
- Runs a fortnight ahead in the waning half
Festivals
Why it is called that
Each lunar month takes its name from the nakshatra the full moon falls in or near — here, Jyeshtha. The naming is approximate and drifts slowly with precession, but it is the origin of all twelve names, and it is why the months line up with star groups rather than with the Gregorian calendar.
The season
Jyeshtha falls in Grishma (Summer), which spans roughly mid-May to mid-July. The hot season, closing with the onset of the monsoon.
When it actually falls
The Gregorian span above is approximate — a lunar month shifts by about eleven days a year against the solar calendar and is pulled back by the insertion of an adhika month every two to three years. If an adhika Jyeshtha occurs, there are two of them that year, and the second (nija) one carries the festivals. Our daily panchang computes the current month from the actual position of the Sun at the enclosing new moon, so it is right regardless.
See it live
Today's panchang
Check whether Jyeshtha is running right now on today's panchang for your city — with the exact time it begins and ends.