Jyeshtha or Jyēṣṭha ( sa, ज्येष्ठ; ne, जेठ ''jēṭ''; as, জেঠ ''zeth''; or, ଜ୍ୟେଷ୍ଠ ''Jyeṣṭha'') is a
month of the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...
. In
India's national civil calendar, Jyestha is the third month of the year. Known as ''Joishtho'' ( bn, জ্যৈষ্ঠ ''Jyôishţhô'') in Bengali, it is the second month of the
Bengali calendar
The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar ( bn, বঙ্গাব্দ , , Baṅgābda), colloquially ( bn, বাংলা সন, Baṅgla Śon), is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A revised version of th ...
.
In lunar religious calendars, Jyēṣṭha begins on the new moon and is the third month of the year.
Traditionally, Jyēṣṭha is associated with high
summer, and corresponds to May–June
[Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ''Holidays, festivals, and celebrations of the world dictionary'' Third edition. Electronic edition. Detroit: Omnigraphics, p. xxix. ] in the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
. In Tamil, the month is known as Aani, the third month of the solar calendar that begins in mid-June.
In Vedic Jyotish, Jyēṣṭha begins with the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
's entry into
Taurus
Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to:
* Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign
* Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac
* Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus
* '' Bos tauru ...
, and is the second month of the year. In the
Vaishnava
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...
calendar.
Festivals
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Shani
Shani ( sa, शनि, ), or Shanaishchara ( sa, शनैश्चर, ), refers to the divine personification of the planet Saturn in Hinduism, and is one of the nine heavenly objects (Navagraha) in Hindu astrology. Shani is also a male Hind ...
Dev Jayanti is celebrated on New Moon day i.e. Amavasya of Jyeshtha month.
*
Ganga Dussehra
Ganga Dussehra, also known as Gangavataran, is a Hindu festival celebrating the ''avatarana'' (descent) of the Ganges. It is believed by Hindus that the holy river Ganges descended from heaven to earth on this day. Ganga Dussehra takes place on ...
is celebrated as the ''avatarana'' or descent of the Ganges from heaven to earth. The day of the celebration, Ganga Dashahara, the Dashami (tenth day) of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyestha, brings throngs of bathers to the banks of the river. A soak in the Ganges on this day is said to rid the bather of ten sins (dasha = Sanskrit "ten"; hara = to destroy) or alternatively, ten lifetimes of sins.
*
Nirjala Ekadashi
Nirjala Ekadashi is a Hindu holy day falling on the 11th lunar day (Ekadashi) of the waxing fortnight of the Hindu month of Jyestha (May/June).Annual Holidays. (2004). CHAPTER 12: Hinduism In ''Religious Holidays & Calendars''. Retrieved from htt ...
is celebrated on Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) Ekadashi (11th day) of Jyeshtha. It is the most sacred and auspicious Ekadashis among all 24 Ekadashis in a year. One can attain the benefits of all 24 Ekadashis by fasting on this day.
*
Vat Purnima
Vat Purnima (, , also called ''Vat Savitri'' Vrat) is a Hindu celebration observed by married women in Nepal, North India and in the Western Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa, Kumaon, Gujarat. On this Purnima (full moon) during the three days of ...
is a celebration observed in Maharashtra and Karnataka, India. It is celebrated on the full moon day (the 15th) of the month of Jyeshtha on the Hindu Calendar, which falls in June on the Gregorian Calendar. Women pray for their husbands by tying threads around a banyan tree on this day. It honors Savitri, the legendary wife of Satyavan who escaped death for her husband's life.
*
Snana Yatra
The Snana Yatra ( or, ସ୍ନାନ ଯାତ୍ରା), also spelt Snana Jatra, is a bathing festival of deities celebrated on the ''purnima'' (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. It is the auspicious birthday of Jagannath.
It is ...
is a bathing festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. It is an important festival of the
Jagannath
Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...
Cult. The deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Sudarshan, and Madanmohan are brought out from the Jagannath Temple (Puri) and taken in a procession to the Snana Bedi. They are ceremonially bathed and decorated for a public audience.
*
Sitalsasthi Carnival
Shitalasasthi also known as Sital sasthi is celebrated as the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, a major festival of Utkal Brahmins (commonly called as Odia brahmans) and Aranyaka Brahmins (commonly called as Jhadua brahmans) since ages.
It was sta ...
is being conducted in this month on the day of Jyeshtha Shuddha Shashthi in
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
for many centuries.
See also
*
Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar is based on a geocentric model of the solar system.Burgess 1935, p. 285 (XII. 32) A geocentric model describes the solar system as seen by an observer on the surface of the earth.
The Hindu calendar defines nine measures o ...
*
Hindu units of time
Hindu units of time are described in Hindu texts ranging from microseconds to trillions of years, including cycles of cosmic time that repeat general events in Hindu cosmology. Time ( ) is described as eternal. Various fragments of time are desc ...
*
Indian astronomy
Astronomy has long history in Indian subcontinent stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valley civilisation or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a dis ...
*
Hindu astrology
Jyotisha or Jyotishya (from Sanskrit ', from ' “light, heavenly body" and ''ish'' - from Isvara or God) is the traditional Hindu system of astrology, also known as Hindu astrology, Indian astrology and more recently Vedic astrology. It is one ...
References
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