Jyeshtha or Jyēṣṭha (; ''jēṭ''; ''zeth''; ''Jyeṣṭha'') is a
month
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar mo ...
of the
Hindu calendar
The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), 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 ...
. In
India's national civil calendar, Jyestha is the third month of the year. Known as ''Joishtho'' ( ''Jyôishţhô'') in Bengali, it is the second month of the
Bengali calendar.
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
Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
, 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 went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
. In Tamil, the month is known as Āni, the third month of the solar calendar that begins in mid-June.
In
Hindu astrology, Jyēṣṭha begins with the
Sun's entry into
Taurus, and is the second month of the year.
Festivals
*
Shani Dev Jayanti is celebrated on New Moon day i.e. Amavasya of Jyeshtha month.
*
Ganga Dussehra 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 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 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 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 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 is being conducted in this month on the day of Jyeshtha Shuddha Shashthi in
Odisha
Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...
for many centuries.
*
Jamai Sasthi is being conducted in this month on the day of the sixth tithi of the Shukla paksha in
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
.
See also
*
Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
*
Hindu units of time
*
Indian astronomy
Astronomy has a long history in the Indian subcontinent, stretching from History of India, pre-historic to History of India (1947–present), modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of Indus Valle ...
*
Hindu astrology
References
*03
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