Kumbha is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainment ...

, and overlaps with about the second half of February and about the first half of March 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 Vedic texts, the Kumbha month is called Tapas (IAST: Tapas), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Kumbha overlaps with its lunar month

Phalguna Phalguna ( sa, फाल्गुन ) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phalguna is twelfth month of the year, and corresponds with February/March in the Gregorian calendar.Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ' ...

, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Kumbha marks the end of winter for the Indian subcontinent. It is preceded by the solar month of Makara, and followed by the solar month of

Mīna Mīna, or Meena, is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Pisces, and overlaps with about the later half of March and about the early half of April in the Gregorian calendar. First day of the Meena month, cal ...

. The solar month is significant because it inspires the name of the 12-year cycled Kumbha Mela, where Hindu pilgrims gather by tens of millions to one of four pilgrimage sites, in the weeks before it starts. The Kumbha month is called ''Masi'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Kumbha, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Kumbha to be 29 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of the Kumbha month to be 29 days, 19 hours, 24 minutes and 0 seconds. Kumbha is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to

Aquarius (astrology) Aquarius () is the eleventh astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the Aquarius (constellation), constellation Aquarius. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in the Aquarius sign between about January 20 and about February 18. My ...

. Kumbha is also the sixth month in the

Darian calendar The Darian calendar is a proposed system of timekeeping designed to serve the needs of any possible future human settlers on the planet Mars. It was created by aerospace engineer, political scientist, and space jurist Thomas Gangale in 1985 and ...

for the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, when the Sun traverses the eastern sector of the constellation Aquarius as seen from Mars.

References

Hindu solar months {{Hinduism-stub