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

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

, and overlaps with about the second half of June and about the first half of July 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 Mithuna month is called Shukra (IAST: Śukra), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Mithuna overlaps with its lunar month

Ashadha Ashadha or Aashaadha or Aadi ( hi, आसाढ़ ''Āsāṛh'' or ''Āṣāḍh''; as, আহাৰ ''ahar''; or, ଆଷାଢ଼ ''Āṣāḍh''; bn, আষাঢ়; syl, ꠀꠀꠠ ''aáṛ''; ne, असार ''asār''; gu, અષા� ...

, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Mithuna marks the start of the monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, and is preceded by the solar month of Vrsabha, and followed by the solar month of Karkaṭa. The Mithuna month is called ''Ani'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Mithuna, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Mithuna to be 31 days, 15 hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of the Mithuna month to be 31 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes and 24 seconds. Mithuna is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to

Gemini (astrology) Gemini () ( , Latin for "twins") is the third astrological sign in the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between about May 21 to June 21. Gemini is represented by the twins, Castor and Pollux, known as the Dioscuri ...

. Mithuna is also the fourteenth 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 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 ...

traverses the western sector the constellation Gemini as seen from Mars.

References

Hindu solar months {{Hinduism-stub