Vṛścik‌‌‌a, also referred to as Vrishchika or Vrschika, is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Scorpio, and approximately overlaps with the later half of November and first half of December 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 Vrscika month is called Urja (IAST: Ūrja), with which a female goddess is also associated called Urja but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Vrschika overlaps with its lunar month Agahana or Mangsir, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Vrschika marks the end of the autumn season and the start of the winter on the Indian subcontinent, and is preceded by the solar month of

Tulā Tulā is one of the twelve months in the Indian solar calendar. Tula corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Libra, and overlaps with about the second half of October and about the first half of November in the Gregorian calendar. In Vedic texts, the ...

, and followed by the solar month of Dhanu. The Vrschika month is called ''Kartigai'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Vrschika, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Vrschika to be 29 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes and 0 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of the Vrschika month to be 29 days, 12 hours, 12 minutes and 24 seconds. The Indian solar month names are significant in epigraphical studies of South Asia. For example, ''Vrischika'' month, along with other solar months are found inscribed in medieval era temples. The ''Vrischika'' month, along with the other months, is found inscribed in Chola Empire monuments. Vrschika is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to

Scorpio (astrology) Scorpio () is the eighth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Scorpius. It spans 210°–240° ecliptic longitude. Under the tropical zodiac (most commonly used in Western astrology), the Sun transits this si ...

. Vrishika is also the twenty-fourth 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 western sector of the constellation Ophiuchus as seen from Mars.

References

{{Nepali calendar Hindu solar months