Taurus Astrological Sign at the Wisconsin State Capitol

Vṛṣabha, or Vrishabha, is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of

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 taurus ...

, and overlaps with about the second half of May and about the first half of June 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 ...

. The first day of the month is called Vrishbha Sankranti, and it generally falls on May 14th or 15th. In Vedic texts, the month of Vrsabha is called Madhava (IAST: Mādhava), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Vrsabha overlaps with the lunar month of

Jyeshtha Jyeshtha or Jyēṣṭha ( sa, ज्येष्ठ; ne, जेठ ''jēṭ''; as, জেঠ ''zeth''; or, ଜ୍ୟେଷ୍ଠ ''Jyeṣṭha'') is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Jyestha is the third mon ...

in Hindu lunisolar calendars. Vrsabha is preceded by the solar month of

Mesha King Mesha ( Moabite: 𐤌𐤔𐤏 *''Māšaʿ''; Hebrew: מֵישַׁע ''Mēšaʿ'') was a king of Moab in the 9th century BC, known most famously for having the Mesha Stele inscribed and erected at Dibon. In this inscription he calls himself ...

and followed by the solar month of

Mithuna Maithuna (Devanagari: मैथुन) is a Sanskrit term for sexual intercourse within Tantric sex, or alternatively to the specific lack of sexual fluids generated, while mithuna is a couple participating in such a ritual. It is the most import ...

. The month of Vrsabha is called ''Vaikasi'' in the

Tamil Hindu Tamil Hindus () are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism. Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was o ...

calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Vrsabha, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Vrsabha to be 31 days, 10 hours, 5 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Vrsabha to be 31 days, 9 hours, 37 minutes and 36 seconds. The Indian solar month names are significant in epigraphical studies of South Asia. For example, ''Vrsabha'' month, along with other solar months, are found inscribed in medieval era Hindu temples, sometimes spelled as the Rishabha month. Vrsabha is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to

. Vrsabha is also the twelfth 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 central sector of the constellation Taurus as seen from Mars.

References

Hindu solar months {{Hinduism-stub