Karkaṭa, also referred to as Karka or Karkatha, is a month in the Indian solar calendar. It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, and overlaps approximately with the later half of July and early half of August 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 Vedic texts, the Karka month is called Suchi (IAST: Śuchi), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations. The solar month of Karkata overlaps with its lunar month

Shraavana Śrāvaṇa () is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the year, typically beginning in mid to late July and ending in late August. In the Tamil calendar, it is known as ...

, in Hindu lunisolar calendars. The Shraavana marks the middle of the monsoon season on the Indian subcontinent, and is preceded by the solar month of

Mithuna ''Maithuna'' (Devanagari: मैथुन) is a Sanskrit term for sexual intercourse within Tantra (Tantric sex), or alternatively for the sexual fluids generated or the couple participating in the ritual. It is the most important of the Panchama ...

, and followed by the solar month of

Siṃha Siṃha is one of the twelve months in the Indian solar calendar. Simha corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Leo, and overlaps with about the second half of August and about the first half of September in the Gregorian calendar. In Vedic texts, t ...

. The Karkata month is called ''Adi'' in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Karkata, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Karkata to be 31 days, 11 hours, 24 minutes and 24 seconds. In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of the Karkata month to be 31 days, 11 hours, 13 minutes and 36 seconds. The Indian solar month names are significant in epigraphical studies of South Asia. For example, ''Karkaṭa'' month, along with other solar months are found inscribed in medieval era temples. The ''Karkaṭa'' month (spelled as ''Karkataka'') is found inscribed in Chola Empire monument such as the Valisvara temple near Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border. Karka is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to

Cancer (astrology) Cancer (; , Latin for the " Crab") is the fourth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Cancer. It spans from 90° to 120° celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area between ...

. Karkata is also the sixteenth 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 n ...

for the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

, when the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

traverses the constellation Cancer as seen from Mars.

References

Hindu solar months {{Hinduism-stub