Question 1

Does Janmashtami fall in Shravana or Bhadrapada?

Accepted Answer

Both — it is the same night, filed differently. Krishna was born on the Ashtami of a dark fortnight. In the Purnimanta reckoning of North India that dark fortnight belongs to Shravana; in the Amanta reckoning of the south and west the same fortnight belongs to Bhadrapada. The Gregorian date is identical either way, so the two traditions celebrate together while naming the month differently.

Question 2

Why is Bhadrapada Purnima the start of Pitru Paksha?

Accepted Answer

In the Amanta reckoning the fortnight of the ancestors runs from the Full Moon of Bhadrapada to the New Moon of Ashwin. The Full Moon itself is kept as Bhadrapada Purnima Shraddha or Proshthapadi, offered for ancestors who died on a Purnima; the daily Shraddha then follows the Tithi of each ancestor's death through the fortnight, closing on Sarva Pitru Amavasya, which covers anyone whose Tithi is unknown or was missed.

Question 3

Why is the Moon not to be looked at on Ganesh Chaturthi?

Accepted Answer

The Puranas tell that Ganesha, mocked by the Moon for his appearance, laid a curse that anyone seeing the Moon on this Chaturthi would face false accusation — the Mithya Dosha or Kalank. Krishna is said to have been accused over the Syamantaka jewel after seeing it. Where the sighting cannot be avoided, the prescribed remedy is to hear or recite the Syamantaka story from the Bhagavata Purana.

Question 4

How long does the month of Bhadrapada last?

Accepted Answer

A lunar month runs about 29.5 days — the time the Moon takes to return to the same phase relative to the Sun. Because that figure is not a whole number of days and the Moon's speed varies, Bhadrapada does not begin at the same clock time each year, and its length can differ by several hours from one year to the next. The begin and end timestamps listed above are computed for your own location rather than quoted from a fixed table.

Question 5

Why do the Amanta and Purnimanta dates for Bhadrapada differ?

Accepted Answer

They are two different conventions for where a month starts. An Amanta month runs New Moon to New Moon and is the standard across South and West India — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat. A Purnimanta month runs Full Moon to Full Moon and is standard across North India. The Purnimanta Bhadrapada therefore begins about a fortnight earlier and its dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha) comes first, while in the Amanta reckoning the bright fortnight comes first. The two systems agree on which Tithi a given day is; they disagree only on which month to file it under. Use the toggle above to switch between them.

Question 6

Can Bhadrapada occur twice in one year?

Accepted Answer

Yes, though rarely. Twelve lunar months fall about eleven days short of a solar year, so roughly every 32 or 33 months an extra month — Adhika Maas, also called Mala Maas or Purushottama Maas — is inserted to keep the lunar calendar aligned with the seasons. The extra month takes the name of the month that follows it, so an Adhika Bhadrapada is followed by a Nija (true) Bhadrapada. Rites of passage such as weddings, sacred-thread ceremonies and house-warmings are traditionally deferred out of the Adhika month, while recitation, charity and pilgrimage are held to be especially meritorious in it.

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