How to read your 2010 Hindu calendar
We pray that you are well…
Many have asked us to compile an article on the Hindu calendar for example what are the Festivals dates, Ekadashi, Panchak, Rahu kalam and Eclipse?
Firstly the Festival dates are the dates that Hindu observes. This is quite self explanatory. For example for Shree Ganesh Chaturthi, we have a full explanation of this very important festival date on our website. Many ask what is this festival all about and how do we go about celebrating it …hence this website is meant to make people from all cultures more aware of these important Hindu festival dates. We have included a few more festival dates below that are not generally on the typical Hindu calendar. For more info on the festival dates for 2009 plz visit our website www.h4all.org under ARTCILES on the left hand side of the webpage.
Fast, Festival or Celebration
Makar Sankranti = 14th January
Thai Pongal = 14th January
Vasanth Panchami = 20th January
Varahadeva Jayanti = 27th January
Nityananda Jayanti = 28th January
Thai Poosam Kavady = 29th January
Maha Shivaratri = 12th February
Holika Dahan = 28th February
Gaura Purnima = 28th February
Hindi New Year = 16th March
Telugu New Year = 16th March
Ramayana Week (First Navaratri) = 16th March – 23rd March
Shree Raam Naumi = 24th March
Hanuman Jayanti = 30th March
Tamil New Year = 14th April
Aadhik Maas 15th April - 14th May
Aadhik Maas starts on 14th April at 14h28 and ends on 14th May at 03h03
Chitra Paruvam = 28th April
Sita Jayanti = 22nd May
Nrsimha Appearance day = 26th May
Ganga Puja = 21st June
Nirjala Ekadashi = 22nd June
Guru Purnima = 25th July
Naag Panchami = 14th August
Vara Lakshmi Vratam = 20th August
Balarama Appearance Day = 24th August
Raksha Bandhan = 24th August
Gita Week = 25th August – 1st September
Krishna Ashtami = 2nd September
Ganesh Chaturthi = 11th September
Radhastami = 15th September
Purattasi = 17th September - 17th October
Vamana Jayanthi = 19th September
Pitr Paksh Starts = 23rd Sept @ 11h17. But offer the 1st water (Tarpana) on the morning of the 24th.
Pitr Paksh Ends = 7th October @20h45
Mahalaya Paksham = 24th September – 7th October
Navaratri = 8th October – 16th October
Shree Saraswati Pooja = 15th October
Shree Durga Puja = 16th October
Vijay Dashami = 17th October
Start of Damodara Maas = 23rd October
Dhan Trayodashi = 4th November
Naraka Chaturdasi = 5th November
Deepavali / Lakshmi Puja = 5/6th November
Amavasya (New Moon) starts on the 5th at 09h32am. Hence on the 5th will be Amavasya night.
Govardhan Pooja = 7th November
Gujarati New Year = 7th November
Prabhodhini Ekadashi = 17th November
Kartik Purnima = 21st November
Karthigai Deepam = 21st November
Skanda Sashti = 11th December
Gita Jayanti = 17th December
There always seem to be some conflicting festival dates when the Hindu calendars are published esp. with regards to Diwali… Let me explain. Vedic times are totally different from the Gregorian times, which are followed by the westerners. The Vedic day starts at sunrise and ends sunrise the next morning. But the Gregorian day starts at midnight and ends the following midnight. Now Diwali is celebrated on the 15th day (Amavasya) of the dark moon in October/November. This year the 15th day (Amavasya) starts at 09h32 on the 5th of November and ends the following morning of the 6th of November at 06h52. The sunrise time for Durban on the 5th November is 04h59 and the 6th November at 04h58. According to the Vedic calendar whichever tithi (day) is transiting at the time of sunrise is the tithi (day). So on the 5th of November at 04h59 (sunrise) Chaturdasi (i.e. the 14th day) is transiting. So the ruling day is Chaturdasi. But soon after that Chaturdasi ends at 09h31 and Amavasya (Diwali starts). But as I have mentioned that the 5th is ruled by Chaturdasi even though it ended a short while after sunrise. Then Diwali continues until the next morning ending at 06h52 on the 6th. So Amavasya transits the sunrise of the 6th and thus this day becomes Diwali Amavasya. But soon after sunrise of the 6th Diwali ends at 06h52. This is the reason why so many calendars state that Diwali should be on the 5th of November because most the Amavasya is on the 5th. But strictly speaking it’s on the 6th. This info was obtained from this website. http://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/calendars/
Secondly Ekadashi. Ekadashi is a Sanskrit word, which means 'the eleventh day'. Ekadashi occurs twice in a month, on the 11th day of the bright fortnight and the dark fortnight. The special feature of Ekadashi is a fast that one abstains from grains, eating meat, shaving and cutting one’s nails. Lord Krishna says that if a person fasts on Ekadashi, “I will burn up all his sins. Indeed this day is the most meritorious day for destroying all kinds of sins.” Ekadashi was created as the Supreme Medicine to remove the disease of the material world of having a miserable material body and mind that is full of suffering. According to scriptures we take on sins (and even more obstacles in one’s life) on this day if we consume grains since PAAP PURUSHA (sin personified) resides only in grains on this day. Also grains eaten on this day becomes harmful and remains undigested and turns toxic in the body-giving rise to various diseases and ailments. Please try to observe these very important days. If one does not know what to cook on this day then we can advise you on what to do. We will advise you on what to have, what not to have and 16 very simple recipes to cook on this day. For more info on Ekadashi fasting days plz visit our website www.h4all.org under EKADASHI and PRAYER DATES on the left hand side of the webpage.
EKADASHI DATES for 2010.
Sat-tila Ekadashi = 10th Jan.
Bhaimi Ekadashi = 26th Jan.
Vijaya Ekadashi = 9th Feb.
Amalaki vrata Ekadashi = 25th Feb.
Paapamochanee Ekadashi = 11th March
Kamada Ekadashi = 26th March
Varuthini Ekadashi = 10th April.
Padminee Ekadashi = 24th April.
Parama Ekadashi = 9th May.
Mohini Ekadashi = 24th May.
Apara Ekadashi = 8th June.
Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi = 22nd June.
Yogini Ekadashi = 8th July.
Sayana Ekadashi = 21 July.
Kamika Ekadashi = 6th August.
Pavitropana Ekadashi = 20th August.
Annada Ekadashi = 5th September.
Parshva Ekadashi = 18th September.
Indira Ekadashi = 4th October.
Papankusha Ekadashi = 18th October.
Rama Ekadashi = 2nd November.
Utthana Ekadashi = 17th November.
Utpanna Ekadashi = 2nd December.
Mokshada Ekadashi = 17th December
Saphala Ekadashi = 31st December.
This info was obtained from this website. http://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/calendars/
Thirdly Panchak… This is a very important piece of information that’s given. When a person passes on the first thing that you should check is what time the deceased passed on. Panchak is a very bad time for a person to die in. Panchak is a combination of 5 Nakshatras (asterisms/stars) viz. (Dhanishtaa, Shatabhisha, Poorva Bhaadrapada, Uttara Bhaadrapada and Revati).
For example on the 4th December 2008 @ 08h39 Panchak starts and ends on the 8th December 2008 @ 22h45. If a person dies within this time then the pundit/priest has to perform a Panchak Shanti puja which takes like a few minutes to perform in the ante chamber of the crematorium. Please please make sure that the priest performs this prayer. I am not going to scare you but if this prayer is not performed then many lives generally 5 lives will be lost within the family within that one year… many Hindu’s take Panchak lightly and when problems arise then the family is put thro so much of hardship when it could have been avoided… if the deceased died on Panchak then on the funeral day plz INSIST on the Panchak Shanti puja if the priest doesn’t want to perform it. You rather delay the funeral then having problems later on… those that know me know I don’t like to scare people but in these cases I am dead (no pun intended) serious. Don’t mess the with the dead.
PANCHAK TIMES for 2010.
Date…………Start……Date………..End
17-01-10 (20h05) 22-01-10 (19h18)
14-02-10 (02h13) 19-02-10 (01h25)
13-03-10 (08h35) 18-03-10 (07h03)
09-04-10 (15h38) 14-04-10 (13h37)
06-05-10 (23h24) 11-05-10 (21h35)
03-06-10 (07h25) 08-06-10 (06h23)
30-06-10 (15h01) 05-07-10 (14h59)
27-07-10 (21h52) 01-08-10 (22h30)
24-08-10 (04h03) 29-08-10 (04h46)
20-09-10 (10h06) 25-09-10 (10h30)
17-10-10 (16h43) 22-10-10 (16h50)
14-11-10 (00h18) 19-11-10 (00h27)
11-12-10 (08h41) 16-12-10 (09h06)
Fourthly Rahu Kalam. Timing in the Hindu or any advance culture is of the utmost importance. Whether it's in the telling of a joke or striking a business deal, there's nothing more important than timing. What you do is important but when you do it is just as important. We all know the importance of timing in the material world. Even little kids understand the importance of timing. When they want their next cool toy, they catch their dads in a good mood and butter them up! Thus we have known the importance of timing right from our childhood. Our sages say that what we need to learn now is that timing is just as important in the world of spirituality. Just as timing is important in the material world, it's important in the world of spirituality too. The efficacy of one's spiritual practices can be increased greatly by timing it according to Vedic injunctions.
According to Vedic astrology, Rahu Kalam is that 1.1/2 hrs of a day, that are inauspicious periods and one should not undertake any auspicious work during these periods - especially any new undertaking, prayers, weddings and so forth.
Sunday 12h00 – 13h30
Monday 07h30 – 09h00
Tuesdays 13h30 – 15h00
Wednesday 09H00 – 10H30
Thursday 15H00 – 16H30
Friday 10H30 – 12H00
Saturday 06h00 – 07h30 and 16h30 – 18h00
And finally Eclipses… Astronomically speaking, when the Sun, the Moon and the Earth are all in line, with the Moon or the Earth at the centre, a solar or lunar eclipse takes place respectively.
MONTH…..START……END…Visible-SA
15th Jan (06h05) (12h07) SOLAR – Slight partially visible in NE of South Africa
This info was obtained from this website.
http://www.saao.ac.za/public-info/sun-moon-stars/eclipse-index/solar-eclipses-2004-2020/
At the time of the eclipse, many people especially of Indian decent bathe in the sacred rivers like River Ganga. They perform charitable acts and donate daan like cows, grains, gold and so forth. The day after the eclipse they feed the poor, the Brahmins and the Sadhus. After the eclipse they clean their houses, vessels, etc., and take a bath before they start cooking.
One should not take food during the duration of the eclipse. When the eclipse begins the food should by then have been digested. One should take food only after seeing the sun or the moon free from the eclipse. When the clear sun or the moon is not seen before sunset or sunrise, in the case of the solar and lunar eclipse respectively, food can be taken only after the sun or the moon is seen the next day.
Pregnant women should not see the sun or the moon during the time of the eclipse. If they do the child born may have some kind of defect. The child may be born deaf, dumb or blind. Householders are forbidden from sexual intercourse on the day of the eclipse, for the same reason.
At this time one should take great care in avoiding bleeding, scorpion stings, etc. These have disastrous results. Even an earthworm has a poisonous effect when it bites one during an eclipse.
Those who perform Japa at the time of the eclipse derive great benefits. The effect of Japa and Sankirtana (the congregational chanting of mantras with other devotees of the Lord) during the eclipse contributes towards relieving the suffering of humanity and also of the planets. These people receive the blessings of all the devas and Shree Krsna Himself. They attain perfection quickly.
Now in these “so called modern times” we hear comments like “Oh this eclipse thing is so psychosomatic, it’s all myths and legends etc. Why do we have to follow it so strictly?” Well naturally to the primitive mind any sophisticated and advanced knowledge would be indistinguishable from the masses and be naturally scorned upon. Being confronted with these ideas someone inquired: “Can you prove that these things happen?” “Can anyone prove that they don’t”, was the reply. A compromise can be reached by the adage: “for one who believes, no proof is required; and for the one who does not believe, no proof exists”. From my experience I have seen that those who had this attitude really suffered later and esp. expecting mother didn’t want to strictly observe the eclipse and it ended disastrously for them. Remember that the little intellect cannot understand many things in this universe. Hence, have faith in the words of sastras and sages.
Ignorance has eclipsed knowledge. However, this eclipse will disappear. You must learn to shine in life with knowledge. The more you study and learn the more humble it makes you because then you realize how little we know. This is the spiritual significance of the eclipse.
Due to time place and convenience most Hindu marriages take place over the weekend. But we are giving all the auspicious dates for the year.
January 1, 3, 6, 7, 11, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30
February 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28
March 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 25, 27, 28
April 9
(Adhik Maas 15th April – 14th May… So weddings are forbidden in this period)
May 16, 19, 23, 24, 26
June 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 17, 20, 21, 24, 26
July 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25
August 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
September 10, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23
(18th is Ekadashi so the wedding food must be non-grain)
September 24th – October 7th Pitr Paksha (no weddings are performed in this period)
October 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
November 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25
December 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26
The following is not on the Hindu calendar but I decided to add it anyway for many that email me for this information.
30 January, 28 February, 29 March, 28 April
27 May, 26 June, 25 July, 24 August
23 September, 22 October, 21 November, 21 December
The Maha Mritunjaya havan is a very simple yet extremely powerful havan. This havan should preferably be performed on Purnima (full moon) when auspiciousness is at maximum. After having a bath, wear clean clothes. Prepare about a medium size bowl of sweet rice. Then add about 200 g of Black sesame (til) seeds, cut about a stand of kush grass into very small pieces (if you don’t have Kush grass not to worry), add 100g of vegetable or butter ghee and finally add to the sweet rice. Mix all these ingredients together.
Place wood in the havan kund (which should already have a little sand in it. The reason for this is so that the ghee does not leak out.) Take a little Ganga water and sip it three times chanting “Om Vishnu”. I recommend that those who are sitting down for the havan chant the very auspicious Hanuman Chalisa. Then place camphor on the wood and light it. Thereafter invite Lord Vishnu and the devis and devas to the havan by saying “ O Lord Vishnu, Sarva Devis and Devas I ________(your name) invite you all to this auspicious havan.
Now start the offerings by the chanting the Mritunjaya mantra, which is, as ff: -
“Om trayam bakkam yajaa-mahe sugan-dhim pushti-vardhanam urvaa-rooka-miva bandha-naam mrityor mooksheeya maamritaat Om” swaahaa
Offer the sweet rice after you say Om (the second Om above) and chant swaahaa. Do this for 108 x’s. Once this is complete ask Lord Visnu and all the devi and devas for forgiveness for any mistakes that was committed during the havan and chant the Maha Mantra “ Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare “ 21 times to allay for any mistakes committed during the havan. Then request Lord Visnu and the Devi and devas to kindly return to their abodes. Requirements for the Havan: - One packet havan wood; 100g ghee; 200g black til; One small bowl sweet rice, one strand of kush grass, havan kund, 2 blocks of camphor.
15 January, 13 February, 15 March, 14 April
13 May, 12 June, 11 July, 9 August
8 September, 7 October, 6 November, 5 December
(On New Moon days one can offer food to ones ancestors. Whatever one cooks on that day he/she can offer to them – just as one does in Pitr Paksha. By performing this act great merits awaits that person. In the Garuda Purana Preta Khanda II 10.50-55 Lord Vishnu says to Sri Garudaji “ On the day of Amavasya (new moon day), the airy manes (the ancestors) stand at the door of their descendents in order to receive their food. They remain there till sunset. When they do not receive their food they fall in despair and out of suffering heave long sighs and go back cursing the descendents. Therefore, one should carefully perform shraddha (offer food) to your ancestors on the new moon day (Amavasya) every month. Well why are you hearing this for the first time? Well that’s a million dollar question, which I can’t answer.
12 Jan, 28 Jan, 11 Feb, 26 Feb, 13 Mar, 28 Mar
12 Apr, 26 Apr, 11 May, 25 May, 10 Jun, 24 Jun
9 Jul, 23 Jul, 8 Aug, 22 Aug, 6 Sep, 20/21 Sep
5 Oct, 20 Oct, 4 Nov, 19 Nov, 3 Dec, 19 Dec
Pradosha vrata is a vrata (Fast) for the worship of Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati. The Pradosha worship is done in the evening twilight on the Trayodashi of both lunar fortnights (Shukla and Krishna Paksha). These are the 13th tithi, or lunar days, from the New Moon (Amavasya) and Full Moon (Purnima). The performance of the vrata involves a fast followed by a vigil. A bath is taken one hour before sunset and Lord Shiva, Mother Parvati, Shree Ganesha, Lord Skanda (Muruga), and Nandi are worshipped. Following this, Lord Shiva is invoked. The Pradosha story is read out after the formal worship is concluded.
Thank you for taking time to read this article. We are trying to reach out not only to Hindus but to others of other faiths as well. By compiling and publishing these articles we hope that others will understand what a beautiful and diversified way of life Hinduism (Sanathan Dharma) really is. Please alert your friends and family of this website. You may pass these articles to friends and family who do not have access to the Internet or even print them and keep them in a file. These articles are published so that it will be a reference to you and your family when you need clarification of certain topics. Jai Shree Krishna.