Magha (month)

For other uses, see Magha (disambiguation).

Magha
A night lit up with kites and lights on Makar Sankranti Uttarayana festival
Native name	माघ (Sanskrit)
Calendar	Hindu calendar
Month number	11
Season	Winter
Gregorian equivalent	January-February
Significant days	Vasant Panchami Ratha Saptami Makar Sankranti Bhishma Ashtami Maha Shivaratri (Amanta)

Magha (Sanskrit: माघ, romanized: Māgha) is the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding to January/February of the Gregorian calendar.^[1] In India's national civil calendar, Magha is also the eleventh month of the year, beginning on 20 January and ending on 18 February.

In the Hindu lunisolar calendar, Magha may begin on either the new moon or the full moon around the same time of year. It is named thus because in this month, the full moon is usually found nearby or within the star cluster called Magha. Since the traditional Hindu calendar follows the lunar cycle, Magha's start and end dates vary from year to year, unlike the months of the Hindu solar calendars. Magha is a winter (Shishira Ritu) month.^[2][3]

The lunar month of Magha overlaps with the solar month of Makara, which begins with the Sun's entry into Capricorn.^[4][5]

Shukla Paksha	Krishna Paksha
1. Prathama	1. Prathama
2. Dwitiya	2. Dwitiya
3. Tritiya	3. Tritiya
4. Chaturthi	4. Chaturthi
5. Panchami	5. Panchami
6. Shashti	6. Shashti
7. Saptami	7. Saptami
8. Ashtami	8. Ashtami
9. Navami	9. Navami
10.Dashami	10.Dashami
11.Ekadashi	11.Ekadashi
12.Dwadashi	12.Dwadashi
13.Thrayodashi	13.Thrayodashi
14.Chaturdashi	14.Chaturdashi
15.Purnima	15. Amavasya

Festivals

• Shukla Panchami: Vasant Panchami
• Shukla Saptami: Ratha Saptami
• Maagh Mela is an important festival celebrated by most of North India.
• The world-famous "Maha Maham" festival is held every 12 years during full moon day of this month of "maasi".
• Makar Sankranti
• Shukla Ashtami is called as Bhishma Ashtami. It is the day on which Bhishma, son of Ganga, was born.

See also

• Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
• Hindu units of measurement
• Hindu astronomy
• Jyotisha
• Shevat

References

1. Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) Holidays, festivals, and celebrations of the world dictionary Third edition. Electronic edition. Detroit: Omnigraphics, p. xxix. ISBN 0-7808-0982-3
2. James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, N-Z (Vol 1 & 2). The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 508. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
3. Robert Sewell; Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita (1896). The Indian Calendar. S. Sonnenschein & Company. pp. 5–11, 23–29.
4. Christopher John Fuller (2004). The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton University Press. pp. 291–293. ISBN 978-0-69112-04-85.
5. Robert Sewell; Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita (1896). The Indian Calendar. S. Sonnenschein & Company. pp. 10–11.