ADHIK MAAS But, the Lunar Calendar Is Based on the Moon's Revolution Around the Earth with Correlation to Earth's Rotation A

ADHIK MAAS

Padma purana extols that adhik maas is the most auspicious month for any worship. It is an intercalary adjustments of lunar almanac (panchang) with the solar calendar. The solar calendar is based on the sun’s movement through the zodiac signs (raasi) and this almanac is the astronomical guide for Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamilnadu and kerala. The entry of the Sun into the zodiac sign marks the beginning of the new month such as Mesha, Rishabh, Mithuna, etc.

But, the lunar calendar is based on the moon’s revolution around the earth with correlation to earth’s rotation around the sun. Every lunar month begins, pratipada, next to amavasya (new moon) day. Andhra, Karnataka, Maharashtra and most of the other states follow Chandramana (lunar) panchang.

Due to variation in the time for moon’s rotation around the earth and the earth’s rotation around the sun, the lunar year is approximately 354 days only against the 365.25 days of solar year. Thus, there is a shortfall of 11 days per year.

{Western Gregorian calendar is based on solar panchang and therefore, there is no issue of reconciliation of any difference. They adjust the excess 0.25 day/year, once in four years by adding one day in February (leap year). However western way of linear years, 2019, 2020, etc. is not acceptable to principles of sanatana dharma for want of answers to the question what happened before 2020 years and where is it going to end? Our spiritual scientists like rishis, siddhas declare that alphabets are more powerful than numeric.

That is why our names of the years are in alphabets like Hemalamba, Vilambhi and Sarwari. In ancient usage, in many of our languages, the numeric was denoted with alphabets only. This formula, used even in astronomical calculations for predicting the eclipses, is called ‘katapayadhi sankya’, meaning numeric from alphabets like ka, ta, pa. An example for this is the decoding the word sankara; this formula will yield numeric of 5,1,2 to classify 5=panchami;1=sukla paksha;2=visakha month. This is the day we celebrate sankara jayanti. Now that we use western dates in all legal and bank documents, they advise us to introduce at least few alphabets. Instead of writing 20-9- 2020, we can write 20th September, 2020.

In addition, we consider time always as a wheel (kaala chakra) in the sense whatever is happening now is repetition of whatever had happened earlier and this is applicable for future too. This has been confirmed by many great souls who can travel astral; they confirm the existence of crores of earths like ours, some as big in diameter as to have nine suns to cover a day; there is one in which currently Ramayana is going on while in another Maha Bharat. In mercury planet, people are as short as our thumb; in another

2 planet people are tall to the height of 400’. (This confirms the existence of sighting of theYeti or the ‘snow man’ with abnormal foot print and also by UFO (unidentified flying objects) being sighted now and then).

In some planets, the technology is so much advanced that they have discarded our pentium4 as used toys. The inhabitants of these planets are highly advanced in technology, capable of literally incinerating any flying objects coming in their trajectory. They have a life span of 700 years, they do not have any God; they take 300 years to cover the distance to our earth one way. The only good thing that happens to them is to have set foot on our earth, a holy one in their life time. Also there are earths where inhabitants have discarded the technological innovations and gone back to bullock carts.

Additionally, we do not accept western way of starting the day in the dead of night after twelve. It not only lacks any logic, but also brings along innumerable and confusing time zones. The siddha prediction is that the west will come round in near future to accept our reasoning of starting any day at sun rise.}

Almost all festivals are calculated according to Chandramaana panchang or lunar almanac only. Hence there is a need to synchronize both solar and lunar calendars. For this purpose there is an addition, in the lunar almanac, of one month every three years or to be precise 32 months, 16days, 8 ghati: one ghati=24 minutes). The last addition of such month was in 2018.

In which specific month the addition is to be made involves very complex astronomical calculations. Certain months do not have any adhik maas ever. In one particular month adhik maas occurs after more than a century. In the current year of 2020, Asvija month in lunar calendar is the adhik maasa or extra month.

This addition is called adhik (extra) or Purushottam (Vishnu) and also mala (waste) maasa. The original term was mala haani kara maasa, a month for riddance of accumulated mala ie karma. But over a period the name got corrupted to mala maasa. The significance of this particular name, mala maasa, is as follows:

{Similar to adhik maasa, when the sun transits two zodiac signs between two amavasya, the month is called kshaya maasa; this happens once in 149 years.}

When the planets sun and moon are in the same zodiac sign the tithi is called Amavasya. This extra month takes place when there are two amavasya in the same month. This results in three pakshas (the period of 15 tithis between Amavasya and Poornima) under the influence of the moola devata of the particular month. The sun gives us life energy (jeeva sakti) and the moon grants power of mind (mano sakti).

Rishis, siddhas and sadgurus have the divine grace to win over both of these. But, ordinary people like us do not have the control over either the body or the mind. The accumulated negative forces in the body, toxicity in the intake, stale food, and the harmful plasma in the blood form the excreta and urine get discarded through the metabolism. But, how do we throw out the uncontrollable, dirty thoughts which unfailingly pop out from the store house of the mind at wrong or at all moments?

Therefore, we become subservient to the demands of the mind and sense organs and relentlessly accumulate karmas day in and day out. In order to develop the ability to exercise control over these two vital energies amavasya is given to us. Without fail, one should perform the prescribed pitru tarpan, annadanam, havan, temple worship etc on this day during the entire month. The granth, Dharma Sindhu advises that during Purushottam month, bathing is to be done before sun rise, oil lamp should be lit for minimum of 6 hours a day (akhanda deepam); silence is to be observed during meals; apupa dhan (sweet made of jaggery 33 in numbers) is to be given to poor children. Nail clipping, shaving, marriage, vastu shanti,upanayanam are taboo.

The current Adhik Maasa started on 16-9-2020, sarva pitru amavasya, and ends on 16- 10-2020, amavasya called Nija Aswija amavasya. Maha Abhishekam to Goddess Shri Sharadamba will be performed on that day.

OHM