The Indian or Hindu calendar months are different from the western calendar months, even though their number is same, meaning that there are 12 months in this calendar too. These 12 months also correspond with the twelve zodiac signs. The Indian calendar months starts from English 22^nd march which is quite different from the western calendar month that starts with 1^st January.

Hindu-Calendar

Indian or Hindu Calendar Months

Chaitra

The first month in Indian Calendar Month is chaitra. This is from 22^nd March to twentieth April. This has thirty days.

Vaishak

The second month is vaishak. This has thirty one days. It usually starts from 21^st April and stays till 21^st May.

Jaistha

The third month is the Jaistha this again has thirty days. It starts from 22^nd May and goes on till 21^st June.

Asadha

The fourth month Asadha has thirty one days. It starts from the 22^nd of June and goes on till 22^nd July.

Shravana

The fifth month in the Indian calendar months is the Shravana. It again has thirty one days. It begins 23^rd July and goes on till 22^nd August.

Bhadra

The sixth month also called the Bhadra month. It has thirty one days and it starts from 23^rd August and goes till the 22^nd of September.

Ashwin

Ashwin is the next month in the list. It starts from the 23^rd of September and ends on 22^nd October. This month also consists of thirty days.

Kartik

The month of Kartik follows it has thirty days. The month of Kartik starts from 23^rd October and goes till 21^st November.

Aghrayana

The month next month to appear in the Indian calendar months is the Aghrayana. It comprises of thirty days. It starts from the 22^nd November and stays on till 21^st December. This month again has thirty days in it.

Pausa

The Pausa month follows in the Indian calendar months. This starts from the 22^nd of December as per the western calendar and stays till 20^th of January.

Magha

Magha is the name of the second last month in the Indian calendar months. It is a month that consists of thirty days. It begins from 21^st of January and goes on till 19^th of February.

Phalgun

The last month in the Indian calendar months is the month of phalgun. It starts on the 20^th of February and ends on the 21^st or 22^nd of March.

These are the names of the twelve months that come in the Indian calendar months. The exact dates of these months may vary by a week from what we have mentioned. For example in some year the month of chaitra can start from 15^th March.

Relation with the Zodiac

• The month of chaitra is associated with the Aries sign.
• The month of vaishak is associated with Taurus.
• The month of Jaistha is associated with the sign Gemini.
• The month of Asadha is associated with cancer.
• The month of Shravana is associated with the zodiac sign Simha or Leo.
• Bhadra month is the month of Virgo.
• Ashvin month goes with the zodiac sign of Tula or Libra.
• The month of Kartik is associated with Scorpio.
• The month of Aghrayana is the month of the zodiac sign named Sagittarius.
• Pausa is related to the zodiac sign Capricorn.
• The month of Magha is known to be the month of Aquarius.
• Phalgun month is associated with the zodiac sign Pisces.

Hindu Calendar Months & Seasons

• The first two month of Chaitra and vaishak are associated with the season of spring.
• The next two months of jaistha and Asadha are associated with the summer season. The Shravana Bhadra months are representative of varsha or the rainy season.
• Ashvin and Kartik months are the symbols on autumn season.
• The months of Aghrayan and Pausa are related to the hemant Ritu.
• Hemant is the winter in India.
• The last two months of phalgun and Magha are associated with the sisira or the cold season.

Practical Applications of Indian Calendar

As you can make out from the explanation given so far that the concept of the Indian calendar months is quite different from the western calendar months this is exactly why it becomes very difficult to use the Indian calendar months for official purpose. The Indian calendar months is mostly used for religious ceremonies and pujas. It is used to decide what will be an auspicious day to start a task. When you use the Indian calendar on a regular basis you will get a better idea of the same. The Hindu calendar is still used to make horoscopes and to decide days for the weddings etc.

The western calendar was brought into India by the Britishers. Before they came the Indian calendar was followed. Post Independence when the Britishers left we officially continued to follow the western calendar as that was the international standard. The Indian calendar months becomes more complicated as there is a system of adding and deleting a month every three years