01-12-2008, 05:16 AM
The Hindu Panchangam & Festivals
excerpts:
As on date, a panchanga is supposed to be a work with five angas i.e.
limbs.
Tithi -- the mutual luni-solar distance.
Conjunction of the sun and moon being known as Amavasya/Amanta and
Opposition as Purnima/Purnimanta. The tithis in between are known as
Pratipat (from a mutual distance of zero to 12 degrees), Dwitiya (from
12 to 24 degrees) etc. The tithis between Amavasya and Purnima are
known as tithis of Shukla paksha and the ones after Purnima and before
Amavasya as those of Krishna paksha. 15th tithi is actually purnima
and the 30th tithi Amavasya.
Karna -- is the half of a tithi.
Nakshatra -- It is actually the conjunction of the moon with a
particular star of that name. Since the stars are not located at an
equal distance of 13.33333 degrees from one another, it appears that
for computational purposes, 27 equal divisions were made. But in
certain such cases of equal division, some stars overlap whereas some
stars do not get enveloped in that range at all, thus falling in the
next star division We shall, therefore, have to devise some method
which satisfies the criterion of dharmashastra and is also practicable.
Yoga -- It is calculated by adding the values of the sun and the
moon from zero to 360 degrees and then dividing the same by 13.333333
degrees so as to yield 27 yogas, starting from Vishkumba which ranges
from zero to 13.3333333 degrees of combined longitudes of the sun and
the moon.
Vara -- is a synonym of week day. In India it ranges from one sunrise
to another.
But of the above five limbs of a panchanga, (only) tithi and nakshatra have
been mentioned in almost all the Vedas and the Vedanga Jyotisha.
Karna is mentioned in the Atharva Jyotisha, as pointed out by S B
Dikshit. We do not have any indication of any Vishkumba etc. yoga in
any of the Vedas or the Vedanga Jyotisha etc. Var i.e. week day, as
per Dikshit, is also mentioned for the first time in Atharva Jyotisha,
a pre-siddhantic work of about 4th/5th century BCE.
IMHO, these days the criteria for more than ninety per cent of our
major lunar fasts and festivals besides muhurtas are based on various
Puranas and epics since we do not have any indication of those
festivals etc. in any of the Vedas at all. For example, Bhishmashtami
is as per the MBh; Shivaratri is as per the Shiva Purana/Linga
Purana; Ramanavmi as per the Ramayana; Janmashtami as per the
Bhagavata/Harivamsha/Vishnu-Purana; Sharadiya navatras---including
Saraswati Ahvan and Visarjan etc.---as per the Markandeya Purana/Devi
Bhagavata/Devi Puarana; Vijaya Dashmi, Bharata Milap etc. as per the
Ramayana; Bali Puja as per the Bhagavata Purana; Skanda Shashthi as
per the Skanda Purana; Pitra-paksha as per the Devi-Purana etc., just
to name a few of them.
Having thus explained the basis of the panchanga, I think it is better
to avoid Vishkumba etc. 27 yogas, since they do not serve any
astronomical purpose nor are they taken into account while deciding
any of the festivals, whether solar or luni-solar (synodic). They are
required just for natal astrology by "Vedic jyotishis" and in certain
cases are taken into account for muhurtas also. But even the muhurta
requirement appears to be a much later development since we do not
find any mention in any Purana either regarding the 27 yogas.
Now coming to solar phenomena like Sankrantis etc. we find that almost
all the solar festivals like Pongal (the much talked about Makar
Sankranti!); Maha-Vishuva (Vaishakhi); start of Malyalam New
Year (Simhadi); Tamil New Year (Meshadi) etc. have had their roots
initially in the Vedas and the Vedanga Jyotisha whether or not the
"Vedic Jyotishis" agree with the same! Since the Vedas do not talk of
Rashis, whether the so called Sayana or the so called nirayana, but
seasonal months like Madhu, Madhava etc., obviously, all these
phenomena of Pongal, Simhadi and Meshadi etc. are actually based on
the seasonal months of Madhu, Madhava etc. which means that the lunar
synodic months also have to be pegged to the same.
It is also possible that at a much later date, with the advent of the
Puranas, the month of Madhava became known as Meshadi since in the
Puranas it is Mesha Sankranti that is known as Vasant Sampat and even
Madhava, when the days and nights are equal, and Makar Sankanti is
another name of the shortest day of the year and so on!
Avtar Krishen Kaul
excerpts:
As on date, a panchanga is supposed to be a work with five angas i.e.
limbs.
Tithi -- the mutual luni-solar distance.
Conjunction of the sun and moon being known as Amavasya/Amanta and
Opposition as Purnima/Purnimanta. The tithis in between are known as
Pratipat (from a mutual distance of zero to 12 degrees), Dwitiya (from
12 to 24 degrees) etc. The tithis between Amavasya and Purnima are
known as tithis of Shukla paksha and the ones after Purnima and before
Amavasya as those of Krishna paksha. 15th tithi is actually purnima
and the 30th tithi Amavasya.
Karna -- is the half of a tithi.
Nakshatra -- It is actually the conjunction of the moon with a
particular star of that name. Since the stars are not located at an
equal distance of 13.33333 degrees from one another, it appears that
for computational purposes, 27 equal divisions were made. But in
certain such cases of equal division, some stars overlap whereas some
stars do not get enveloped in that range at all, thus falling in the
next star division We shall, therefore, have to devise some method
which satisfies the criterion of dharmashastra and is also practicable.
Yoga -- It is calculated by adding the values of the sun and the
moon from zero to 360 degrees and then dividing the same by 13.333333
degrees so as to yield 27 yogas, starting from Vishkumba which ranges
from zero to 13.3333333 degrees of combined longitudes of the sun and
the moon.
Vara -- is a synonym of week day. In India it ranges from one sunrise
to another.
But of the above five limbs of a panchanga, (only) tithi and nakshatra have
been mentioned in almost all the Vedas and the Vedanga Jyotisha.
Karna is mentioned in the Atharva Jyotisha, as pointed out by S B
Dikshit. We do not have any indication of any Vishkumba etc. yoga in
any of the Vedas or the Vedanga Jyotisha etc. Var i.e. week day, as
per Dikshit, is also mentioned for the first time in Atharva Jyotisha,
a pre-siddhantic work of about 4th/5th century BCE.
IMHO, these days the criteria for more than ninety per cent of our
major lunar fasts and festivals besides muhurtas are based on various
Puranas and epics since we do not have any indication of those
festivals etc. in any of the Vedas at all. For example, Bhishmashtami
is as per the MBh; Shivaratri is as per the Shiva Purana/Linga
Purana; Ramanavmi as per the Ramayana; Janmashtami as per the
Bhagavata/Harivamsha/Vishnu-Purana; Sharadiya navatras---including
Saraswati Ahvan and Visarjan etc.---as per the Markandeya Purana/Devi
Bhagavata/Devi Puarana; Vijaya Dashmi, Bharata Milap etc. as per the
Ramayana; Bali Puja as per the Bhagavata Purana; Skanda Shashthi as
per the Skanda Purana; Pitra-paksha as per the Devi-Purana etc., just
to name a few of them.
Having thus explained the basis of the panchanga, I think it is better
to avoid Vishkumba etc. 27 yogas, since they do not serve any
astronomical purpose nor are they taken into account while deciding
any of the festivals, whether solar or luni-solar (synodic). They are
required just for natal astrology by "Vedic jyotishis" and in certain
cases are taken into account for muhurtas also. But even the muhurta
requirement appears to be a much later development since we do not
find any mention in any Purana either regarding the 27 yogas.
Now coming to solar phenomena like Sankrantis etc. we find that almost
all the solar festivals like Pongal (the much talked about Makar
Sankranti!); Maha-Vishuva (Vaishakhi); start of Malyalam New
Year (Simhadi); Tamil New Year (Meshadi) etc. have had their roots
initially in the Vedas and the Vedanga Jyotisha whether or not the
"Vedic Jyotishis" agree with the same! Since the Vedas do not talk of
Rashis, whether the so called Sayana or the so called nirayana, but
seasonal months like Madhu, Madhava etc., obviously, all these
phenomena of Pongal, Simhadi and Meshadi etc. are actually based on
the seasonal months of Madhu, Madhava etc. which means that the lunar
synodic months also have to be pegged to the same.
It is also possible that at a much later date, with the advent of the
Puranas, the month of Madhava became known as Meshadi since in the
Puranas it is Mesha Sankranti that is known as Vasant Sampat and even
Madhava, when the days and nights are equal, and Makar Sankanti is
another name of the shortest day of the year and so on!
Avtar Krishen Kaul