new moon can be highly auspicious, as
on the occasion of a Somavati
Amavasya (new moon falling on
Monday). Several major festivals (such
as Diwali) fall on the new moon. Despite
this, the new moon is less auspicious
than the full moon. Within each fort-
night various days are also associated
with particular deities, and their devo-
tees (bhakta) often do particular rites on
those days: The eleventh day (ekadashi)
is dedicated to the god Vishnu, the
eighth day (ashtami) to the Goddess, the
evening of the thirteenth day (trayo-
dashi) and the fourteenth to the god
Shiva, and the fourth day (chaturthi) to
the godGanesh.
As mentioned earlier, the lunar cal-
endar is the basis for almost all Hindu
holidays. To correct the discrepancy
between the lunar and solar year (about
eleven days), and thus keep these festi-
vals at about the same time every year,
an intercalary monthis inserted every
21 ⁄ 2 years. Although this extra month
keeps the calendar in balance, it is con-
sidered highly inauspicious, perhaps
because it is an unusual occurrence.
During this month people take normal
precautions to protect themselves dur-
ing inauspicious times—basically
putting off any new activities until the
month is over, and propitiating protec-
tive deities until the end of the month.
Lunar Month, Structure of