Hindu Months & Calendar : Importance and Festivals

Reviewed & updated: August 2026 · By Monica Saxena

The Hindu months and festivals follow one of the world’s oldest living timekeeping systems — a calendar (Panchang) that has guided religious life across India for millennia. There are 12 months in the Hindu calendar, beginning with Chaitra (March–April), and unlike the Gregorian calendar, most Hindu calendars are lunar — based on the phases of the Moon — though some regions follow a solar reckoning based on the Sun’s transit through the zodiac. In this guide you’ll learn the names of all 12 Hindu months (with their Devanagari spellings), the major festival that defines each one, the crucial difference between the lunar and solar calendars, and why the same month can appear to “end” on different days in North and South India.

Is there a Hindu calendar? How is it different from the Gregorian one?

Yes. Long before the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, Hindus across the world used their own calendars to fix the dates of festivals and rituals. The Gregorian calendar begins on 1 January and is purely solar — based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun. Most Hindu calendars, by contrast, are lunisolar: they track the Moon’s phases for months but periodically adjust to the solar year so the seasons don’t drift.

This is why Hindu festival dates appear to “move” each year on the Gregorian calendar — they are fixed to lunar tithis, not solar dates.

Lunar vs Solar: the two Hindu calendar systems

The single most important thing to understand about Hindu months is that two parallel systems exist, and different regions emphasise different ones.

Your intro’s two ideas — “months start in March” and “months are based on planetary transitions” — actually describe these two different systems. The lunar year starts with Chaitra in spring; the solar months change with the Sun’s sankranti.

Amanta vs Purnimanta: why the same month differs by region

Even within the lunar system, there are two ways to mark where a month ends:

• Amanta (अमांत): the month ends on the new moon (Amavasya). Followed in South and Western India (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).
• Purnimanta (पूर्णिमांत): the month ends on the full moon (Purnima). Followed in North India (UP, Bihar, MP, Rajasthan).

This is why a festival like Diwali can be described as falling at the end of Ashvin in one tradition and the start of Kartik in another — the day is the same, only the month label differs. Understanding this resolves most of the confusion people have when comparing regional calendars.

The 12 Hindu Months and Their Festivals

Note: Makar Sankranti is a solar event (Sun entering Capricorn), so it falls on a near-fixed Gregorian date (~14 Jan) — unlike lunar festivals, which shift each year.

Month-by-month significance

Chaitra (चैत्र) — the New Year month

The first day of Chaitra marks the lunar New Year, celebrated as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Ram Navami (birth of Lord Rama) and Hanuman Jayanti also fall this month.

Vaishakha (वैशाख)

Baisakhi, the great harvest festival, is celebrated here, and Vaishakha Purnima is observed as Buddha Purnima, marking the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha.

Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठ)

Married women observe Vat Purnima, tying threads around the banyan tree and praying for their husbands’ long life. The Snan Yatra of Lord Jagannath is observed on the Purnima.

Ashadha (आषाढ़)

Guru Purnima, dedicated to one’s teacher, is celebrated on the full moon. Devshayani Ekadashi — when Lord Vishnu begins his four-month cosmic sleep (Chaturmas) — falls on the eleventh bright day.

Shravana (श्रावण)

The most festival-rich month: Krishna Janmashtami, Raksha Bandhan (Shravan Purnima), Nag Panchami, and Maharashtra’s Narali Purnima, when coconuts are offered to the calming sea before the fishing season resumes. The Kanwar Yatra, when devotees carry Ganga water, also marks this month.

Bhadrapada (भाद्रपद)

Ganesh Chaturthi dominates this month. Anant Chaturdashi (also a Jain observance) and the Buddhist Madhu Purnima are observed too.

Ashvin (आश्विन)

The great autumn cycle: Navratri, Durga Puja and Dussehra (Vijayadashami), celebrating the victory of good over evil.

Kartik (कार्तिक)

Kartik opens with Diwali on Kartik Amavasya — which for Jains marks the nirvana of Bhagwan Mahavira at Pawapuri. Two weeks later, Kartik Purnima is celebrated as Dev Deepawali in Varanasi and as the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji (Gurpurab); it is also linked to Lord Ayyappan’s season at Sabarimala.

Margashirsha / Agrahayana (मार्गशीर्ष)

Vaikuntha Ekadashi (Mokshada Ekadashi) — considered a gateway to liberation — falls here, as does Kalabhairava Ashtami and Gita Jayanti.

Pausha (पौष)

The harvest festival of Makar Sankranti (Pongal in the South) marks the Sun’s northward journey (Uttarayana).

Magha (माघ)

Vasant Panchami, honouring Goddess Saraswati, heralds the arrival of spring.

Phalguna (फाल्गुन)

The year closes in colour with Holi on Phalguna Purnima. In Goa and the Konkan, the month-long Shigmo festivities begin.

Regional Hindu calendars at a glance

Why the Hindu calendar still matters

Beyond scheduling festivals, the Hindu calendar links daily life to cosmic rhythms — the Moon’s phases, the Sun’s transit, and the turning seasons. Farmers time harvests by it, families fix weddings and ceremonies by its muhurats, and temples run their ritual year on it. Even as the Gregorian calendar governs civic life, the Panchang remains the living clock of Hindu religious and cultural time.