->Whiteguru: Changing short description from "Solar month in Indian solar calendar" to "Month in Indian lunisolar calendars" (Shortdesc helper)

2021-08-23T11:57:42Z

Changing short description from "Solar month in Indian solar calendar" to "Month in Indian lunisolar calendars" (Shortdesc helper)

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{{Short description|Month in Indian lunisolar calendars}}
[[File:Astrological sign Aries at the Wisconsin State Capitol.jpg|thumb|Symbol of Mesha month]]
'''Meṣa''', or '''Mesha''' (मेष), is a month in the [[Hindu calendar|Indian solar calendar]].<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p151"/><ref name=sewell5>{{cite book|author1=Robert Sewell|author2=Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita|title=The Indian Calendar |url=https://archive.org/details/indiancalendarwi00sewerich |year=1896|publisher=S. Sonnenschein & Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiancalendarwi00sewerich/page/5 5]–11}}</ref> It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]], and overlaps with about the second half of April and about the first half of May in the [[Gregorian calendar]].<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p151"/> Generally Mesha month starts on 13th or 14th of April, called as [[Mesha Sankranti]].

In Vedic texts, the Mesa month is called '''Madhu''' (IAST: Madhu), but in these ancient texts, it has no zodiacal associations.<ref name="Dershowitz2008p123">{{cite book|author1=Nachum Dershowitz|author2=Edward M. Reingold|title=Calendrical Calculations|title-link= Calendrical Calculations |year= 2008|publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-88540-9|pages=123–128}}</ref> The solar month of Mesha overlaps with its lunar month [[Vaisakha]], in Hindu lunisolar calendars.<ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher John Fuller|title=The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=To6XSeBUW3oC|year=2004|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=978-0-69112-04-85|pages=291–293}}</ref><ref name=sewell10/> The Mesha is preceded by the solar month of [[Mīna]], and followed by the solar month of [[Vṛṣabha]].<ref name=sewell5/>

The Mesha month is called ''Chittirai'' in the Tamil calendar and is its first month.<ref name="Lochtefeld2002p151">{{cite book|author=James G. Lochtefeld|title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M |url= https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000loch |url-access=registration|year= 2002|publisher =[[The Rosen Publishing Group]]|isbn= 978-0-8239-3179-8|page=151}}</ref> The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Mesha, just like they do with other months. For example, the ''Surya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Mesha to be 30 days, 22 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds.<ref name=sewell10/> In contrast, the ''Arya Siddhanta'' calculates the duration of Mesha to be 30 days 22 hours 12 minutes.<ref name=sewell10>{{cite book|author1=Robert Sewell|author2=Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita|title=The Indian Calendar |url=https://archive.org/details/indiancalendarwi00sewerich |year=1896|publisher=S. Sonnenschein & Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiancalendarwi00sewerich/page/10 10]–11}}</ref>

Mesha is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to [[Aries (astrology)|Aries]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Bangalore V. Raman|title=Studies in Jaimini Astrology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gW2DIFHrxfgC |year=2003|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|isbn=978-81-208-1397-7|pages=10–19}}</ref>

Mesha is also the tenth month in the [[Darian calendar]] for the planet [[Mars]], when the [[Sun]] traverses the central sector of the constellation Aries as seen from Mars.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Hindu calendar}}
{{Nepali calendar}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesa}}
[[Category:Hindu solar months]]

{{Hinduism-stub}}

Mesha (month) - Revision history

->Whiteguru: Changing short description from "Solar month in Indian solar calendar" to "Month in Indian lunisolar calendars" (Shortdesc helper)