Page:Sewell Dikshit The Indian Calendar (1896) proc.djvu/42
The next peculiarity is that when there are two saṅkrântis in a lunar month there is a kshaya mâsa, or a complete expunction of a month. Suppose, for instance, that the Vṛiśchika saṅkrânti took place shortly after the beginning of the amânta lunar month Kârttika (see the lower half of the diagram col. 2); that in the next lunar month the Dhanus-saṅkrânti took place
| Amanta lunar months. | Solar months; saṅkrânti to saṅkrânti. | Fortnights. | Pûrṇimânta lunar months.[1] | |
| By one system. | By another system. | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Chaitra. | Mesha saṅkrânti | Śukla | ½ Chaitra | ½ Chaitra |
| Kṛishṇa | Vaiśâkha | First Vaiśâkha | ||
| Adhika Vaiśâkha | Intercalated period. | Śukla | Adhika Vaiśâkha | |
| Kṛishṇa | Second Vaiśâkha | |||
| Nija Vaiśâkha | Vṛishabha saṅkrânti | Śukla | Vaiśâkha | |
| Kṛishṇa | ½ Jyeshṭha | ½ Jyeshṭha | ||
| (Several months are omitted here.) | ||||
| Kârttika | Vṛiśchika saṅkrânti | Śukla | ½ Kârttika | ½ Kârttika |
| Kṛishṇa | Mârgaśîrsha | Mârgaśîrsha | ||
| Mârgaśîrsha (Pausha suppressed) | Dhanus saṅkrânti | Śukla | ||
| Makara saṅkrânti | Kṛishṇa | (Pausha suppressed) Mâgha | (Pausha suppressed) Mâgha | |
| Mâgha | Kumbha saṅkrânti | Śukla | ||
| Kṛishṇa | ½ Phâlguna | ½ Phâlguna | ||
shortly after it began, and the Makara-saṅkrânti shortly before it ended, so that there were two saṅkrântis in it; and that in the third month the Kumbha-saṅkrânti took place before the end of it. The lunar month in which the Kumbha-saṅkrânti occurred is naturally the month Mâgha. Thus between the natural Kârttika and the natural Mâgha there was only one lunar month instead of two, and consequently one is said to be expunged.
46. Their names. It will be seen that the general brief rule (Art. 44) for naming lunar months is altogether wanting in many respects, and therefore rules had to be framed to meet the emergency. But different rules were framed by different teachers, and so arose a difference in practice. The rule followed at present is given in the following verse.
Mînâdistho Ravir yeshâm âraṁbha-prathame kshaṇe | bhavet te 'bde Chândra mâsâś chaîtrâdyâ dvâdaśa smṛitâh." ‖
- ↑ The scheme of pûrṇimânta months and the rule for naming the intercalated months known to have been in use from the 12th century A.D., are followed in this diagram.