Did
you know there are 13 months in some years of the calendar?
The
thirteenth month in a lunar calendar is called Adhika (extra) maasam. This additional month is not calculated by the followers of solar calendar. Lunar calendar has 354 days in
a calendar year. Solar calendar has 365 days. The difference of these days is
added on average once in two and half years. In states like Karnataka, Andhrapradesh,
Gujarat, Maharashtra, etc, the adhika maasa begins on the day after amavasya
day (no moon day) and ends on Amavasya day. In North India, Adhika Masa begins
on the first day after pournami (Full moon day). Whereas in states like Assam,
Bengal, Kerala, Tamilnadu, there is no adhika maasa for them, as they are
following solar calendar. The lunar calendar completely synchronizes with
the solar calendar in a period of 60 years.
Other names
are Purushottama maasa (month of the Lord Vishnu), mala maasa (intercalary or month). Scriptures say that Lord Vishnu will remove
all our sins during this maasa for notable noble acts. Charity or donation given in this month have
more weight-age. Religious rites performed to obtain certain material benefits
or personal gains are not advised to perform. Hence auspicious functions like
marriage, housewarming ceremony are not performed. This year Bhadrapada maasam
i.e., from August 18 to September 16 is the Adhika Bhadrapada maasam. An
important festival Vinayaka chavithi performed during this month on the fourth day after amavasya
is performed in the nija or actual Bhadrapada maasam which happens on September
19th.
The next adhika maasam will be the Ashada maasam, fourth month of the Lunar year 2015-2016.
Once
Lakshmidevi asked Srihari as to how to perform the Adhika Maasa pooja and what daanaas
(donations) are to be performed during Adhikamasa.
Then Srihari
told her that he himself is the God for the Adhika maasa with the name
Purushottama. What ever punya kaarya lika snaana, japa, homaa will bring
akshaya phala. He also told that those who does not do any punya karya during
Adhika Maasa will be getting daaridrya, putrashoka, etc
Those who
could not do for the whole month can do it atleast on Krishna paksha Astami,
navami, chaturdashi, Dwadashi, pournami, chaturdashi, etc.
Earlier there
lived a brahmana by name Kaushika who was a jitendriya(one who is free from
lusts). He had a son by name Maitreya who was addicted to drinking and was a
kamaandha. One day Maitreya went to forest. He killed a brahmana in Sourashtra
and snatched all the money with the Brahmin. Because he killed that brahmana,
the whole City itself was burnt. As he got brahma hatya dosha, Maitreya was
taken by Yamadoothalu and was thrown in Krimeekunda (pit full of worms). He was
in the Hell for more than 10000 years. After a long period, Kaushika, the
father of Maitreya came to know about the same. Kaushika searched all the
shruthi – shaastraas and found a remedy for brahmahatya parihara.
He did the
Vratha named Adhikamasa Vratha and donated 33 apoopas (sweet cake made of rice
flour and jiggery) and his son was saved from the Hell.
As such,
Adhikamasa vratha, if done with proper anusandhana(recitation of sacred texts)
can remove brahma hatya dosha (negative effects of killing a Brahmin)also.
