Masa
मासः
A masa runs from one new moon (Amavasya) to the next, and is named after the sidereal zodiac sign (rashi) the Sun enters during that stretch — Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, and so on through all 12. Because a lunar month is slightly shorter than the time the Sun takes to cross one zodiac sign, roughly once every 32 months a lunar month contains no sign-change at all — that extra month is called an Adhik Masa, a 'leap month' that keeps the lunar and solar calendars from drifting apart.
Today's masa
Shravana
Shown for India (IST). Your own region may look slightly different.
Why it matters
Masa is why the same festival can feel like it's 'in' different Gregorian months across different years, and why an Adhik Masa year has an extra month of festivals and observances that skips straight to the next one instead.
How it's calculated
We find the two Amavasyas bracketing a lunar month, check which zodiac sign the Sun was in at the second one, and name the month after that sign. If the Sun stayed in the same sign through both Amavasyas, it's an Adhik Masa.
12 masas · +Adhik Masa
All 12, in order
- 1Chaitra / चैत्र / చైత్రం
- 2Vaishakha / वैशाख / వైశాఖం
- 3Jyeshtha / ज्येष्ठ / జ్యేష్ఠం
- 4Ashadha / आषाढ़ / ఆషాఢం
- 5Shravana / श्रावण / శ్రావణం
- 6Bhadrapada / भाद्रपद / భాద్రపదం
- 7Ashwin / आश्विन / ఆశ్వయుజం
- 8Kartika / कार्तिक / కార్తీకం
- 9Margashira / मार्गशीर्ष / మార్గశిరం
- 10Pausha / पौष / పుష్యం
- 11Magha / माघ / మాఘం
- 12Phalguna / फाल्गुन / ఫాల్గుణం