Adhik Masa, also known as Adhik-mas, Mala-masa, and Purushottama-masa, is an additional month that appears in the Hindu Lunar calendar. The name ‘Adhika’ refers to the Sanskrit word for additional or extra, while masa means month. The Adhika Masam occurs to equalise the solar and lunar calendars. This year, Adhik Maas 2023 will be marked from Tuesday, July 18, 2023, to Wednesday, August 16, 2023. The adhika-masa is an extra lunar month added to the solar calendar every three years so that the lunar and the solar years are synchronized, along with the agricultural cycle and seasons.

Adhik Mas, an extra month, falls every 32.5 months on average. The solar year is made up of 365 days and about 6 hours, while the lunar year is made up of 354 days. This causes a gap of 11 days, 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 12 seconds between the lunar and the solar years. This gap accumulates each year, and these differences in the days, over the years, make up for the additional month upon which there will be a sync between the two calendars. Scroll down to learn more about Adhik Maas dates and the significance of this intercalated month in the Hindu calendar. July 2023 Holidays Calendar With Major Festivals and Events.

Adhik Maas 2023 Dates

Adhik Maas 2023 will be marked from Tuesday, July 18, 2023, to Wednesday, August 16, 2023.

Adhik Maas Significance

Adhika Masam comes in every 3 years. After 2023, the next Adhik Maas will fall in the years 2026, 2029, 2031 & 2034. During adhika-masa, people perform various religious rituals like observing fast, reciting religious scriptures, mantras, and prayers, and performing various types of Puja and havan. It is believed that people performing good deeds (satkarma) during this month conquer their senses (indriyas), and they come out of punar janam (the cycle of rebirth).

Adhika Masam month is often regarded to be inauspicious, and hence weddings are not performed during this time. No adhika-masa falls during the months of Margashirsha to Magha, while an adhika-masa during the month of Kartika is extremely rare.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2023 05:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).