Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ;

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

/ Indonesian: ''Aswin'';

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

, the solar Tamil calendar, where it is known as Aipassi, and the solar Indian national calendar. It is the sixth month of the solar Bengali calendar and the seventh of the lunar

Indian calendar Indian calendar may refer to any of the calendars, used for civil and religious purposes in India and other parts of Southeast Asia: * The Indian national calendar (a variant of the Shalivahana calendar), the calendar officially used by the Govern ...

of the Deccan Plateau. It falls in the season of ''Shôrot'' (Hindi ''Sharad''), or

Autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

. In Vedic Jyotish, Ashwin begins with the Sun's enter into Virgo. It overlaps with September and October of the Gregorian calendar and is the month in which

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

, the festival of lights, is celebrated according to the amanta tradition (Diwali falls in Kartika according to the purnimanta tradition). In lunar religious calendars, Ashwin begins on the new moon or the full moon around the time of the September equinox.

Etymology

Ashvini is the first star that appears in the evening sky. In Indian astrology, it is the head of Aries, or the first of the 27

Nakshatra Nakshatra ( sa, नक्षत्रम्, translit=Nakṣatram) is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Indian Astronomy. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a ...

. Ashvin also stands for the divine twins, the Ashvins, the gods of vision, Ayurvedic medicine, the glow of sunrise and sunset, and the aversion of misfortune and sickness in

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...

. ''Asawin'' is the

variant of Ashvin and stands for the warrior. The term is often translated into English as "knight". The Ashvins are described as representing the "blending of light and darkness" during the twilight period.

Festivals

Several major Hindu holidays take place in Ashvin. Those are as follows: # Navaratri (1-9 lunar Ashvin) # Durga Puja (6-10 lunar Ashvin) # Saraswati Puja in South India (8-10 lunar Ashvin) # Vijayadashami or Dussehra (10 lunar Ashvin), the last day of Navaratri #

Kojagiri Poornima Sharad Purnima (also known as Kumara Purnima, Kojagari Purnima, Navanna Purnima, Kojagrat Purnima or Kaumudi Purnima) is a religious festival celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Ashvin (September to October), marking t ...

(15 lunar Ashvin) #

festival ( amanta tradition), including Dhanteras (28 lunar Ashvin),

Naraka Chaturdasi Naraka Chaturdashi (also known as Kali Chaudas, Narak Chaudas, Roop Chaudas, Choti Diwali, Narak Nivaran Chaturdashi or Bhoot Chaturdashi) is a Hindu festival that falls on Chaturdashi (the 14th day) of the Krishna Paksha in the Hindu calendar ...

(29 lunar Ashvin) and Lakshmi Puja (30 lunar Ashvin) # Kali Puja (new moon of lunar Ashvin), which is held as per the lunar calendar, usually falls in this month.

Regional variation

According to the latest revised calendar of Bangladesh, Ashwin now consists of 31 days instead of 30 days. This revision went into effect on 16 October 2019. Ashwin is known as ''aipasi'' (ஐப்பசி) in Tamil and begins when the sun enters Libra in October. It's also called ''kunwaar'' (कुॅंवार) month in eastern Uttar Pradesh & western Bihar state.

References

Months of the Bengali calendar *07 {{Hinduism-stub

Etymology

Festivals

Regional variation

See also

References