Trayodashi is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word for "thirteen", and is the thirteenth day in the lunar fortnight (''

Paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnight ...

'') of the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), 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 ...

. Each month has two Trayodashi days, being the thirteenth day of the "bright" (''Shukla'') and of the "dark" (''Krishna'') fortnights respectively. Thus Trayodashi occurs on the thirteenth and the twenty-eighth day of each month.

Festivals

Dhanteras Dhanatrayodashi (), also known as Dhanteras (), is the first day that marks the festival of Diwali or Tihar in most of India and Nepal It is celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day (Trayodashi) of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the Hind ...

, also called ''Dhantrayodasi'', is the first day of

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

. It occurs on Trayodashi in the month of

Ashvin Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; ; Malay/ Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar Tamil calendar, where it is known as Aippasi, and the solar Indian nation ...

. *

Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Mahavira Janma Kalyanaka is one of the most important religious festivals in Jainism. It celebrates the birth of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and last Tīrthaṅkara (supreme preacher) of present Avasarpiṇī. On the Gregorian calendar, the ...

-According to

Jain texts Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jainism, Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which ...

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

was born on the trayodashi of the bright half of the moon in the month of ''

Chaitra Chaitra () is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Cha ...

'' in the year 599 BCE (Chaitra Sud 13).Kristi L. Wiley: ''Historical Dictionary of Jainism'', Lanham 2004, p. 134.

References

Hindu calendar 13 {{hindu-stub