Jyeshtha

Overview

Jyeshtha is the third month of the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in May or June and marking the peak of the pre-monsoon hot season across the Indian subcontinent. The name Jyeshtha means the eldest or the greatest, traditionally referring to the bright Jyeshtha nakshatra (a star in Scorpius) under which the month begins.

Notable Festivals

The full moon of Jyeshtha is observed as Vat Purnima or Vat Savitri, when married women fast and tie threads around banyan trees in prayer for their husbands' long lives. The Ganga Dussehra falls on the tenth day of the bright fortnight and commemorates the descent of the river Ganges to earth. The month also contains the Jagannath Rath Yatra preparations in Puri, Odisha, leading up to the festival in the following month of Ashadha.