Dhanu (month)

Dhanu, or Dhanus, is a month in the Indian solar calendar.[1][2] It corresponds to the zodiacal sign of Sagittarius, and overlaps with approximately the second half of December and about the first half of January in the Gregorian calendar.[1]

In Vedic texts, the Dhanus month is called Sahas (IAST: Sahas), but in these ancient texts it has no zodiacal associations.[3] The solar month of Dhanu overlaps with its lunar month Pausha, in Hindu lunisolar calendars.[4][5] The Dhanu marks the winter season for the Indian subcontinent. It is preceded by the solar month of Vṛścik‌‌‌a, and followed by the solar month of Makara.[2]

The Dhanus month is called Margali in the Tamil Hindu calendar.[1] The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Dhanus, just like they do with other months. For example, the Surya Siddhanta calculates the duration of Vrschika to be 29 days, 7 hours, 37 minutes and 36 seconds.[5] In contrast, the Arya Siddhanta calculates the duration of the Vrschika month to be 29 days, 8 hours, 24 minutes and 48 seconds.[5]

Dhanu is also an astrological sign in Indian horoscope systems, corresponding to Sagittarius (astrology).[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, N-Z (Vol 1 & 2). The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 425. ISBN 978-0-8239-3179-8.
  2. 1 2 Robert Sewell; Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita (1896). The Indian Calendar. S. Sonnenschein & Company. pp. 5–11, 23–29.
  3. ↑ Nachum Dershowitz; Edward M. Reingold (2008). Calendrical Calculations. Cambridge University Press. pp. 123–128. ISBN 978-0-521-88540-9.
  4. ↑ Christopher John Fuller (2004). The Camphor Flame: Popular Hinduism and Society in India. Princeton University Press. pp. 291–293. ISBN 978-0-69112-04-85.
  5. 1 2 3 Robert Sewell; Śaṅkara Bālakr̥shṇa Dīkshita (1896). The Indian Calendar. S. Sonnenschein & Company. pp. 10–11.
  6. ↑ Bangalore V. Raman (2003). Studies in Jaimini Astrology. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 10–19. ISBN 978-81-208-1397-7.


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