Do we need a particular reason to remember Sri Krishna every day? Nevertheless, some calendar events are said to make the remembrance even more special. Krishna’s actual jayanti, or advent anniversary, is on the Ashtami Tithi or eighth day of the Krishna Paksha, the dark fortnight of the moon in the month of Bhadrapada (August-September). This year, it will occur on Friday, September 4. But here’s a sweet fact. Krishna’s birthday is also observed every month on the eighth day of the moon’s dark fortnight. This month it occurs today, on June 8. This remembrance is especially significant because it falls during Adhik Maas.
Adhik Maas or the ‘extra month’ comes by every thirty-two months, sixteen days and eight ghadis—a ghadi being a unit of twenty-four minutes. It is the 'leap' month that synchronises the lunar calendar, which has 354 days, with the solar calendar, which has 365. This year, it’s between May 17 and June 15, which is why the festival dates after it have been pushed back.
The regular months of the Indian calendar have old-established names and powers. They are: Chaitra, Vaisakh, Jyestha, Asadh, Shravan, Bhadrapada, Ashvin, Kartik, Agrahayana, Paus, Magh and Phalgun.
It seems that with so much to remember already, nobody had the time to bother with the extra month. They called it Adhik Maas, the additional month, and that took care of that. But, goes the touching tale, the spirit of Adhik Maas minded very much. “I don’t have a proper name,” it mourned, “though I am the quickstep trod between the stately measures danced by the sun and the moon. But do I get any respect? No, I don’t. Where are my feasts and festivals? Nor am I claimed by any deity. It’s disheartening being the thirteenth month and showing up at different times of the year, every 32 months, 16 days and eight ghadis. I confuse and irritate people and they say things like, ‘Oh no, it’s the additional month again. Fasts and austerities, can’t do this, can’t do that. Adhik Maas is a bother and a bore.’ I’m not unfair, I see their point of view, and I don’t blame them. But I can’t help feeling very low-spirited.”
So, Adhik Maas took its tale of woe to Bhagavan Vishnu. It saluted him in his shrine and told him sadly, “I’m just the unwanted extra and that makes me an orphan.”
Sri Hari understood how forlorn and bereft Adhik Maas felt. He said lovingly, “No, you belong to me. And I shall say so to the priests at Ujjain in their dreams. They are the ones who measure time and make the calendar.” That’s how Adhik Maas came to be called Purushottam Maas, or God’s Month, and to feel at peace with eternity. And that’s why observing Krishna Janmashtami in Adhik Maas is considered so special, not only because it happens after a long gap, but also because it acquired the name ‘Purushottam Maas’ from Hari himself.
This spirit of caring and giving is recommended in daily life as the greatest punya, or merit, one can acquire during Adhik Maas. It’s believed that any daan or giving that we do this month is magnified by extra merit. It could be shramdaan—giving our services to anyone who requires some thoughtful help, perhaps an elder who needs assistance with paperwork, medicine, transport or just a bit of company. It could be a friend or colleague who could use a spot of practical caring, a youngster who needs help with studies or a worthwhile community project that wants volunteers.
It could mean the regular daan that one associates with charity—the gift of food, clothes or money to a needy person. And—this is a special ‘and’ which costs nothing—it can mean putting some good energy into the world by smiling and greeting people cheerfully, saying ‘please’, ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ as a way of being. Good manners seem to be sorely lacking in today’s troubled times, be it on social media, in politics or in everyday interactions. Whereas Adhik Maas inspires us to be nicer because it’s believed to bestow divine appreciation on us when we contribute with good intentions and genuine personal effort, like the squirrel at Setu.
How may we observe Krishna Janmashtami during Adhik Maas, which is held to have deep spiritual significance? This is so because it enhances the practice of devotion, humility and right conduct more than just a ritual observance on the main festival would. Those who wish can fast all day and break their fast at sunset, as a good day for detoxing. Around evening or near midnight, the time of Krishna’s advent, many people like to do a little puja—say prayers, offer dhoop, deep, mala, tilak and fruit or sweet naivedhyam to Krishna. If work hours don’t permit or we’re incapable of lighting even an agarbatti or tealight, let’s remember Krishna sincerely in our hearts and speak to him in our minds; tell him our anxieties and ask for his protection. Tender-hearted Krishna is known to always respond, say believers, at the very least by making us feel relieved and peaceful that we have a friend we can safely confide in.
Perhaps this is the greatest unseen message of Adhik Maas, though it is in plain sight if we look—that we can talk to God. Adhik Maas did so and was heard. Surely, we may hope to be heard, too?
Renuka Narayanan | FAITHLINE | Senior journalist
(Views are personal)
(shebaba09@gmail.com)
