Chaitra

Chaitra (Sanskrit: चैत्र, romanized: Caitra) is the first month of the Hindu lunar calendar and the Indian national calendar. The name of the month is derived from the position of the Moon near the Chitra nakshatra (star) on the full moon day. The month corresponds to spring (Vasanta) season and falls in March–April in the Gregorian calendar. In the Hindu solar calendar, it corresponds to the last month of Mina and begins with the Sun's entry into Pisces. It corresponds to Choitro, the last month in the Bengali calendar, and Chait, the last month in the Nepali calendar (Vikram Samvat). In the Tamil calendar, it corresponds to the third month of Chittirai, falling in the Gregorian months of April–May. In the Sindhi lunisolar calendar, the first month is referred to as Chet and is marked by the celebration of the Cheti Chand (birth of Jhulelal, an incarnation of Vishnu). In the Vaishnav calendar, it corresponds to the first month of Visnu. In the Hindu lunar calendar, each month has 29 or 30 days. The month begins on the next day after Amavasya (new moon) or Purnima (full moon) as per amanta and purnimanta systems respectively. A month consists of two cycles of 15 days each, Shukla Paksha (waning moon) and Krishna Paksha (waxing moon). Days in each cycle is labeled as a thithi, with each thithi repeating twice in a month.