Kumbha (month) of Mīna. The solar month is significant because it inspires the name of the 12-year cycled Kumbha Mela, where Hindu pilgrims gather by tens of millions to one of four pilgrimage sites, in the weeks before it starts. The Kumbha month is called "Masi" in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Kumbha, just like they do with other months. For example, the "Surya Siddhanta" calculates the duration of Kumbha to be 29 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the "Arya Siddhanta"
Lunar month has been observed among cultures in the Middle East, India, and China in the following way: they divided the sky into 27 or 28 lunar mansions, one for each day of the month, identified by the prominent star(s) in them. The synodic month (, "synodikós", meaning "pertaining to a synod, i.e., a meeting"; in this case, of the Sun and the Moon) is the average period of the Moon's orbit with respect to the line joining the Sun and Earth. This is the period of the lunar phases, because the Moon's appearance depends on the position of the Moon with