Makara (month) month of Kumbha. The start of this month is almost always January 14, the day of the Makara Sankranti festival, and periodically the Kumbh Mela. The Makara month is called "Tai" in the Tamil Hindu calendar. The ancient and medieval era Sanskrit texts of India vary in their calculations about the duration of Makara, just like they do with other months. For example, the "Surya Siddhanta" calculates the duration of Vrschika to be 29 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes and 12 seconds. In contrast, the "Arya Siddhanta" calculates the duration of the Vrschika month to be 29 days, 10 hours,
Adhik Maas "adhika"; "maal", "māla"; "maas", "maasa", "mās", "māsa", "mas", "mass". This is the thirteenth month of the lunar calendar. Adhik Maas adopts the name of the month that follows. Purushottam Maas is considered inauspicious and no activities like weddings or moving into a new house are conducted. It is a time for prayer, fasting, charity, and self-improvement. According to "Vasishtha Siddhantha" (the treatise of Vasishtha), Purushottam Maas or the extra lunar month occurs after every 32 months, 16 days and 8 "ghati". (A "ghati" is th of a sidereal day, approximately 24 minutes, so 8 "ghati" is about 3 hours.) In