Vaishakha follows Chaitra and is the month in which the heat of northern India begins to build. Its name comes from the nakshatra Vishakha, the group of bright stars in Tula in which the full moon of the month usually stands. The word is often explained as forked or branching, and the shape of the group in the sky is a fork.
In Vaishnava practice Vaishakha is also called Madhava masa, Madhava being a name of Vishnu. Custom holds that the whole month suits simple acts of devotion and giving in the heat: a water pot set out for travellers, a fan or an umbrella handed to someone in need, an early bath. These are customs of kindness more than strict rules, and families keep as many of them as they can.
Vaishakha is the second month of the lunar year as counted from Chaitra, and the second of the two months of Vasanta, the season of spring. The nakshatra behind the name is Vishakha, in Tula. To see where Vaishakha sits between Chaitra and Jyeshtha, read the page on the lunar year, and for the year that counts these months see Vikram Samvat.
Where Vaishakha sits in the year
Vaishakha is the second of the two Vasanta months and the last of spring before Jyeshtha opens the summer. It is also the month in which the Sun, in most years, enters Mesha, the first sign of the sidereal zodiac. That is why several regional new years fall in or beside it. Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala, Pohela Boishakh in Bengal, Pana Sankranti in Odisha and Vaisakhi in Punjab are all solar festivals that mark that entry. They follow the Sun, not the Moon, so their dates are nearly fixed on the civil calendar, unlike the lunar festivals of Vaishakha itself.
Festivals of Vaishakha
Akshaya Tritiya falls on Shukla Tritiya, the third day of the bright half. Akshaya means that which does not decay, and the day is held to suit a fresh beginning, a gift, or a small purchase for the home. Many traditions also keep it as the birthday of Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu. Narasimha Jayanti is Shukla Chaturdashi, when the man-lion avatar who protected the child Prahlada is remembered in the evening twilight. Ganga Saptami on Shukla Saptami and Sita Navami on Shukla Navami are kept by those who follow those traditions. The full moon is Vaishakha Purnima, which Buddhists keep as Buddha Purnima and which many Hindu families mark with a bath and a lamp; see our Purnima page and the Purnima vrat vidhi.
Fasting and vows in a hot month
Because Vaishakha is hot, the customs lean towards cooling gifts and gentle fasting. Each half has an Ekadashi, listed below, and the monthly vows of Sankashti Chaturthi and Pradosh come as in any month. Anyone who fasts should be sensible in the heat. A person with a medical condition, a pregnant woman or someone on regular medication should speak to a doctor before fasting.
Vaishakha in 2026 and 2027: dates
These are the instants at which each amanta month named Vaishakha begins and ends, taken from a computation of the new moon in Indian Standard Time. In each row the Vaishakha bright half (Shukla paksha) opens at the new moon and runs to the full moon about a fortnight later, and the dark half (Krishna paksha) carries on to the next new moon.
| Month | Starts (new moon, IST) | Ends (IST) |
|---|---|---|
| Vaishakha | 17 April 2026, 05:21 PM | 17 May 2026, 01:31 AM |
| Vaishakha | 06 May 2027, 04:28 PM | 05 June 2027, 01:10 AM |
In purnimanta reckoning, the month called Vaishakha starts at the full moon that falls inside the amanta Chaitra, so it begins about two weeks before each date in the Starts column, and it ends at the full moon inside the amanta Vaishakha. The bright half is identical in both systems. Only the dark half changes its name: the fortnight that closes each amanta Vaishakha in the table is called Jyeshtha Krishna paksha in the purnimanta count. The full moon that splits Vaishakha in two is listed for your own city on the Purnima page, and the method page explains how these instants were calculated.
Ekadashis in Vaishakha
The bright half of Vaishakha has Mohini Ekadashi, and the dark half of the amanta month has Apara Ekadashi, which printed purnimanta lists place under Jyeshtha. Each Ekadashi name stays fixed in every system, and only the month label moves for the Vaishakha dark half. How to keep the fast is in the Ekadashi vrat vidhi, and the Ekadashi festival page gives the Vaishakha days for your city.
Vaishakha in regional calendars
Marathi calendars write Vaishakh and Gujarati calendars Vaishakh. Tamil calendars follow the Sun, and the solar months that usually overlap Vaishakha are Chithirai and Vaikasi. The overlapping Malayalam months are Medam and Edavam, the Bengali months are Boishakh and Joishtho, and the Punjabi months are Vaisakh and Jeth. Boishakh is the first month of the Bengali year, and in Assam the same season has Bohag, which gives Bohag Bihu its name. The pairing is approximate: a solar month starts when the Sun enters a sign, so the lunar Vaishakha overlaps those months without matching their dates.
Related pages
The month before is Chaitra and the month after is Jyeshtha. To see why Vaishakha can carry two labels, read the page on amanta and purnimanta, and for today’s tithi and nakshatra open the panchang. All twelve months are on the Hindu calendar hub.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Why is the month called Vaishakha?
The month is named after the nakshatra Vishakha, in which the full moon usually stands. All twelve Hindu lunar month names are made in the same way, from the nakshatra of the full moon.
↳ Which month is Akshaya Tritiya in?
Akshaya Tritiya is the third day of the bright half of Vaishakha, in both amanta and purnimanta calendars, so the month label never changes. The exact day for each city is on the Akshaya Tritiya festival page.
↳ Is Vaishakha the same as Vaisakhi?
No. Vaisakhi is the Punjabi solar festival that marks the Sun's entry into Mesha and falls on a nearly fixed civil date. Vaishakha is the lunar month, which has its own festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya and Narasimha Jayanti.
↳ What does Madhava masa mean?
Madhava is a name of Vishnu, and in Vaishnava practice Vaishakha is called Madhava masa, a month for devotion to him. It is a tradition of the month, not a separate calendar.