The Buddhist calendar

Seasons and fortnights

In the Buddhist calendar there are three seasons (utu): hot, wet and cool (gimha, vassa, hemanta).
There are eight fortnights (pakkha) per season, though in some years an extra month (adhikamsa)
is added to one of the seasons, making ten fortnights in that season. There are seven such extra
months every nineteen years.
enera!le Buddhaghosa (see ta!le !elow) said that all fortnights have fifteen days, except the "rd
and the #th fortnights, which have fourteen days (Samantapsdik $%"&,$'($)* Ka khvitara
&,+(&: ,uoted -etra .ieffer/-0l1, 23ld and 4ew 5itual6 Indica et Ti!etica erlag, 7ar!urg +%%)).
The Buddha, however, allowed communities to decide for themselves whether to end any particular
fortnight on the $'th day or $&th day (in.$.$"+) and to mark the day with the uposatha recitation
(in.$.$%') or pavarana ceremony (in.$.$)%).
The fortnights are !est called either 8waning fortnights9 (k apakkha ) or 8waxing fortnights9
(sukkapakkha) (:.+.$;* :.&.$;). The half/moon day is the <th day of either fortnight. The day after
the full/moon day is the first day of the next month.
Table: Uposatha Days according to the Venerable Buddhaghosa
Season
Month
Waxing fortnight:
uposatha day
Waning fortnight:
uposatha day
=ot (gimha) Citta (7arch/:pril) $st fortnight: $&th day +nd fortnight: $&th day
=ot Veskha (:pril/7ay) "rd fortnight: $'th day 'th fortnight: $&th day
=ot Je ha (7ay/>une) &th fortnight: $&th day )th fortnight: $&th day
=ot As ha (>une/>uly) #th fortnight: $'th day <th fortnight: $&th day
?et (vassa) Svana (>uly/:ug) $st fortnight: $&th day +nd fortnight: $&th day
?et Po hapda (:ug/@ep) "rd fortnight: $'th day 'th fortnight: $&th day
?et Assayuja (@ept/3ct) &th fortnight: $&th day )th fortnight: $&th day
?et Kattika (3ct/4ov) #th fortnight: $'th day <th fortnight: $&th day
Aool (hemanta) Mgasira (4ov/Bec) $st fortnight: $&th day +nd fortnight: $&th day
Aool Phussa (Bec/>an) "rd fortnight: $'th day 'th fortnight: $&th day
Aool Mgha (>an/Ce!) &th fortnight: $&th day )th fortnight: $&th day
Aool Phagguna (Ce!/7arch) #th fortnight: $'th day <th fortnight: $&th day
Rains residence period
The first rains residence period (vassa) !egins on the first day of @Dvana and ends on the last day of
:ssayuEa* the second vassa !egins and ends a month later. =owever, the Buddha allowed monks
who need to leave their rains residences to do so for up to seven days. If this means leaving seven
days !efore pavarana, they have no o!ligation to return (so sattha angatya pavra ya
sakara yo pakkamat. gaheyya v so !hikkhave !hikkhu ta vsa na v gaheyya, tassa
!hikkhave !hikkhuno purimik a pa""yati pa issave a anpatti ) (in.$.$&&). This shows that the
pavarana ceremony marks the end of the rains residence period. Therefore, if monks stay till the end
of vassa, they can leave immediately after the ceremony. In some countries, however, it is
traditional for monks to stay till the following day, perhaps !ecause that is when lodgings for the
following vassa are traditionally allocated (in.+.$)#).