Agrahayana

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Agrahayana" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Agrahayana or Margashirsha,^[1] (Sanskrit: आग्रहायण, romanized: Agrahāyaṇa, Sanskrit: मार्गशीर्ष, romanized: Mārgaśīrṣa, Awadhi: अगहन) is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Agrahayana is also the ninth month of the year, beginning on 21 November and ending on 20 December. Margashirsha means related to the Mrigashīrsha nakṣatra (asterism), which has been known since Vedic times. In Tamil, Margashirsha is also known as Margaḻi.

In lunar religious calendars, Agrahayana/Margashirsha may begin on either the new moon or the full moon around the same time of year and is usually the ninth month of the year.

In solar religious calendars, Agrahayana/Margaḻi begins with the Sun's entry into Sagittarius and is the ninth month of the year.