Observance Rama, Hanuman
Ramayana masam begins
Karkidakam 1, the first day of the last and poorest month of the Malayalam year, the month of heavy monsoon when there was no work and little food.
Ramayana masam begins 2027 falls on Saturday, 17 July, computed for Chennai.
Latitude, longitude and time zone 13.08, 80.27
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+5:30
The date of a festival depends on the place.
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A tithi that ends at dusk in Chennai can still be running at dusk a thousand kilometres west, which moves the day. Sunrise and sunset here are computed for the place above.
When it falls next
Kerala calendar, computed for Chennai
- Saturday, 17 July 2027
- Sunday, 16 July 2028
- Tuesday, 17 July 2029
Where Ramayana masam begins falls on the solar year, and how far the date moves between occurrences.
- 2027: 17 Jul
- 2028: 16 Jul, the same day of the year
- 2029: 17 Jul, the same day of the year
The dates, year by year
Kerala calendar, computed for Chennai
What the day is
Karkidakam 1, the first day of the last and poorest month of the Malayalam year, the month of heavy monsoon when there was no work and little food. Kerala reads the Adhyatma Ramayana of Ezhuthachan aloud through the whole month, a set portion each evening, finishing on the last day of Karkidakam. It is also the month of the karkidaka kanji, the medicinal rice gruel, and of the ayurvedic sukha chikitsa.
- Deity
- Rama, Hanuman
- Kind
- Observance Days marked, watched or begun, without a fast or a feast of their own.
Significance
Karkidakam was called panja Karkidakam, the month of want, and kalla Karkidakam, the thieving month, because the rain stopped all work in the fields and brought illness with it. The reading of Ezhuthachan's Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu, told in the voice of a parrot, is held to keep the month's misfortune away from the house and to steady the mind through it. On the last evening of Mithunam the houses sweep out every corner and throw out broken things, sending away Chetta, the elder sister of Lakshmi who brings ill luck, and on Karkidakam 1 they welcome Sreebhagavathi with a lamp and the dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers. It is also the month of the Nalambala darshanam, when pilgrims visit in one day the four temples of Rama and his brothers at Thriprayar, Irinjalakuda, Moozhikkulam and Payammal.
How it is kept
The puja as a household does it, in order. Tick each step as it is done.
Ramayana masam begins: how it is kept
Keep ready
- the Adhyatma Ramayanam Kilippattu
- a book stand or a wooden plank
- a silk or cotton cloth to wrap the book
- a nilavilakku with oil and wicks
- a mat to sit on
- the dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers
- a val kannadi, kanmashi and chandu for the Sreebhagavathi
- camphor for the last evening
The steps
0 of 8 done
What is cooked
Karkidaka kanji, rice (navara where it can be had) cooked with fenugreek, cumin, the dasapushpam and other herbs and finished with coconut milk, is taken in place of the evening meal. The pathila curries, thorans of ten leaves from the monsoon garden such as taro, yam, cowpea, pumpkin, ash gourd and amaranth, are eaten through the month.
The hour
Clock times for Saturday, 17 July 2027 at Chennai
From the first day of Karkidakam to its last; the reading is done at dusk, after the evening lamp is lit.
The main rite. From the first day of Karkidakam to its last. The reading is done at dusk, after the evening nilavilakku is lit, a set portion each day, so that the book ends with Rama's pattabhishekam on the last evening of the month.
| Instant | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sunset | 18:39 | the moment the sun goes down |
| Pradosha kala | 18:39 to 21:03 | the 2 h 24 min after sunset, the evening worship hour |
Sunrise 05:51, sunset 18:39, UTC+5.5. These are the instants the rule is read at, not the temple's own puja times, which every temple prints for itself.
The day itself
| What | When | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | Shukla Chaturdasi from previous day 16:35 until 18:49 | then Shukla Pournami until next day 21:15 |
| Nakshatra | Mula until 08:22 | then Purva Ashadha until next day 11:18 |
| Rahu kaal | 09:03 to 10:39 (1 h 36 min) | the eighth of the daylight left alone for a beginning |
| Yamaganda | 13:51 to 15:27 (1 h 36 min) | the eighth ruled by Yama, also avoided |
| Gulika | 05:51 to 07:27 (1 h 36 min) | the eighth of Saturn’s son; what is done in it is said to repeat |
| Abhijit | 11:49 to 12:41 (0 h 51 min) | the midday muhurta, good for most things |
| Moonrise | 17:49 | moonset next day 05:21 |
For Saturday, 17 July 2027 at Chennai. A time marked "previous day" or "next day" is on the clock of that day.
The fast
No fast is prescribed. Karkidaka kanji, a gruel of rice with ten herbs, is taken in place of the evening meal through the month.
What is avoided
Weddings, housewarmings, new ventures and new purchases are put off to Chingam. Drumstick leaves are left alone for the month by old custom, and the Ramayanam is never set on the floor or read carelessly.
The name
The same day, in every language that has a word for it
Where the regions differ
Kerala only. The corresponding Tamil month, Aadi, is also treated as a month for the Amman and not for weddings, which is a related instinct about the same season.
In other regions
- Kerala (the dates above)
- Kerala only, in every Hindu house and on the radio and in the temples through the month; the Nalambalam pilgrimage of Thrissur and Ernakulam districts is at its busiest now.
The dates above are the Kerala reckoning, because that is the calendar this key belongs to. Switch the tradition on the calendar page to see how another one dates the same day.
Where this day is kept
Nearest first from Chennai, with what is recorded about each.
Temples of Rama near you
Not recorded for this day in particular: the nearest temples of the day's own gods, for a reader whose own temple is not listed above.
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Venkatakrishnan (Parthasarathy) with the arrow scars on his face
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · The eight forms of Lakshmi in shrines on four floors, facing the sea
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Adhivyadhihara Bhaktha Anjaneyar, thirty-two feet tall from a single block of granite
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu · Neervanna Perumal below and Ranganathar on the hill, in four postures
Your family's own temple comes first, and its calendar is the one that decides.
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A temple is listed here only where the gazetteer's own line names this day, or where this day's own entry names the town, or where the day belongs to the ancestors or the nagas and the temple is recorded for that rite. Where neither table says anything, nothing is listed as kept for the day; where fewer than three are, the nearest temples of the day's own gods are added under a heading of their own.
Mantras
The prayers said with the day. Each opens with its words and meaning.
Every date here is computed from the Sun and Moon for the place entered, by the rule printed beside it.
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A printed panchangam can differ by a day where an almanac reads a tithi at a different instant, and a family's own custom always comes first. Where the practice genuinely varies, the text says so rather than choosing for you.