Source: HPI
KAUAI, U.S.A., March 20, 2003: As reported recently, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in India declared Holi should be celebrated on March 19, while many Hindu priests held that Holi was actually a day earlier. HPI asked readers for their authoritative comments, and a number were received here from astrologers and priests giving their insights into the conundrum. All but one agreed Holi should be celebrated on March 18. Respected astrologer Chakrapani Ullal gave the following insight: “All festivities are observed according to the thithis (a “lunar day,” see below). Therefore it is important to know when it begins and when it ends. Sometimes differences among some religious leaders arise because many Panchangas (Hindu religious calendars) do not use the same ayanamsha (calendar of astrological data). They calculate according to a formula without making adjustments. These differences result in the observation of thithis slightly differently. Some would think that since puranmashi (or prathama, the full moon) has ended after sunrise maybe Holi should be observed the following day (19th.) However, I think once puranmashi is over in the morning, Holi could begin thereafter on the 18th. I fully agree with Laxmi Narayan Shastriji (chief priest of the Birla Temple, India).” Most Hindu festivals are calculated according to the tithis. A tithi is a lunar day, approximately 1/30 of the time it takes the moon to orbit the Earth. Because of their means of calculation (based on the difference of the longitudinal angle between the position of the sun and the moon), tithis vary in length. A second person knowledgeable in astrology explained the issue this way. “The holiday is celebrated on prathama, the day after the full moon tithi. Usually we consider that the tithi at sunrise to rule the day, so in this case, purnima tithi rules the18th, even though prathama starts at 9:45 am. The problem is, prathama thithi ends in the early morning of the 19th, so most of that day will actually be dvitiya and the scriptures say Holi should be celebrated on prathama (the day after full moon). Consequently, in a case like this, most would designate the 18th as Holi.”