Overview
Chaitra (Sanskrit: चैत्र, romanised: Caitra) is the first month of the Hindu lunar calendar and the Indian national calendar. The name is derived from the position of the Moon near the Chitra nakshatra on the full moon day. The month corresponds to the Vasanta (spring) season and falls during March–April in the Gregorian calendar.
In the Hindu solar calendar, Chaitra corresponds to the latter part of the month of Mina and begins with the Sun's entry into Pisces. It aligns with Choitro, the final month of the Bengali calendar, and Chait, the final month of the Nepali calendar (Vikram Samvat). In the Tamil calendar, it corresponds to the third month, Chittirai, which falls in April–May. In the Vaishnav calendar, it is reckoned as the first month of Vishnu.
In the Sindhi lunisolar calendar, the first month is known as Chet and is marked by the observance of Cheti Chand, associated in tradition with the birth of Jhulelal, regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu.
In the Hindu lunar calendar, each month has 29 or 30 days. Depending on the regional system, the month begins on the day after Amavasya (new moon) in the amanta tradition or after Purnima (full moon) in the purnimanta tradition. A month consists of two fortnightly cycles of about 15 days each: Shukla Paksha (the bright half) and Krishna Paksha (the dark half). Each day within a cycle is designated as a tithi, and the tithis recur across both halves of the month.