Some regional variations in Indian lunar calendar

[Harry Spier]

Dear list members,

I'm writing a computer program to calculate the Indian lunar calendar using
the formulas in "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.  (One of the
reasons I'm doing this is to be able to calculate the dates of Indian
festivals several years in advance and I can never get panchangas for N.
America that far in advance.) I've gotten quite good accuracy in calculating
the end times of the tithis. The calculated end times agree with the "Indian
Astronomical Ephemeris" to within 12 seconds.  I'm now adding the logic to
calculate adhika and kshaya lunar months. The logic for adhika months is
quite straight forward but S.K. Chatterjee in "Indian Calendric System" page
37 states that there is regional variation in the handling of kshaya months
with three different schools, broadly covering three geographic areas as
follows:

a) Eastern School (generally followed in Eastern and parts of N.E. India)
1st adhika month before kshaya month treated as intercalary (mala) month
with no festivals celebrated. 2nd adhika month after kshaya month treated as
normal month named after solar month overlaped by kshaya month.

b) North Western School (generally followed in North-West, and a part of
West India and also western part of N. India).
1st adhika month treated as normal month and following months up to and
including kshaya month treated as normal months corresponding to normal
sequence and names of lunar months, but second adhika month treated as
intercalary or mala month.

c) Southern School (generally followed in South India and a part of western
India).
Both adhikca months treated as mala months with no festivals performed.  The
kshaya month treated as jugma or dual month.

Can anyone tell me which of the above three methods of handling kshaya month
would be used in the state of Maharashtra?  Or perhaps more specifically
which method would a vedic priest of the Hiranyakeshin school of the
taittiriya samhita in Maharashtra be most likely to use?

Many thanks in advance,


Harry Spier
371 Brickman Rd.
Hurleyville, New York
USA 12747

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