Dakshinayana Punya Kala,
and Veda Dharma Shastra References

Vidvan Shriramana Sharma

5125 Shobhana Year Mithuna 07, 2023-June-21

Uttarayana Article published earlier

Six months ago I had published an article titled “(Sayana) Uttarayana is also a great punya kala like Makara Sankranti”. It would be good to read that article first before this one.

The following is the summary of the contents there -

• The times of Sun’s entering into the rashis are commonly known as the starts of the (saura mana) months. In Jyautisha Shastra, these are known as Nirayana Sankramanas. They are based on the nakshatra rashis appearing without movement on the sky.

• However, the changes in receiving the heat from the sun occur based on whether the Sun is above the northern part of the Earth or the Southern part. The ritus or seasons occur are dependent on this. So we can know that these are caused by the movement of Sun towards North or Uttarayana and movement towards South or Dakshinayana. The Sayana Sankramanas are based on this. (Note: Sayana with na as in nakshatra, not na as in Ramana.)

• Once upon a time, the beginning of Uttarayana and Makara Sankranti happened together. At that time, the beginning of Dakshinayana and Kataka Sankranti also happened together. Likewise, at the times of Mesha, Tula Sankrantis, the Sun rose in the direct East and set in the direct West and the time of Vishuva defined by day and night being equal occurred.

• However due to changes occurring in the rotation of the Earth, gradually the Sayana Sankramanas change to occur earlier. Currently, they occur about 24 days before the Nirayana Sankramanas at the start of the months.

• That there are two separate punya kalas for the Sayana Sankramanas and Nirayana Sankramanas is there in the core siddhanta texts of Jyautisha and Dharma Shastra texts. However this is not well known outside.

Presenting this, we informed that it would be appropriate to perform the Uttarayana Surya Puja earlier.

Uttarayana Punya Kala Shraddha/Tarpana

Upon this, many astikas asked “If so then when should we do the Uttarayana Puna Kala Shraddha/Tarpanas?” We had written in that article itself that “the Shastra say to perform snana, shraddha/tarpana, japa, dana etc in these punya kalas” along with pramana vachana. Thinking to introduce lesser known matters step by step, we had not written about the shraddha/tarpanas at the conclusion of the article.

Despite this, that readers, understanding the matter, asked the above question was a cause to be happy. Therefore, we had replied via social media that as per the above shastra that “Since the uttarayana visible to the eye is on Dhanus 7 that is 2022-Dec-22, it would be appropriate to do it on that day itself” but also that “Shraddha/tarpanas are also to be done on Makara 1 that is 2023-Jan-15 for Makara Sankramana”.

Daksinayana Punya Kala Shraddha/Tarpana

Likewise snana, shraddha/tarpana, japa, dana are there for Dakshinayana Punya Kala.

In the current Shobhana year

Dakshinayana Sankramana -
Mithuna 7, 2023-Jun-21, night 20:27

Punya Kala Day (previous daytime) -
Mithuna 7, 2023-Jun-21

Kataka Sankramana -
Mithuna 32, 2023-Jul-16 (per calendar 17), late night 4:42

Punya Kala Day (previous daytime) -
Mithuna 32, 2023-Jul-16

This is as per modern calculations based on observations. In olden day vakya ganita, they have given that Kataka Sankramana is on Kataka 1, 2023-Jul-17 at Ujjayini Madhyama Ghati 16:16 and since this is during the day, the same day is Punya Kala.

Dharma Shastra Pramanas

Not only in Jyautisha texts but in Dharma Shastra texts also we find acceptance that there are two separate punya kalas. We had only indicated this in the earlier article. We shall now speak in detail as the interest of astikas in sayana punya kalas has increased.

There is no mention of the Sayana Sankramana in the Smriti Muktaphala also known as Vaidyanatha Dikshitiya well known in Tamil Nadu. However, the inhabitants of no region can refute that the Sun is visibly moving earlier. Thus there is no doubt that the punya kala is there.

This is also because in Kala Madhava, which is considered as the source text of the kala vicharas of the Dikshitiya, in the 5th prakarana it is said,  meṣādi-saṅkrāntayo yasmin dine bhavanti tasmād dināt pūrvebhyaḥ ekādaśabhyo dinebhyaḥ prācīne dine… meaning that Sayana Sankramanas occur “on the day before the 11 days before the day when the Mesha Sankramanas etc occur” that is 12 days before, and the vachana of Sage Jabali is shown to say that Punya Kala for snana etc exists then also: saṅkrāntiṣu yathā kālastadīye(a)pyayane tathā. 

Even in Nirnaya Sindhu first pariccheda, dvādaśādidinaiḥ arvāg ayanāṃśapravṛttāvapi puṇyam, it is said “more than 12 days before”.

However, in the text Jayasimha Kalpadruma sankranti nirnaya, the above is quoted:  yattu pūrvaiḥ uktaṃ saṅkrānteḥ arvāg dvādaśabhiḥ dinaiḥ ayanasaṅkrāntiḥ iti tad dhanadvādaśāyanāṃśakāle| idānīṃ tu dhanāṣṭādaśāṃśāḥ upacitāḥ santi| taddināni sthūlatayā aṣṭādaśa bhavanti| gālavaḥ - ayanāṃśakatulyena kālenaiva sphuṭaṃ bhavet | mṛgakarkādige sūrye yāmyodagayanaṃ bhavet | tattatsaṅkrāntikāle syuḥ uktaviṣṇupadādayaḥ ||

That is, “The mention by some that sayana sankranti occurs 12 days before was in the time when Ayanamsha was 12°. However now Ayanamsha has increased to 18°. So the days will be around 18. Sage Galava says: As per the Ayanamsha, Uttarayana Dakshinayana Vishnupadi etc will occur before Makara Kataka etc.”

In Dharma Sindhu first pariccheda, it is said ayanāṃśāḥ jyotiḥśāstre prasiddhāḥ | te ca idānīṃ 1712 saṅkhyāke śālivāhanaśake ekaviṃśatiḥ ayanāṃśāḥ | ekaviṃśatitame dine pūrvam ayanāṃśaparvakālaḥ iti paryavasito(a)rthaḥ. That is, “Currently in 1712 Shalivahana Shaka (Gata Kali 4891, 1790 CE) ayanamsha is 21°. So it is certain that Sayana Punya Kala is 21 days before.”

Thus in Dharma Shastra texts itself they have said that as Ayanamsha increases through 12, 18, 21 degrees, sayana punya kalas including Uttarayana and Dakshinayana occur beforehand by the same number of days. So there need be no doubt that sayana punya kalas occur 24 days beforehand in accordance with the current Ayanamsha of 24°.

This will increase going further. Around 2440 CE, it will occur 30 days beforehand. That is, the Uttarayana which was considered to occur on Makara Sankranti and currently occurs around Dhanus day 6/7, will slowly move before and enter Vrishchika end, and go even earlier.

Likewise, Dakshinayana which was considered to occur at the Kataka sankranti and currently occurs around Mithuna day 6/7 will enter into Vrishabha and go even earlier.

Our intelligent readers would have inferred without our saying that likewise the Vishuva Sankramanas which were considered to occur at the Mesha and Tula sankrantis and currently occur respectively around Meena and Kanya days 6/7 will move into Kumbha and Simha respectively and even earlier!

Veda Pramanas

Some astikas asked that if this occurs earlier, whether there are no references to this in our Veda and other source texts. While passages speaking about snanadi punya kalas are not available, scientific references of astronomy certainly exist. However we did not give them in the earlier article as they may be difficult to understand.

In the Shukla Yajur Veda Shatapatha Brahmana (Ekapaat Kanda 1/2/3) it is said that Krittika Nakshatra will always rise in the proper east. This means that when Surya travels in the Vrishabha Rashi containing Krittika nakshatra, that is in Vrishabha month, the Vishuva in which he rises in the proper east will occur.

Likewise, the Nakshatra Sukta belonging to the Atharva Veda (Shaunaka Samhita 19/7/2) says that Ayana (Dakshinayana) was in the Magha Nakshatra which is at the beginning of the Simha Rashi. That is, Dakshinayana occurred in the beginning of Simha month.

The Maitrayaniya Aranyaka (6/14) mentions the above, and also says that Uttarayana occurs when Surya travels in Shravishtha nakshatra which is at the beginning of Kumbha rashi, that is at the beginning of Kumbha month.

Likewise the Taittiriya Brahmana (1/5/2) indicates that one Vishuva occurs at the beginning of Vrishabha month which contains Krittika, and another Vishuva occurs at beginning of Vrishchika month which contains Anuradha.

Only keeping these statements in mind does Acharya Varahamihira say in his Brihat Samhita (3/1): nūnaṃ kadācid āsīd yenoktaṃ pūrvaśāstreṣu “Surely once upon a time it should have been thus as it is said so in old shastras”. That is, in place of the equation Mesha = vishuva, Kataka = ayana, Tula = vishuva and Makara = ayana, these should have happened respectively near the beginnings of Vrishabha, Simha, Vrishchika and Kumbha.

The Lagadha Jyautisha (Rigveda version verse 6, Yajurveda version verse 7), a Vedanga Jyautisha text which is much older than Surya Siddhanta etc, describes close to Maitrayaniya but with clear distinction, that is Uttarayana in start of Shravishtha in late Makara month and Dakshinayana in Ashresha in late Kataka month.

We know that in later texts these have been said to occur one full rashi/month earlier in Mesha etc. From this itself we can easily know that these are moving earlier in comparison with rashi months. We have already said however that today these occur even before Mesha etc and will go further earlier.

The Maitrayaniya Aranyaka (1/4) also mentions the change of the Pole Star which results from the Sayana cycle moving.

School, modern science, shastra

All over the world, even in Bharat, in all languages, in school education 6th standard itself, it is indeed something that all of us would have studied in geography books that the Ayanas (solstices) and Vishuvas (equinoxes) occur near the dates March 21, June 21, September 23 and December 22. Then how can we call the Nirayana Sankramanas occurring in the middle of April, July, October and January as Vishuva or Ayana?

As we have shown earlier, even the Shastra endorses this statement of modern science. Thus following this would not result in transgression of any shastras. This is because the anushthanas of beginnings of Nirayana months Mesha etc are still there. We have not rejected them.

However, due to not having correctly examined in detail the shastra, especially siddhanta jyautisha, we are still saying Vishuva occurs at the birth of Mesha etc. We should have corrected this long ago. Let us correct this at least now!

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Note: 

We intend to publish a document later on with sankramana punya kala information for the whole year on a regular basis going forward, so that people who are interested in doing the anushthanam are benefited. Let us pray to Bhagavan for anugraha for that to materialize!

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