Lunar months
Margashirsha: where the lunar month falls
Margashirsha is the lunar month in which the Sun enters sidereal Sagittarius. See its dates for 2026 to 2028 and the full Moon behind its name.
01 · In the lunar year
Margashirsha is the lunar month in which the Sun enters Sagittarius.
A lunar month is named from the Sankranti inside it. The new Moon to new Moon month that holds the Sun’s entry into sidereal Sagittarius is Margashirsha, the ninth month of the lunar year.
02 · The name in the sky
Margashirsha’s full Moon falls in or near Mrigashira.
The month names come from nakshatras. With the Sun in the month’s sign, the full Moon stands opposite it, near the nakshatra the month is named after.
The ninth month
Margashirsha (मार्गशीर्ष) is the ninth of the twelve lunar months, after Kartika and before Pausha. Like every lunar month it runs from one new Moon to the next, and it takes its name from the Sankranti that falls inside it: Margashirsha is the month in which the Sun enters sidereal Sagittarius. It belongs to Hemanta ritu, one of the six seasons of two months each.
In the Amanta count, from new Moon to new Moon, in IST:
| Year | Begins | Ends | Sun enters Sagittarius | Full Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9 Dec, 06:21 | 8 Jan, 01:54 | 16 Dec, 10:02 | 24 Dec, 06:58 |
| 2027 | 28 Nov, 08:54 | 28 Dec, 01:42 | 16 Dec, 16:16 | 13 Dec, 21:38 |
| 2028 | 16 Nov, 18:48 | 16 Dec, 07:36 | 15 Dec, 22:18 | 2 Dec, 07:10 |
The dates move against the calendar from year to year, by about 11 days earlier from 2026 to 2027, because twelve lunar months are about 11 days shorter than the solar year; why lunar festival dates change each year explains the drift and the extra months that correct it.
The name and the full Moon
The month names come from nakshatras. With the Sun in Sagittarius, the full Moon of the month stands opposite it, and Margashirsha is named for Mrigashira, the nakshatra the full Moon falls in or near. In the site’s ephemeris the Moon at the full Moon of Margashirsha stood in Ardra in 2026, in Mrigashira in 2027 and in Rohini in 2028. The match is to within a nakshatra or two rather than exact: the Sun can be anywhere in its sign when the Moon is full, and the Moon stands opposite wherever the Sun is.
In the Purnimanta count
Where months are counted from full Moon, Margashirsha runs from the full Moon of Kartika to its own full Moon. Its waxing half is the same in both counts. The waning half that ends an Amanta Margashirsha is called Pausha Krishna in the Purnimanta count, and Purnimanta Margashirsha begins instead with the waning half of Amanta Kartika, as why a fortnight can have two month names explains.
The lunar month guide lists all twelve names. See today’s lunar month on the Delhi Panchang, or explore another topic in Learn.