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Re: Sri Ranganatha Paduka on Sri Jayanthi

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Mani Varadarajan • August 22, 2000 


> According to Sri Ranganatha Paduka (July 2000 Issue, pages 4-5),  Sri
> Pancharathra Vaiganasa, Munithraya Sri Jayanthi falls on Wednesday, the 28th
> of August.

Dear Sri Madhavan,

Sri Ranganatha Paduka's calculations are only valid for Indian Standard 
Time. Once again, if one wishes to observe these dates properly, one must
make the appropriate calculations for one's part of the world. 
In the U.S., we don't get up when the sun rises in India, do we?

> In the Munithraya Sampradayam it is important to observe Sri Jayanthi on
> Janmashtami.  Since on Tuesday Sapthami veda extends up to 10.24 naazhigai,
> Janmashtami cannot be observed. 

This is true for India. But in the U.S., there is no 'saptami vedha' on Tuesday, 
so Janmashtami falls on Tuesday.  Let's look at the numbers for Eastern Time in
the U.S. Saptami ends at 3:04 AM, before sunrise on Tuesday.  ashTami lasts from 
well before sunrise on Tuesday until 1:55 AM the next day. So for the entire day 
from sunrise onwards, it is 'ashTami'.   

Since there is no presence of saptami whatsoever after sunrise, there is
no dosha.

If we look at Sri Tirukkudandai Desika's analysis in 'SrI jayantI nirNaya',
we can derive the following rules (already stated by Sri Sudarsan Parthasarathy):

Sri Jayanti should ideally be celebrated when 'ashTamI' and 'rohiNi' coincide.
These are the tithi and nakshatra under which Sri Krishna was born.

1) It is ideal if this combination of tithi and nakshatra lasts from before
   sunrise, throughout the rest of the day and night.
2) If this is not the case, the second choice is for the combination to be
   present before moonrise, even if there is the 'vedha' dosha (i.e., presence
   of saptami or krittika on that day).
3) If even this cannot be found, if even a little bit of ashTami/rohiNi coincidence 
   is found, it should be reckoned as Sri Jayanti.

There are a few more rules if the coincidence spans two days, and there are 
'vedha' doshas in other circumstances. In some cases, it is prescribed to 
observe two days -- both janmAshTami *and* SrI jayantI, as separate vratas.

It is not correct to say that 'janmAshTamI' is what is generally observed
in the munitraya sampradAya. It is the coincidence of the 'ashTami' and 'rohiNi' 
that are important and in many cases preference is given to 'rohiNi'.

References consulted:
  (1) SrI jayantI nirNaya, by Sri Tirukkudandai Gopala Desikan
  (2) Ahnika GranthaH, ed. and publ. by Sri Villivalam Krishnamacharya
        (present Srimad Azhagiya Singar in his purvashrama).
    
This is not to argue that it is wrong if people are celebrating Sri Jayanti
on Wednesday. I am doing so myself due to extenuating circumstances. But we
have to understand the rules properly if we are going to broadcast information.

dAsan,     
Mani

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