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The intercalary months, which in Babylonia were invented in order that the seasonal festivals fall in months bearing specific names, are referred to in India in a Vedic texts which gives to the twelve months seasonal names like ‘Hot’, ‘Cloudy’, and ‘Sweet’, which imply intercalation. The second source mentions an intercalary month Saṃsarpa, whose function must have been to keep those month-names accurate.
Taittirīyasaṁhitā 1.4.14:
a. Thou art Madhu and Madhava; thou art Śukra and Śuci; thou art Nabha and Nabbasya; thou art Isa and Urja; thou art Saha and Sahasya; thou art Tapa and Tapasya. b. Thou art taken with a support. c. Thou art Saṃsarpa. d. To Anhaspatva thee!
Taittirīyasaṁhitā 4.4.11:
(You are) Madha and Madhava, the months of spring. (You are) Śukra and Śuci, the months of summer. (You are) Nabha and Nabhasya, the months of rain. (You are) Isa and Urja, the months of autumn. (You are) Saha and Sahasya, the months of winter. (You are) Tapa and Tapasya, the months of the cool season.
Sources (list of abbreviations)
Taittirīyasaṁhitā 1.4.14
Taittirīyasaṁhitā 4.4.11
Bibliography
| Keith 1914 | Keith, A. B. The Veda of the Black Yajus School entitled Taittiriya Sanhita. Translated from the original Sanskrit Prose and Verse. 2 Vols. Harvard Oriental Series 18-19. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press 1914. |
| Pingree 1998, 127-128 | Pingree, David. “Legacies in Astronomy and Celestial Omens.” In: S. Dalley (ed.). The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1998, 125-137. |
Links (external links will open in a new browser window)
Cf. The intercalary months (1)
Amar Annus
URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000183.php
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