Auspicious events set to hit a pause for two months

This year the month of Ashadam is from June 19 to July 17 and from July 18 it is Adhik Shravanam which will be on till Aug 16

Hyderabad: Weddings, housewarming ceremonies, and other festive events are set to hit a pause for a prolonged period of two months. Owing to the lack of auspicious dates according to the Hindu calendar, all events will take a backseat as the month of Ashadam this year is from June 19 to July 17, and immediately from July 18 is the month of Adhik Shravanam which will go on till August 16.

With events scheduled to resume only after these two months, function halls are set to lie vacant. It will be a tough two months for those employed in function halls and also the ones associated with allied sectors dependent on them.

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B Vijay Kumar, priest of Sri Bhavani Shankar Devalayam in Bholakpur this prolonged period is because of the ‘Adhika masam’ this year. “No auspicious ceremonies are conducted during Ashadam month. This year the Adhika Masam falls just after Ashadam and so we have ‘Adhika Shravanam’, prolonging the number of days when no auspicious ceremonies are held.”

This year the month of Ashadam is from June 19 to July 17 and from July 18 it is Adhik Shravanam till August 16. Shravana masam will commence on August 17 when all auspicious ceremonies are expected to resume.

Vijay Kumar adds that Adhika Masam, which means the extra month, coming right after the Ashadam is not something that happens every other year.

Although ceremonies like weddings, engagements, or Vodugu (thread ceremony) will not be taking place in the next two months, Ramamurthy Pantulu of the Anjaneya Swamy Temple in Musheerabad says it is the right time to visit religious shrines. “We call it Adhika Masam in our colloquial tongue, but it is actually called the ‘Purushothama Masam’ in Sanskrit. It is advised to visit as many religious shrines as possible and perform poojas,” he says, adding that a pooja performed during this period is likely to reap more blessings. In the next two months, he says that indulging in charitable activities such as donating clothes and commodities or serving meals to the underprivileged is encouraged more.