Period · 2026
Adhik Maas 2026: Dates, Ekadashis and Vrats
Adhik Maas is the extra lunar month added about once in three years to keep the lunar calendar in step with the Sun; it is kept as Purushottam Maas, a month of devotion.
Adhik Maas in 2026
Adhik Jyeshtha
17 May 2026, 1:31 AM – 15 June 2026, 8:24 AM
New moon to new moon (amanta).
Times are for New Delhi (IST), from our own engine, Lahiri ayanamsa.
What is Adhik Maas?
Twelve lunar months are about eleven days shorter than the solar year. A lunar month, new moon to new moon, normally contains one sankranti, the Sun’s entry into a new sign. When a lunar month passes with no sankranti in it, it is adhik (extra) and takes the name of the month that follows, which is then the nija (regular) month.
The adhik month was once called Mal Maas, the “impure month”, as it had no presiding deity. The Purana story is that Vishnu took it as his own and named it Purushottam Maas, so it is now kept for worship, reading the Bhagavata, charity and vows.
Festivals are not held in the adhik month; they fall in the nija month after it. Recurring vrats continue, with their own names: Padmini and Parama Ekadashi, and Vibhuvana Palaka Sankashti.
What custom avoids
These are customs, not rules; families and regions differ.
- Weddings, engagements, griha pravesh and mundan, by custom.
- Starting a new house, business or other major undertaking.
- Beginning a new vow (vrat) for the first time; ongoing vows continue.
Daily life, work and purchases go on. The month is especially valued for reading, charity (the gift of 33 malpuas is a well-known custom), pilgrimage and the worship of Vishnu.
How we compute it
We compute each amanta month (new moon to new moon) and the Sun’s sidereal sign at both new moons; when the Sun is in the same sign at both, the month has no sankranti and is adhik. The start and end are the new-moon moments, for New Delhi’s clock.
Questions people ask
How often does Adhik Maas come?
Seven times in nineteen years, so roughly every 32 to 33 months. Which month becomes adhik varies.
Are festivals held in Adhik Maas?
No. A festival falls in the regular (nija) month of the same name, after the adhik one. Recurring vrats such as Ekadashi, Purnima and Sankashti continue.
Is Adhik Maas the same as Kharmas?
No. Kharmas is the Sun’s stay in Sagittarius or Pisces and comes every year; Adhik Maas is an extra lunar month.