12 Hindi Months Name English with 2026 Dates
India follows a traditional lunar calendar system with 12 Hindi months that run parallel to the Gregorian calendar. Unlike January-December, Hindi months shift every year because they follow the phases of the moon — which means Diwali, Holi, and every major festival falls on a different English date each time.
In 2026, something unusual happens: the year contains a 13th month called Adhik Jyeshtha. This happens roughly every 3 years as the lunar calendar syncs with the solar year — similar to how Gregorian calendars add February 29th in a leap year, but far more significant in Indian tradition.
The below given banner lists all the Hindi month names in Hindi &English scripts .
12 Month Names in Hindi and English: Easy to copy
The table below gives you the complete mapping: every Hindi month, its exact English date range in 2026 along with the seasonal vibe it carries .
- Chaitra (March–April) – Marks the start of spring and the Hindu New Year.
- Vaishakha (April–May) – The peak of the harvest season.
- Jyeshtha (May–June) – Represents the intensity of peak summer.
- Ashadha (June–July) – Coincides with the arrival of the monsoons.
- Shravana (July–August) – A sacred month of lush green rains.
- Bhadrapada (August–September) – The peak of seasonal humidity.
- Ashvin (September–October) – Transition into the crisp autumn air.
- Kartik (October–November) – The month of lights, joy, and morning mist.
- Margashirsha (November–December) – The gentle shift to early winter.
- Pausha (December–January) – Known for dewy winter mornings and shortest days.
- Magha (January–February) – The heart of the cold winter season.
- Phalguna (February–March) – Soft breezes signaling the return of spring.
Which Hindi month is it today? If you know the English date you can easily find today Hindi month using our Hindi month finder tool.
Mapping the 12 Hindi Month Names to the Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian and Hindi calendars do not share the same starting points. Each English month begins on a fixed solar date — January 1st never changes. But each Hindi month begins with the new moon, which shifts by 10–11 days every solar year. This is why the table below shows every English month as spanning two Hindi months rather than one. For example, January always contains the end of Paush and the beginning of Magh. This dual-month overlap is not a mistake — it is simply two different systems of measuring time running side by side.
| Month name in English | Months name in Hindi (Devanagari) | Pronunciation | Days | Zodiac Sign |
January | पौष – माघ | Paush – Magh | 31 | Capricorn / Aquarius |
February | माघ – फाल्गुन | Magh – Phalgun | 28/29 | Aquarius / Pisces |
March | फाल्गुन – चैत्र | Phalgun – Chaitra | 31 | Pisces / Aries |
| April | चैत्र – वैशाख | Chaitra – Vaishakh | 30 | Aries / Taurus |
| May | वैशाख – ज्येष्ठ | Vaishakh – Jyeshtha | 31 | Taurus / Gemini |
| June | ज्येष्ठ – आषाढ़ | Jyeshtha – Ashadh | 30 | Gemini / Cancer |
| July | आषाढ़ – श्रावण | Ashadh – Shravana | 31 | Cancer / Leo |
| August | श्रावण – भाद्रपद | Shravana – Bhadrapada | 31 | Leo / Virgo |
| September | भाद्रपद – आश्विन | Bhadrapada – Ashwin | 30 | Virgo / Libra |
| October | आश्विन – कार्तिक | Ashwin – Kartik | 31 | Libra / Scorpio |
| November | कार्तिक – मार्गशीर्ष | Kartik – Margashirsha | 30 | Scorpio / Sagittarius |
| December | मार्गशीर्ष – पौष | Margashirsha – Paush | 31 | Sagittarius / Capricorn |
Source :Wikipedia
Notice that each row in the table shows two Hindi months for every Gregorian month. This reflects a fundamental difference: the Gregorian calendar is purely solar (fixed to Earth’s orbit around the sun), while the Hindi calendar is lunisolar — it tracks both the moon’s phases and the sun’s position. The practical result is that Hindi month boundaries almost never align with January 1st, February 1st, or any fixed English date. They move every year based on when the new moon appears.
Download the full printable pdf including all Hindi month names mapped to their corresponding English months. For use in homes, schools & offices .
Hindi Calendar 2026 Month name with Start Dates
The table below shows the month name with it’s exact start date in 2026, alongside the single most significant festival or event within that month. These dates are calculated from the traditional Panchang system and have been verified against standard astronomical data. Two things to note before reading: first, “start date” refers to when the new moon begins that month in Indian Standard Time; second, 2026 contains a rare 13th month — Adhik Jyeshtha — which begins on May 17 and runs until June 15. Any festival that normally falls in Jyeshtha in other years may shift slightly in 2026.
| 2026 Hindi Month | Start Date (Approx.) | Major 2026 Event |
| Chaitra | March 16, 2026 | Hindu New Year / Gudi Padwa (Mar 19) |
| Vaishakha | April 15, 2026 | Akshaya Tritiya (Apr 20) |
| Jyeshtha (Nija) | May 15, 2026 | Peak Summer Rituals |
| Adhik Jyeshtha | May 17, 2026 | The Rare 13th Month Begins |
| Ashadha | July 14, 2026 | Jagannath Rath Yatra (July 16) |
| Shravana | August 13, 2026 | Raksha Bandhan (Aug 28) |
| Bhadrapada | September 13, 2026 | Ganesh Chaturthi (Sept 14) |
| Ashvin | October 12, 2026 | Dussehra (Oct 20) |
| Kartik | November 11, 2026 | Diwali (Nov 8*) |
| Agrahayana | December 11, 2026 | Gita Jayanti (Dec 20) |
| Pausha | Jan 10, 2027 | Makar Sankranti (Jan 14) |
| Magha | Feb 9, 2027 | Mahashivratri (Feb 15) |
| Phalguna | Mar 11, 2027 | Holi (Mar 3) |
The asterisk on Diwali (*Nov 8) reflects a common source of confusion: Diwali is observed on the Amavasya (new moon) of Kartik month, but because the lunar-solar offset means Kartik in 2026 runs November 11 through December 10, the festival falls in early Kartik — which maps to early November in the Gregorian calendar. Your local Panchang will give the precise Tithi-based time for your region. If you are in the United States or United Kingdom, add 5.5 hours to IST for your local timing.
This table mapped the 12 month names in hindi to their approximate 2026 English starting points. To know more read our guide on how Hindi lunisolar month calendar is built differently .
Seasons (Ritu) in the Hindu Calendar
The Gregorian calendar has four seasons. The traditional Hindi calendar has six. These six seasons — called Ritu — each span exactly two lunar months and correspond to the distinct climatic shifts that define life on the Indian subcontinent. For anyone trying to understand why certain festivals cluster together, or why Indian agriculture follows such precise seasonal cycles, the Ritu system is the key.
These seasons (ṛitus) & Weather patterns form the backdrop for agricultural Planning and festival cycles in the Desi Hindu year.
Each season has its own page on this site with detailed guides to the months it contains, the foods traditionally eaten, the festivals observed, and the agricultural activities that defined Indian rural life during that period. If you have always wondered why your family celebrates certain foods or rituals at specific times of year, the Ritu guides explain the original reason.
Each Hindu month corresponds to a zodiac sign; the qualities of that sign are traditionally ascribed to the month. For example, Chaitra (Aries) is action-oriented and symbolizes new beginnings. The table below summarizes each month’s zodiac and typical traits:
Festivals by Hindu Month Calendar
Major Hindu festivals occur in specific lunar months. For example, Gudi Padwa (Marathi New Year) and Ugadi (Telugu/Kannada New Year) fall on Chaitra 1 (early Chaitra). Rama Navami (Lord Rama’s birth) occurs on Chaitra Shukla Navami. Buddha Purnima is observed on Vaishakha Purnima. Rath Yatra (Jagannath Chariot Festival) and Guru Purnima both occur in Ashadha.
We also have covered Indian festivals ,dates and panchang in detail , as well as North vs South Indian calendar difference that helps align festivals across India .
Q:What is the Hindi months name with date 2026 schedule?
In 2026, the traditional lunar cycle begins with the month of Chaitra starting on March 16, 2026. Unlike the fixed English calendar, these dates shift annually to stay in sync with the moon’s phases. The year transitions through Vaishakha in mid-April and reaches a unique point in mid-May when the rare 13th month begins.
Q: What is Adhik Maas and why does it happen in 2026?
Adhik Maas (literally “extra month”) is an intercalary month added to the Hindi calendar to keep it synchronized with the solar year. Without it, festivals would drift through seasons over time — Holi would eventually fall in summer, Diwali in spring. In 2026, the extra month falls in Jyeshtha (peak summer), which is why it is called Adhik Jyeshtha. A full explanation is in our Adhik Maas guide.
Q: Why the Hindi Calendar Matters If You Live Outside India?(NRIs )ths are in the Hindi calendar in 2026?
If you were born in India or grew up in an Indian household, the Hindi calendar is the invisible framework behind every important date in your family’s life. Weddings are scheduled by the Panchang. Festivals are observed on specific Tithis. A birth nakshatra is calculated from the lunar calendar, not the Gregorian one. When your parents say “it’s Shravan month” or “this year Diwali is early,” they are reading time from a system that is 5,000 years old.
Q: What is the first month of the Hindi calendar?
The first month of the traditional Hindi calendar is Chaitra. In 2026, Chaitra begins on March 16. The Hindi New Year, celebrated as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra and Ugadi in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, falls on the first day of Chaitra — in 2026, that is March 19.
Q: How are Hindi months different from English months?
English months are purely solar — they are fixed divisions of Earth’s 365-day orbit around the sun. Hindi months are lunar — they begin on the new moon and end on the next new moon, lasting 29 to 30 days. Because a lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year, Hindi month starting dates shift every year when compared to the Gregorian calendar.
About This Guide
This reference page is maintained by Auditya Verma, Research Head at EduCalendar India. The month dates and festival timings listed here are based on standard astronomical calculations for the Vikram Samvat calendar system, cross-referenced with regional Panchang calendars published annually in India. Festival dates marked with (*) indicate observed dates rather than astronomical Tithi start times, and may vary by region and tradition.
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Sources and References
The information on this page draws from the following reference sources: the Indian National Calendar as published by the Government of India; the Surya Siddhanta, the classical Sanskrit treatise on astronomical calculation; published Panchang calendars from Pune, Varanasi, and Ujjain; and regional festival observance records from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
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