Lunar month 4 of 12 · Grishma (summer)
Ashadha Maas आषाढ
Ashadha, the fourth month, brings the monsoon. Its Shukla Ekadashi - Devshayani (Ashadhi) Ekadashi - is when Vishnu enters his cosmic sleep and the four sacred months of Chaturmas begin.
- Presiding deity
- Vishnu (in yoga-nidra)
- Season (ritu)
- Grishma (summer)
- Order
- Month 4 of 12
Significance
Guru Purnima, honouring one's teacher and Sage Vyasa, falls on its full moon, and Puri's great Jagannath Rath Yatra sets out in this month.
Festivals in Ashadha
- Devshayani (Ashadhi) Ekadashi
- Jagannath Rath Yatra
- Guru Purnima
Observances
With Chaturmas beginning, weddings and many new ventures pause; it becomes a season for pilgrimage, vows, study and spiritual discipline. Guru Purnima is kept with worship of the guru.