A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c14.175

c14.175

² The actual moment of the new moon corresponding to the beginning of the month Kârttika in Hindu reckoning was 7.40 A.M. on the morning of October 23, and the first Hindu day (tithi) of Kârttika began at 6 A.M. on October 24. The Muhammadan month begins with the heliacal rising of the moon, and this may have taken place on the 24th or 25th evening. At any rate, Razzâk could hardly have called a festival that took place a whole month earlier a festival which took place "during three days in the month Rajab." Hence I think that he must have been present at the New Year festivities in Kârttika, not at the Mahânavamî in Âsvina, a month previous. Note Paes' description of the festivals at which he was present. He states that the nine days' Mahânavamî took place on September 12, when he was at Vijayanagar, and the details correspond to the year A.D. 1520. September 12, 1520, was the first day of the month Âsvina. The New Year's festival that year took place on October 12, which corresponded to the first day of Kârttika, each of these being the day following the new moon, not the full moon.