[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v1.c3.s14.112 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s14.112 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s14.112 - **Language:** English ### [v1.c3.s14.112](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14.112) Cātur-māsya, ‘four-monthly,’ denotes the festival of the Vedic ritual held at the beginning of the three seasons of four months each, into which the Vedic year was artificially divided.¹ It is clear that the sacrifices commenced with the beginning of each season,² and it is certain that the first of them, the Vaiśvadeva, coincided with the Phālgunī full moon,³ the second, the Varuṇa-praghāsas, with the Āṣāḍhī full moon,⁴ and the third, the Sāka-medha, with the Kārttikī full moon.⁵ There were, however, two alternative datings: the festivals could also be held in the Caitrī, the Śrāvaṇī, and Āgrahāyaṇī (Mārgaśīrṣī) full moons,⁶ or in the Vaiśākhī, Bhādrapadī, and Pauṣī full moons.⁷ Neither of the later datings is found in a Brāhmaṇa text, but each may well have been known early, since the Taittirīya Saṃhitā⁸ and the Pañcaviṃśa Brāhmaṇa⁹ both recognize the full moon in the month Caitra as an alternative to the full moon in the month Phālguna, for the beginning of the year. - [Previous: v1.c3.s14.111](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14.111) - [Next: v1.c3.s14.113](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14.113) - [Up: v1.c3.s14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14.112](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v1.c3.s14.112) · Pramāṇa