Jyeshṭha
Jyeshṭha, “the month of the Jyeshṭhā nakshatra”
Grammar: masculine noun, from jyeshṭhā, the name of the nakshatra: “the month of Jyeshṭhā“. As an adjective, jyeshṭha means “eldest, best”.
Meaning: the third month of the lunar year, after Vaiśākha and before Āshāḍha, in which the full moon is near the nakshatra Jyeshṭhā.
In the scriptures: in the year-long Kālāshṭamī vrata to Bhagavān Śiva, kept month by month, the Jyeshṭha step is this: bathe the Svāmī with āmalaka water, worship with arka flowers, offer dhūpa of the bark of the sarala tree and naivedya of parched-grain flour moistened with ghee and curd, and give a pair of sandals and an umbrella as dakshiṇā. Then say: “Destroyer of the eyes of Bhaga, salutations to you! Svāmī, who knocked out the teeth of Pūshan, praṇāma to you!” (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 17).
In the dvādaśa-patraka yoga, the yoga of the twelve leaves that Brahmā (Pitāmaha) teaches Sanatkumāra, the second leaf is the syllable na on the face, with the Vṛshabha rāśi and the month Jyeshṭha (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 35).
Prahlāda, telling Bali the gifts of each month, says that in Vaiśākha one gives fragrant candana and flower garlands, and in Jyeshṭha vessels filled with water, water vessels in the shape of a cow (jaladhenus), palm-leaf fans, good sandal and vetiver root, given often to sādhus for the prīti of Trivikrama Deva (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 68).
At the Jyeshṭhāśrama, one who fasts on the Jyeshṭha śukla ekādaśī, on the dvādaśī has darśana of Bhagavān Vāmana, bathes in the Vishṇupada sarovara and gives dāna according to his means, gains the paramapada (Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 10). At that āśrama in the Vāmana kshetra, where Bhagavān Vishṇu placed pure brāhmaṇas devoted to him, one who fasts on the Jyeshṭha śuddha ekādaśī and bathes in the tīrtha on the dvādaśī gains pre-eminence; gifts to those brāhmaṇas and śrāddhas done there give their fruit undiminished until the end of the manvantara (Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapter 15).
Related terms: Jyeshṭhā · Vaiśākha · Āshāḍha · Kālāshṭamī · Ekādaśī · Jyeshṭhāśrama
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 17, 35, 68
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Saro Māhātmya, Chapters 10, 15