Uttarāyaṇa
Uttarāyaṇa · uttara-ayana, “the northward course of the Sun”
Grammar: neuter noun; uttara (north) and ayana (going, course): “the northward course”.
Meaning: the half of the year in which the Sun moves northward, counted as the day of the devas; its other half is Dakshiṇāyana, the southward course and the night of the devas.
In the scriptures: after Bhagavān Śiva and Satī return to Mount Mandara in the lovely autumn, Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada: when the autumn had passed and Uttarāyaṇa had begun, Daksha, best of the prajāpatis, began a kratu (yajña) (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 2).
Pulastya Maharshi tells Nārada of the sleep of the devas. When Uttarāyaṇa has passed and the month of Āshāḍha comes, the Devādhideva, Lakshmīpati, sleeps on the bed of Śesha, and as soon as he sleeps, the devas, gandharvas and yakshas sink one after another into deep sleep. On Āshāḍha śukla ekādaśī, when Sūrya enters Mithuna, Jagannātha begins to sleep; when Sūrya enters Karkaṭa, the night of the devas begins, and that is Dakshiṇāyana (Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapter 17).
Related terms: Dakshiṇāyana · Āshāḍha · Śrāvaṇa · Ekādaśī · Kratu
Sources
- Vāmana Purāṇa, Chapters 2, 17