Shashi Tharoor asks why Kerala didn't celebrate Janmashthami on August 16: No ‘different Christmas'
He mentioned that the "Malayalam calendar shows this year's Janmashthami date as 14th Sept, 2025(Sunday), NOT yesterday."
Tharoor asked people to "enlighten" him as to why this is so. "Surely even a Bhagwan can't be born on two different days six weeks apart!," he said.
"Is there a case for rationalising the dates of religious holidays so that all adherents of a faith can celebrate with their fellow believers at the same time? After all, Keralites don't observe a different Christmas!," Tharoor noted.
An X user explained Tharoor why Janmashthami in Kerala fell on a different date than rest of the country.
He said, 'Most of India follows the Purnimanta calendar (lunar month ending with the full moon) or the Amanta calendar (lunar month ending with the new moon) for determining festival dates.'
"Janmashtami, celebrating Lord Krishna's birth, is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (waning phase of the moon) in the month of Bhadrapada or Shravana, depending on the region," he added.
The X user went on to explain that in Kerala, 'the Malayalam calendar (solar calendar) is used alongside lunar calculations, and local traditions also prioritise a specific astrological configuration of the Rohini Nakshatra (the star associated with Krishna's birth) or the precise timing Janmashtami's date is determined by the Ashtami tithi (lunar day) and the presence of Rohini Nakshatra at midnight, as Krishna is believed to have been born at midnight.'
"In Kerala the presence of Rohini Nakshatra along with the Ashtami tithi is mandatory to determine the birthdate of Krishna whereas in other states it is not so," he added.
Most parts of the country celebrated Janmashthami on August 16.
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