Chaitra (Sanskrit:चैत्र,romanized: Caitra) is amonth of theHindu calendar.

Chaitra
Chaitra month,Jaipur miniature in theNational Museum inWarsaw.
Native name	चैत्र (Sanskrit)
Calendar	Hindu calendar
Month number	12
Number of days	31
Season	Spring
Gregorian equivalent	March 22, 2023–April
Significant days	Holi Gudi Padwa Ugadi Chaitra Navaratri Rama Navami
← Phalguna Vaisakha →

In the standardHindu calendar andIndia's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in theBengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Chait is also the last month in the Nepali calendar (theVikram Samvat), where it commences in mid-March. Chittirai is the first month in theTamil calendar. In the Sindhi calendar, this month is referred to as Chet and is marked by the celebration of theCheti Chand (birth ofJhulelal, an incarnation of Vishnu). In theVaishnava calendar,Vishnu governs this month. In solar religious calendars, Chaitra begins with the Sun's entry intoAries.^{[citation needed]}

In the more traditional reckoning, the first month commences in March or April of theGregorian calendar,^[1][2] depending upon whether theadhika masa (extra month for alignment of lunar or solar calendar) was observed in the year. The first day of Chaitra is marked as theChaitra Navaratri, the Hindu lunar new year.

According toJain texts, Mahavira was born on the thirteenth day of the bright half of the moon in the month ofChaitra in the year 599 BCE (Chaitra Sud 13).^[3][4] SoJains celebrateMahavir Janma Kalyanak, one of the most important religious festivals inJainism during Chaitra.

The month ofChaitra is also associated with the departure of spring.Holi, the Hindu spring festival of colours, is celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) ofPhalguna, the month beforeChaitra, exactly six days after which theChaiti form of theChhath festival is observed.

InChandramana (lunar) religious calendars, Chaitra begins with the new moon in March−April and is the first month of the year. The nine-day festival ChaitraNavratri^[5] orNavadurga (or "Nava Durga", the 'nine forms of the GoddessDurga') starts fromChaitra ShuklaPratipada. The first day of month Chaitra is celebrated as Hindu New Year's Day, known asGudi Padwa^{[6][better source needed]} inMaharashtra,Puthandu inTamil Nadu^[7] andUgadi inKarnataka,Telangana, andAndhra Pradesh. InWest Bengal, Basanti Puja, Annapurna Puja, Ram Nabami, Neel Puja and Chorok Puja (a.k.a. 'Gajon') are held consecutively before the beginning of Bengali New Year onPoila Baishakh.

• Astronomical basis of the Hindu calendar
• Chitragupta
• Hindu units of measurement
• Hindu astronomy
• Jyotisha
• Nisan

• Chaitra Navratri(in Hindi)