Vaishakh month or Vaisakh mas or Vaishakha masam is the second month in traditional Hindu calendar. This month coincides with April and May in the Gregorian calendar.
Vaisakh month is the second month in North Indian calendars and calendars followed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In Gujarati calendars, it is the seventh month. In Bengali and Oriya calendars, Vaisakh month or Baisakh mahina is the first month.
Vaisakh month is considered as most auspicious month and favorite month for Lord Vishnu. Among the three auspicious months (Kartik mahina, Magh mahina and Vaisakh mahina) Vaisakh mahina is the supreme month as per the Sage Narada. Rishi Narad praises the Vaishakh month by saying that Brahmaji has created this month superior to other 11 months of the Hindu calender. Hindu scriptures like Skandpurana describe the glory and significance of Vaishakh month mentioning that there is no other month like Vaishakh that is considered so auspicious.
Vaishakh Month is considered to be the ideal month to perform charity, Yagna, fasting as well as bathing in the river Ganga. Vaisakh Snan or Vaishakha snanam is the meritorious ritual performed during the month. Vaisakha mas has the sacredness to cleanse the sins of previous births and free the devotee from the result of his bad deeds. In Vaishakh Month, the tradition of taking bath in the morning and donating foods, clothes, fruits etc, as per the capability, at any holy place are considered beneficial. This reduces the grief and agony of the devotee and blesses him with good health, wealth and other comforts of life.
The person who takes bath before the sunrise gets freedom from all his sins. The person can get freedom for all his sins by taking a bath in holy rivers like Ganga, Narmada etc. The rewards that a person gets from charity, visiting pilgrimages can be attained by just donating water on the day of Vaishkh Purnima. Providing a thirsty person with water on this day is equivalent to performing a Rajsun Yagya. According to Vedic scriptures, the month of Vaisakh is one of the most auspicious months and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. One should worship and perform Pujas dedicated to Lord Vishnu or even any of His ten Avatars.
Akshay Tritiya or Akshaya Trutiya, Shankara Jayanti (Adi Shankaracharya Jayanthi), Ganga Saptami Pujan & Nrusimha Jayanti (Narasimha Chaturdasi) are the major festival celebrated in Vaishakh month.
The Hindu Festival of Vaisakhi known as Baisakhi, Vishu, Bihu as well as Mesadi, marks the onset of harvest season and the mood of rejoicing is vividly captured in the colourful festivities across India's different regions. It is traditionally celebrated all over India during the month of vaishakh.
The Holy river Ganga is believed to have descended to Earth, and in her honour, many Hindus gather along the sacred Ganges River for ritual baths during the Vaisakh month. The celebration is centred in the holy cities of Haridwar, Rishikesh, Ujjain - along the banks of the Ganges in North India. Hindus also celebrate the festival at Jammu's Nagbani Temple and plant poles (wrapped in flags of god-embroidered silk) in front of their homes, and hang pots of brass, copper or silver on top to usher in the auspicious day.
In Himachal Pradesh, The Goddess Jwalamukhi is worshipped during Vaisakhi festival while in Bihar, Vasiakhi is marked by honouring the Sun God, Lord Surya. In Assam, the festival is known as Bihu or Bisu, celebrated by fun and abundance, faith and belief. There are three Bihu festivals in Assam, other two are Maagh and Kaati with Rongali Bihu of Vaisakh month being the most auspicious of them all. In Bengal, Vaisakhi is known as Pohela Boisakh and is observed with traditional prayers and adorning homes with colourful patterns known as Rangoli. Boisakh is also celebrated by the tribal Hindus of Tripura and surrounding regions.