Kharmas (Kharmaas)
Kharmas is the name for two month-long spells each year, when the Sun is in Sagittarius (Dhanu) or Pisces (Meena). Weddings, griha pravesh and similar ceremonies are traditionally avoided then, especially in North India.
Also known as: Khar maas
The full guide: Kharmas: Meaning, Dates and Why Weddings Pause
Kharmas runs from Dhanu Sankranti, around mid-December, to Makar Sankranti in mid-January, and again from Meena Sankranti, around mid-March, to Mesha Sankranti in mid-April. Classical muhurat texts do not use these two solar months for weddings. The name is linked to a folk tale in which the Sun rests his tired horses and donkeys (khar) draw his chariot, slowing its pace.
During Kharmas, families usually postpone weddings, engagements, griha pravesh, mundan and the start of construction. It is considered an excellent time for worship, charity, pilgrimage and reading scripture. Our Muhurat finder leaves Kharmas out for weddings, and its griha pravesh months skip Pausha and Chaitra, which Kharmas mostly covers; for other ceremonies, families who keep Kharmas simply pass over those weeks. In South India the Dhanu month, Margazhi or Dhanurmasa, is especially sacred, with dawn prayers, though weddings are uncommon then too.
Kharmas is sometimes loosely called Malmas, but that name strictly belongs to Adhik maas, the extra lunar month. Kharmas follows the Sun and comes every year; Adhik maas is lunar and comes only every few years.