The period when the sun starts moving northward from the Topic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer is called uttaraayaNa. The opposite period when the sun moves southward is called dakshiNaayaNa. According to our shAstras, one human year corresponds to one day for the celestials; uttaraayaNa is their daytime and dakshiNaayaNa the night. This “night” begins with AshADha shukla EkAdashi (the eleventh day in the bright half of the lunar month of AshADha). Once, on the eve of dakshiNaayaNa, the celestials assembled on the peaks of Mountain Meru and prayed to the Upendra form of Lord ViShNu. When the Lord arrived, the celestials told Him that their “night” was approaching and sought His permission to go to their respective abodes. Then Ratri devi, the patron deity of night and dakshiNaayaNa, took on the form of a beautiful damsel and prostrated before the Lord. She pleaded with Him as follows “Lord, everybody views dakshiNaayaNa as a bad time. Nobody performs any good deeds in that peri...
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