Agastya (the star Canopus, second brightest in the night sky, but invisible from much of the northern hemisphere) is associated in Vedic tradition with the sage Agastya, credited with bringing Vedic culture to South India. Each year it disappears into the Sun's glare (Asta) and later reappears (Udaya, or Darshan), a marker long used to anchor parts of the ritual calendar, most notably the timing of Upakarma observances.
Dates for 2020 · Mumbai
Agastya Timeline
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Agastya Asta
May 15, 2020 · 07:05:09 PM (sunset)
Passed
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Agastya Udaya (Darshan)
August 9, 2020 · 06:19:10 AM (sunrise)
Passed
Significance
What the Tradition Says
Upakarma Timing
Agastya's heliacal rising is one of the traditional markers used alongside Shravana Nakshatra and other criteria for placing Yajur/Rigveda Upakarma within its correct window.
Scientific Basis
These dates are computed from the real astronomical positions of Canopus and the Sun for each year, not a fixed calendar date.
Latitude Dependence
Canopus's visibility depends strongly on latitude, and it never rises at all north of roughly the mid-latitudes.
On Durva Ashtami, if Agastya's heliacal Udaya has already occurred by that date, Arghya is offered to Agastya before beginning the Durva puja to Ganesha.
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