Sāmaveda Upākarma 1928: San Jose, California

Sāmaveda Upākarma is the annual renewal of the sacred thread (yajñopavīta) observed by Sāmaveda-following households, traditionally anchored to Hasta Nakṣatra in Bhādrapada Śukla Pakṣa.

Which of two days Hasta Nakṣatra falls on is decided by how much of the afternoon (Aparāhna Kāla) it covers on each day, and the date can move further depending on eclipses, Saṅkrānti, and planetary combustion or sign-placement (Guru in Siṃha (Leo) for first-timers; the Sun in Karkaṭa (Cancer) softly excludes the Śrāvaṇa fallback). When every primary option is obstructed, the cards below show the Parihāra (remedy) path instead of leaving the year blank. In the Tamiḻ Sampradāya, when Bhādrapada Hasta is obstructed, the final fallback is Hasta Nakṣatra in the dark fortnight of Kanyā Māsa, then the Bhādrapada day with parihāra.

The cards above show the computed date, for your city and year, both for those repeating the observance and for those performing it for the first time.

Upākarma Nirṇaya (the determination of the correct date) is genuinely intricate: across the centuries, different sampradāyas and ācāryas have arrived at different rules, and at mypanchang.com we have tried to capture as many of these views as possible here. Where they differ, please follow the convention observed by your own family or sampradāya.