The full moon of Ashadha is set aside in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain practice for honouring whoever taught you.

It is dedicated to Vyasa, the traditional compiler of the Vedas, and Buddhists mark the same day as the one on which the Buddha gave his first sermon. It also opens Chaturmas, the four monsoon months in which wandering ascetics traditionally stay put — a lunar date organising an entire seasonal way of living.