Hindu Calendar

A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hindu calendar is a collective name for most of the lunisolar calendars and solar calendars
used in India since ancient times. Since ancient times it has undergone many changes in the
process of regionalization and today there are several regional Indian Hindu calendars. It has
also been standardized as Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Assamese Calendar,
Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada calendar
etc. are some prominent regional Hindu calendars.
[1]
The common feature of all regional
Hindu calendars is that the names of the twelve months are the same (because the names are
based in Sanskrit) though the spelling and pronunciation have come to vary slightly from
region to region over thousands of years. The month which starts the year also varies from
region to region. The Buddhist calendar and the traditional lunisolar calendars of Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand are also based on an older version of the Hindu
calendar.
Most of the Hindu calendars are inherited from a system first enunciated in Vedga
Jyotia's of Lagadha, a late BCE adjunct to the Veda-s, standardized in the Srya Siddhnta
(3rd century CE) and subsequently reformed by astronomers such as ryabhaa (499 CE),
Varhamihira (6th century CE), and Bhskara II (12th century CE). Differences and regional
variations abound in these computations, but the following is a general overview of Hindu
lunisolar calendar.
Contents
1 Day
1.1 Vsara
1.2 Nakatra
1.3 Yoga
1.4 Karaa
2 Months of the lunisolar calendar
2.1 Month names
2.1.1 Extra months (Adhika Msa)
2.1.2 Lost months (Kaya Msa)
2.2 Religious observances in case of extra and lost months
2.3 Vaiava calendar
3 Year of the lunisolar calendar
4 Another kind of lunisolar calendar
5 Correspondence of the lunisolar calendar to the solar calendar
6 Year numbering
7 Year names
8 Eras
9 History
10 Regional variants
10.1 Vikrama and Shalivahana calendars
10.2 Samvat calendars
10.3 Months and approximate correspondence
11 Time cycles in India
12 Date conversion
13 The Kali "Samvat"
14 Variations
15 National calendars in South and South East Asia
16 Correspondence between calendars
17 See also
18 References
19 Further reading
20 External links
Hindu calendar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar
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Day
In the Hindu calendar, the day starts with the sunrise. It is allotted five "properties" or "limbs", called aga-s. They are:
the Tithi (one of 30 divisions of a synodic month) active at sunrise 1.
the Vsara (ancient nomeclature), vra (modern nomeclature), like in ravi-vra, som-vra, etc. or weekday 2.
the Nakatra (one of 27 divisions of the celestial ecliptic) in which the moon resides at sunrise 3.
the Yoga (one of 27 divisions based on the ecliptic longitude of the sun and moon) active at sunrise time 4.
the Karaa (divisions based on tithis) active at sunrise. 5.
Together 5 limbs or properties are labelled under as the pacga-s (Sanskrit: paca = five). An explanation of the terms follows.
Vsara
Vsara refers to the weekdays and the names of the week in many western cultures bear striking similarities with the Vsara:
No.
Sanskrit
name of
the day
(Day
begins at
sunrise)
Marathi
name
Kannada
name
Telugu
name
Tamil name
Malayalam
name
English &
Latin names
of the
approximate
day
(Day begins
at 00:00Hrs)
Celestial
object
1
Ravi vsara
Ravivra
Bhnuvra
divra
cc
Nyayiru
Njaayar
Sunday/dies
Solis
Ravi,
Aditya =
Sun
2
Soma vsara
Somavra
Smavra
Smavra
`c
Thingal
Thinkal
Monday/dies
Lunae
Soma =
Moon
3
Magala
vsara
Magaavra
Magaavra
Magaavra
c
Chevvai
Chovva
v
Tuesday/dies
Martis
Magala =
Mars
4
Budha vsara

Budhavra

Budhavra
Budhavra
c
Arivan(Tamil
tradition) or
buthan(religious
tradition)
(
-
r
)
Budhan
Wednesday/dies
Mercurii
Budha =
Mercury
5
Guru vsara
or
Brhaspati
vsara
Guruvra
Guruvra
Guruvra,
Br haspativra
c,
Oc,
;c
Vyazhan
Vyaazham
Thursday/dies
Iovis
Deva-Guru
Bhaspati =
Jupiter
6
ukra vsara
ukravra
ukravra
ukravra
e c
Velli
Velli
l
Friday/dies
Veneris
ukra =
Venus
7
ani vsara
anivra
anivra
anivra
c
kaari(Tamil
tradition) or
sani(religious
tradition)
r ( -
r
)
Shani
Saturday/dies
Saturnis
ani =
Saturn
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The term -vsara is often realized as vra or vaar in Sanskrit-derived and influenced languages. There are many variations of the names
in the regional languages, mostly using alternate names of the celestial bodies involved.
Nakatra
The ecliptic is divided into 27 Nakatra-s, which are variously called lunar houses or asterisms. These reflect the moon's cycle against the
fixed stars, 27 days and 7 hours, the fractional part being compensated by an intercalary 28th nakatra titled Abhijit. Nakatra's
computation appears to have been well known at the time of the gveda (2nd1st millennium BCE).
The ecliptic is divided into the nakatras eastwards starting from a reference point which is traditionally a point on the ecliptic directly
opposite the star Spica called Citr in Sanskrit. (Other slightly different definitions exist.) It is called Medi - "start of Aries"; this is
when the equinox where the ecliptic meets the equator was in Aries (today it is in Pisces, 28 degrees before Aries starts). The
difference between Medi and the present equinox is known as Ayana - denoting by how much of a fraction of degrees & minutes
the ecliptic has progressed from its fixed (sidereal) position. Given the 25,800 year cycle for the precession of the equinoxes, the equinox
was directly opposite Spica in 285 CE, around the date of the Srya Siddhnta.
[2][3]
The nakatra-s with their corresponding regions of sky are given below, following Basham.
[4]
As always, there are many versions with
minor differences. The names on the right-hand column give roughly the correspondence of the nakatra-s to modern names of stars.
Note that nakatras are (in this context) not just single stars but are segments on the ecliptic characterised by one or more stars. Hence
there are more than one star mentioned for each nakatra.
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# Sanskrit
Malayalam name
Tamil name
Telugu name
Kannada
name
Western star name

1
Avin
Ashvati
a
Aswini
Avin
Avin
and Arietis
2
Bhara
Bharai
Barai
Bharai
Bharai
35, 39, and 41 Arietis

3
Kttik
Krttika
t
Krthikai
Kttika
O
Kruthike
Pleiades
4
Rohi
Rhii
Rhii
Rhii
o
Rhii
Aldebaran
5
Mgairas
Makayiram
Mirugasridam
r
Mgaira
Mgaira
, Orionis
6
rdr
tira or Tiruvtira
()
Thiruvdhirai
Arudra
Aridra
Betelgeuse
7
Punarvasu

Puartam
Punarpoosam
Punarvasu
Punarvasu
Castor and Pollux

8
Puya

Pyam
Poosam
Puyami
D
Puya
, and Cancri
9
Ale
/
yilyam
Ayilyam
Alea

Alea
, , , , and Hydrae
10
Magh
Makam
Magam
Makha or Magha
or
Makha
Regulus
11
Prva or Prva
Phalgu

Pram
Pooram
Prva Phalgu or
Pubba
o or
Pubba
and Leonis
12
Uttara or Uttara
Phalgu

Utram
u
Uthiram
Uttara Phalgui or
Uttara
or
Utthara
Denebola
13
Hasta
Attam
at
Astham
Hasta
Hasta
, , , and Corvi
14
Citr
Chittira (Chitra)
t ()
Chithirai
Citt or Citr
Dc or Dc
Citta
Spica
15
Svti
Chti
Swathi
Svti
`O
Svti
Arcturus
16
Vikha
Vishkham
Visakam
Vikha
D
Vikhe
, , and Librae
17
Anurdh
Anizham
a
Anusham
Anurdh
o
Anurdh
, and Scorpionis
18
Jyeha
Ka (Trikka)
(k)
Kettai
Jyeha
Jyeha
, , and Scorpionis
4 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
19
Mla
/
Mlam
Mlam
Mla
Mla
, , , , , , , and
Scorpionis
20
Prvha

Pram
Pradam
Prvha
o`
Prvha
and Sagittarii
21
Uttarha
Utram
u
Uthirdam
Uttarha
o`
Uttarha
and Sagittarii
22
ravaa
Tiruvnam
()
Tiruvnam
ravaa

ravaa
, and Aquilae
23
ravih or Dhaniha
or
Aviam
a
Aviam
Dhaniha
Dhaniha
to Delphinus
24
atabhiak or
atatrak
/
Chatayam
Sadayam
atabhia
O
atabhia
Aquarii
25
Prva Bhdrapad
/

Pruruti
Pradhi
Prvbhdra
oc
Prvbhdra

and Pegasi
26
Uttara Bhdrapad
/
Uttti
u
Uttdhi
Uttarbhdra
oc
Uttarbhdra

Pegasi and
Andromedae
27
Revat

Rvati
Rvathi
Rvati
oO
Rvati
Piscium
Yoga
The Sanskrit word Yoga means "union", but in astronomical calculations it is used in the sense of "alignment". First one computes the
angular distance along the ecliptic of each object, taking the ecliptic to start at Mea or Aries (Medi, as defined above): this is called
the longitude of that object. The longitude of the sun and the longitude of the moon are added, and normalized to a value ranging between
0 to 360 (if greater than 360, one subtracts 360). This sum is divided into 27 parts. Each part will now equal 800' (where ' is the symbol
of the arcminute which means 1/60 of a degree). These parts are called the yogas. They are labeled:
1. Vikambha
2. Prti
3. yumn
4. Saubhgya
5. obhana
6. Atigaa
7. Sukarma
8. Dhti
9. la
10. Gaa
11. Vddhi
12. Dhruva
13. Vyghat
14. Haraa
15. Vajra
16. Siddhi
17. Vyatipta
18. Variyas
19. Parigha
20. iva
21. Siddha
22. Sdhya
23. ubha
24. ukla
25. Brahma
26. Mhendra
27. Vaidhti
Again, minor variations may exist. The yoga that is active during sunrise of a day is the prevailing yoga for the day.
Karaa
A karaa is half of a tithi. To be precise, a karaas is the time required for the angular distance between the sun and the moon to
increase in steps of 6 starting from 0. (Compare with the definition of a tithi above.)
Since the tithis are 30 in number, and since 1 tithi = 2 karaa, therefore one would logically expect there to be 60 karaa-s. But there are
only 11 such karaa which fill up those slots to accommodate for those '30 tithi'-s. There are actually 4 "fixed" (sthira) karaa-s and 7
5 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
The astronomical basis of the Hindu
lunar day. Also illustrates Kshaya Tithi
(Vaishaka-Krishna-Chaturdashi (i.e.
14th)) and Adhika Tithi (Jyeshta-
Shukla-Dashami(i.e. 10th))
"repeating" (cara) karaa.
The 4 "fixed" karaa-s are:
akuni (
) 1.
Catupda () 2.
Nga () 3.
Kistughna( ) 4.
The 7 "repeating" karaa-s are:
Vava or Bava () 1.
Valava or Blava () 2.
Kaulava () 3.
Taitila or Taitula () 4.
Gara or Garaja () 5.
Vaija () 6.
Vii (Bhadra) () 7.
Now the first half of the 1st tithi (of ukla Paka) is always Kitughna karaa. Hence this karaa' is "fixed".
Next, the 7-repeating karaa-s repeat eight times to cover the next 56 half-tithis. Thus these are the "repeating" (cara) karaa-s.
The 3 remaining half-tithi-s take the remaining "fixed" karaa-s in order. Thus these are also "fixed" (sthira).
Thus one gets 60 karaa-s from those 11 preset karaa-s.
The karaa-s at sunrise of a particular day shall be the prevailing karaa-s for the whole day. Note. The day changes at every sunrise i.e.
from Sunrise 1 to Sunrise 2 - is 1 Vedic day.
Months of the lunisolar calendar
When a new moon occurs before sunrise on a day, that day is said to be the first day of the lunar
month. So it is evident that the end of the lunar month will coincide with a new moon. A lunar
month has 29 or 30 days (according to the movement of the moon).
The tithi at sunrise of a day is the only label of the day. There is no running day number from the
first day to the last day of the month. This has some unique results, as explained below:
Sometimes two successive days have the same tithi. In such a case, the latter is called an adhika
tithi where adhika means "extra". Sometimes, one tithi may never touch a sunrise, and hence no
day will be labeled by that tithi. It is then said to be a Tithi Kaya where Kaya means "loss".
Month names
There are 12 months in Hindu lunar Calendar:
Chaitra (, , , , ) Mea (Aries)
[5]
1.
Vaikha (, , c, , i) Vabha (Taurus)
[6]
2.
Jyaiha (, , , , ) Mithuna (Gemini)
[7]
3.
ha (, , `, , k) Karka (Cancer)
[7]
4.
rvaa (, , , , ) Siha (Leo)
[7]
5.
Bhdrapada or Bhdra also Prohapada (, ,,, , , n) Kany (Virgo)
[7]
6.

6 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
vina in,sometimes Avayuja (,,, , , ) Tula (Libra)
[7]
7.
Krtika (, , o , , ) Vcika (Scorpio)
[7]
8.
Agrahyaa or, Mrgara (, ,, , , ) Dhanus (Sagittarius)
[7]
9.
Paua (, , , , ) Makara (Capricorn)
[7]
10.
Mgha (, , , , ) Kumbha (Aquarius)
[7]
11.
Phlguna (, , , , , )Mna (Pisces)
[7]
12.
Determining, which name a lunar month takes is somewhat indirect. It is based on the rshi (Zodiac sign) into which the sun transits
within a lunar month, i.e. before the new moon ending the month.
There are 12 ri names, there are twelve lunar month names. When the sun transits into the Mea ri in a lunar month, then the name
of the lunar month is Caitra. When the sun transits into Vabha, then the lunar month is Vaikha. So on.
If the transits of the Sun through various constellations of the zodiac (Ri) are used, then we get Solar months, which do not shift with
reference to the Gregorian calendar. The Solar months along with the corresponding Hindu seasons and Gregorian months are:
(Ri)
Saura
Msa
(solar
months)
tu
(season)
Kannada name Telugu name Tamil name
Gregorian
Tropical
months
Sidereal Vedic
Zodiac
Mea
Vasanta
(spring)

(Vasata tu)
(Vasata
tuvu)

(ilavenil)
Mar-Apr Aries
Vabha Apr-May Taurus
Mithuna
Grma
(summer)
(Grma
tu)
n (Grma
tuvu)

(mudhuvenil)
MayJune Gemini
Karkaa JuneJuly Cancer
Siha
Var
(monsoon)
(Vara
tu)
(Vara
tuvu)
(kaar)
July-Aug Leo
Kany Aug-Sept Virgo
Tul
arad
(autumn)
(aradtu) (aradtuvu)
(koothir)
Sept-Oct Libra
Vcika Oct-Nov Scorpius
Dhanu
Hemanta
(winter)

(Hmata tu)

(Hmata tuvu)
(munpani)
Nov-Dec Sagittarius
Makara Dec-Jan Capricornus
Kumbha
iira
(prevernal)
(iira
tu)
(iira
tuvu)
(pinpani)
Jan-Feb Aquarius
Mna Feb-Mar Pisces
The Sanskrit grammatical derivation of the lunar month names Caitra etc., is: the (lunar) month which has its central full moon occurring
at or near the Citr nakatra is called Caitra. Another example is let's say when Prim occurs in or near Vikha nakatra, this in turn
results to the initiation of the lunar month titled Vaikha Msa.
[8]
Similarly, for the nakatra-s Vikha, Jyeh, (Prva) h, ravaa, Bhdrapad, Avin (old name Avayuj), Kttik, Mgairas,
Puya, Megh and (Prva/Uttara) Phalgu the names Vaikha etc. at prim, the other Lunar names are derived subsequently.
The lunar months are split into two Pakas of 15 days. The waxing paksha is called ukla Paka, light half, and the waning paksha the
Ka Paka, dark half. There are two different systems for making the lunar calendar:
Amvsyanta or mukhya mana system a month begins with a new moon and ends at new moon, mostly followed in the southern
states
Primnta or gauna mana system a month begins with a full moon and ends at full moon, followed more in the North.
p.s. Primnta is also known as uklnta Msa. And this system is recommended by Varhamihira.
Extra months (Adhika Msa)
7 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
The astronomical basis of the Hindu
lunar months. Also illustrates Adhika
Masa (Year 2-Bhadrapada) repeats
twice; the first time the Sun moves
entirely within Simha Rashi thus
rendering it an Ashika Masa
When the sun does not at all transit into any ri but simply keeps moving within a ri in a lunar
month (i.e. before a new moon), then that lunar month will be named according to the first
upcoming transit. It will also take the epithet of adhika or "extra". For example, if a lunar month
elapsed without a solar transit and the next transit is into Mea, then this month without transit is
labeled Adhika Caitra Msa. The next month will be labeled according to its transit as usual and
will get the epithet nija ("original") or uddha ("unmixed"). In the animation above, Year 2
illustrates this concept with Bhadrapada repeating twice; the first time the Sun stays entirely
within Simha rashi thus resulting in an Adhika Bhakradapada.
Extra Month, or adhika msa (msa = lunar month in this context) falls every 32.5 months. It is
also known as puruottama msa, so as to give it a devotional name. Thus 12 Hindu mas (msa) is
equal to approximate 356 days, while solar year have 365 or 366 (in leap year) which create
difference of 9 to 10 days, which is offset every 3rd year. No adhika msa falls during Krtika to
Mgh.
A month long fair is celebrated in Machhegaun during adhika msa. It is general belief that one can wash away all one's sins by taking a
bath in the Machhenarayan's pond.
Lost months (Kaya Msa)
If the sun transits into two rshis within a lunar month, then the month will have to be labeled by both transits and will take the epithet
kaya or "loss". There is considered to be a "loss" because in this case, there is only one month labeled by both transits. If the sun had
transited into only one raashi in a lunar month as is usual, there would have been two separate months labeled by the two transits in
question.
For example, if the sun transits into Mea and Vabha in a lunar month, then it will be called Caitra-Vaikha kaya-msa. There will be
no separate months labeled Caitra and Vaikha.
A Kaya-Msa occurs very rarely. Known gaps between occurrence of Kaya-Msas are 19 and 141 years. The last was in 1983.
January 15 through February 12 were Paua-Mgha kaya-msa. February 13 onwards was (Adhika) Phlguna.
Special Case:
If there is no solar transit in one lunar month but there are two transits in the next lunar month,
the first month will be labelled by the first transit of the second month and take the epithet Adhika and
the next month will be labelled by both its transits as is usual for a Kaya-Msa
This is a very very rare occurrence. The last was in 1315. October 8 to November 5 were Krtika Adhika-Msa. November 6 to
December 5 were Krtika-Mrgara Kaya-Msa. December 6 onwards was Paua.
Religious observances in case of extra and lost months
Among normal months, adhika months, and kshaya months, the earlier are considered "better" for religious purposes. That means, if a
festival should fall on the 10th tithi of the shvayuja month (this is called Vijayadasham) and there are two vayuja (vina)' months
caused by the existence of an adhika vayuja, the first adhika month will not see the festival, and the festival will be observed only in
the second nija month. However, if the second month is shvayuja kshaya then the festival will be observed in the first adhika month
itself.
When two months are rolled into one in the case of a kshaya msa, the festivals of both months will also be rolled into this Kaya Msa'.
For example, the festival of Mahshivartri which is to be observed on the fourteenth tithi of the Mgha Ka-Paka was, in 1983,
observed on the corresponding tithi of Paua-Mgha Kaya Ka-Paka, since in that year, Paua and Mgha were rolled into one, as
mentioned above. When two months are rolled into one in the case of a Kaya Msa, the festivals of both months will also be rolled into
this kaya msa.
Vaiava calendar
Main article: Gaurabda

8 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
Month
Presiding Deity
of the month
Agrahyaa Keava
Paua Nryaa
Magh Mdhva
Phlguna Govinda
Caitra Viu
Vaikha Madhusudana
Jyeha Trivikrama
ha Vmana
rvaa rdhara
Bhdrapada Hkea
vina Padmanbha
Krtika Dmodara
Year of the lunisolar calendar
The new year day is the first day of the shukla paksha of Chaitra. In the case of adhika or kshaya months relating to Caitra, the
aforementioned religious rules apply giving rise to the following results:
If an adhika Chaitra is followed by a nija Chaitra, the new year starts with the nija Caitra.
If an adhika Chaitra is followed by a Chaitra-Vaishkha kshaya, the new year starts with the adhika Caitra.
If a Caitra-Vaikha Kaya occurs with no adhika Chaitra before it, then it starts the new year.
If a Caitra-Phlguna Kaya' occurs, it starts the new year.
Another kind of lunisolar calendar
There is another kind of lunisolar calendar which differs from the former in the way the months are named. When a full moon (instead of
new moon) occurs before sunrise on a day, that day is said to be the first day of the lunar month. In this case, the end of the lunar month
will coincide with a full moon. This is called the primnta mna - full-moon-ending reckoning, as against the amnta mna -
new-moon-ending reckoning used before.
This definition leads to a lot of complications:
The first paka of the month will fall on Ka-Paka whilst the second will be ukla-Paka in Primnta system.
The new year is still on the first day of the Caitra ukla-Paka. The subsequentPaka-s will, for example, be -
Lunar Month
Candra Msa
First Paka Ending (2nd) Paka
Vaikha Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Jyaiha Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
ha Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
rvaa Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Bhdrapada Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
vina Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Krtika Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Mrgara Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Paua Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Mgha Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Phlguna Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
Caitra Ka-Paka ukla-Paka
9 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
Note:
Phlguna Msa is the last Lunar month, with the last paka of the year in this primnta system being Phlguna ukla-Paka. 1.
The ukla Paka of a given month, say Caitra, comprises the same actual days in both systems, as can be deduces from a careful
analysis of the rules. However, the Caitra Ka-Paka-s defined by the 2 systems will be on different days, since the Caitra
Ka-Paka precedes the Caitra ukla-Paka in the prnimnta system but follows it in the amnta system.
Though the regular months are defined by the full moon, the adhika and kaya lunar months are still defined by the new moon.
That is, even if the prnimnta system is followed, adhika or kaya months will start with the first sunrise after the new moon, and
end with the new moon.
The adhika month will therefore get sandwiched between the 2paka-s of the nija months. For example, a rvaa Adhika Msa
will be inserted as follows:
nija rvaa Ka-Paka 1.
adhika rvaa ukla-Paka 2.
adhika rvaa Ka-Paka and 3.
nija Shrvana ukla-Paka
after which Bhdrapada Ka-Paka will follow subsequently as usual.
4.
If there is an adhika Caitra, then it will follow the (nija) Caitra Kra-Paka at the end of the year. Only with the nija Caitra
ukla-Paka will the new year start. The only exception is when it is followed by a kaya, and that will be mentioned later.
The kaya month is more complicated. If in the amnta system there is a Paua-Mgha Kaya Msa, then in the prnimnta
system there will be the following paka-s:
Paua Ka-Paka 1.
Paua-Maagha kshaya ukla-Paka 2.
Mgha-Phlguna Kaya Ka-Paka and a 3.
Phlguna ukla-Paka. 4.
The special Kaya case where an adhika msa precedes a kshaya msa gets even more convoluted. First, we should remember that
the vina ukla-Paka is the same in both the systems. After this come the following Paka-s:
nija Krtika Ka-Paka 1.
adhika Krtika ukla-Paka 2.
adhika Krtika Ka-Paka 3.
Krtika-Mgara Kaya ukla-Paka 4.
Mgarsa-Paua Kaya Ka-Paka 5.
Paua ukla-Paka
followed by the Mgha Ka-Paka etc., as usual.
6.
The considerations for the new year are:
If there is a Caitra-Vaikha Kaya ukla-Paka:
if an adhika Caitra' precedes it, then the adhika Caitra ukla-Paka starts the new year 1.
if not, the Kaya ukla-Paka starts the new year 2.
1.
If there is a Phlguna-Caitra Kaya ukla-Paka then it starts the new year 2.
However, none of these above complications cause a change in the day of religious observances. Since only the name of the Ka-
Paka-s of the months will change in the two systems, festivals which fall on the Ka-Paka will be defined by the appropriate
changed name. That is, the Mahivartri, defined in the amnta mna to be observed on the fourteenth of the Mgha krishna paksha
will now (in the prnimnta mna) be defined by the Phlguna krishna paksha.
Correspondence of the lunisolar calendar to the solar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is always a calendar based on the moon's celestial motion, which in a way keeps itself close to a solar calendar based
on the sun's (apparent) celestial motion. That is, the lunisolar calendar's new year is to kept always close (within certain limits) to a solar
calendar's new year.
Since the Hindu lunar month names are based on solar transits, and the month of Caitra will, as defined above, always be close to the
solar month of Mea (Aries), the Hindu lunisolar calendar will always keep in track with the Hindu solar calendar.
The Hindu solar calendar by contrast starts on April 1415 each year. This signifies the sun's "entry" into Mesha rashi and is celebrated as
the New Year in Assam, Bengal, Odisha, Manipur, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura. The first month of the year is called
"Chitterai ()" in Tamil, "Medam" in Malayalam and Bohag in Assamese, Baisakh in Bengali/Punjabi and Nepali. This solar
new year is celebrated on the same day in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Thailand due to Tamil influence on those
countries
[citation needed]
.
Year numbering
10 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
The epoch (starting point or first day of the zeroth year) of the current era of Hindu calendar (both solar and lunisolar) is February 18,
3102 BCE in the proleptic Julian calendar or January 23, 3102 BCE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. According to the Pura-s this
was the moment when r Ka returned to his eternal abode.
[9][10]
Both the solar and lunisolar calendars started on this date. After that,
each year is labeled by the number of years elapsed since the epoch.
This is an unusual feature of the Hindu calendar. Most systems use the current ordinal number of the year as the year label. But just as a
person's true age is measured by the number of years that have elapsed starting from the date of the person's birth, the Hindu calendar
measures the number of years elapsed. As of May 18, 2010, 5119 years have elapsed in the Hindu calendar. However, the lunisolar
calendar year usually starts earlier than the solar calendar year,
[citation needed]
so the exact year will not begin on the same day every year.
Year names
Apart from the numbering system outlined above, there is also a cycle of 60 calendar year names, called Samvatsaras, which started at the
first year (at elapsed years zero) and runs continuously:
1. Prabhava
2. Vibhava
3. Shukla
4. Pramoda
5. Prajpati
6. ngirasa
7. Shrmukha
8. Bhva
9. Yuva
10. Dhtri
11. shvara
12. Bahudhnya
13. Pramdhi
14. Vikrama (2000-2001)
15. Vrisha (2001-02)
16. Chitrabhnu (2002-03)
17. Svabhnu (2003-04)
18. Trana (2004-05)
19. Prthiva (2005-06)
20. Vyaya (2006-2007)
21. Sarvajeeth (2007-08)
22. Sarvadhri (2008-09)
23. Virodhi (2009-10)
24. Vikrita (2010-11)
25. Khara (2011-12)
26. Nandana (2012-13)
27. Vijaya (2013-14)
28. Jaya
29. Manmadha
30. Durmukhi
31. Hevilambi
32. Vilambi
33. Vikri
34. Shrvari
35. Plava
36. Shubhakruti
37. Sobhakruthi
38. Krodhi
39. Vishvvasu
40. Parbhava
41. Plavanga
42. Klaka
43. Saumya
44. Sdhrana
45. Virodhikruthi
46. Paridhvi
47. Pramdicha
48. nanda
49. Rkshasa
50. Anala
51. Pingala
52. Klayukthi
53. Siddhrthi
54. Raudra
55. Durmathi
56. Dundubhi
57. Rudhirodgri
58. Raktkshi
59. Krodhana
60. Akshaya
This system contains the concept of leap year also.Every 4th year will have 366 days and the others only 365.The starting point is
Meshadi or Mesha Sankranti, ( 1st of the month Mea or the Hindu solar new year).It is also calculated a day by day mode.beginning
from 1 presently it runs 1864000+.... days.This means these much days have passed in the present Kaliyuga (1/10 of Catur-Yuga's total)
Eras
Hinduism follows Hindu units of time containing four eras (Technically Yuga) or ages, of which we are currently in the last. The four
yugas are:
Kta Yuga or Satya Yuga 1.
Treta Yuga 2.
Dvpara Yuga 3.
Kali Yuga 4.
They are often translated into English as the golden, silver, bronze and Iron Ages. (Yuga means era or age.) The ages see a gradual decline
of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span and emotional and physical strength. The epoch provided above is the
start of the Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga is 432,000 years long. The Dvpara, Tret and Kta (Satya) Yuga-s are two, three and four times
the length of the Kali Yuga respectively. Thus they together constitute 4,320,000 years. This is called a Catur-Yuga.
A thousand and a thousand (i.e. two thousand) Catur-Yuga-s are said to be one day and night of the creator Brahm. He (the creator)
lives for 100 years of 360 such days and at the end, he is said to dissolve, along with his entire Creation, into the Eternal Soul or
Paramtman.
11 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
History
The Hindu Calendar descends from the Vedic times. There are many references to calendrics in the Vedas. The (6) Vedga-s (auto Veda)
called Jyotia (literally, "celestial body study") prescribed all the aspects of the Hindu calendars. After the Vedic period, there were many
scholars such as ryabhaa (5th century CE), Varhamihira (6th century) and Bhskara (12th century) who were experts scholars in
Jyotia and contributed to the development of the Hindu Calendar.
The most widely used authoritative text for the Hindu Calendars is the Srya Siddhnta, a text of uncertain age, though some place it at
10th century.
The traditional Vedic calendar used to start with the month of agrahayan (agra=first + ayan = travel of the sun, equinox) or Mrgaa.
This is the month where the Sun crosses the equator, i.e. the vernal equinox. This month was called mrgashirsha after the fifth nakshatra
(around lambda orionis). Due to the precession of the Earth's axis, the vernal equinox is now in Pisces, and corresponds to the month of
chaitra. This shift over the years is what has led to various calendar reforms in different regions to assert different months as the start
month for the year. Thus, some calendars (e.g. Vikram) start with Caitra, which is the present-day month of the vernal equinox, as the first
month. Others may start with Vaikha (e.g. Bangabda). The shift in the vernal equinox by nearly four months from Agrahyaa to
Caitra in sidereal terms seems to indicate that the original naming conventions may date to the fourth or fifth millennium BCE, since the
period of precession in the Earth's axis is about 25,800 years.
Regional variants
The Indian Calendar Reform Committee, appointed in 1952 (shortly after Indian independence), identified more than thirty
well-developed calendars, all variants of the Surya Siddhanta calendar outlined here, in systematic use across different parts of India.
These include the widespread Vikrama and Shalivahana calendars and regional variations thereof. The Tamil calendar, a solar calendar, is
used in Tamil Nadu and Kollavarsham Calendar is used in Kerala.
Vikrama and Shalivahana calendars
The two calendars most widely used in India today are the Vikrama calendar followed in Western and Northern India and Nepal, and the
Shalivahana or Saka calendar which is followed in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.
In the year 56 BCE, Vikrama Samvat era was founded by the emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain following his victory over the Sakas. Later,
in a similar fashion, Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni initiated the Saka era to celebrate his victory against the Sakas in the year
78 CE.
Both the Vikrama and the Shalivahana eras are lunisolar calendars, and feature annual cycles of twelve lunar months, each month
divided into two phases: the 'bright half' (ukla Paka) and the 'dark half' (Ka Paka); these correspond respectively to the periods of
the 'waxing' and the 'waning' of the moon. Thus, the period beginning from the first day after the new moon and ending on the full moon
day constitutes the ukla Paka, 'bright part' of the month; the period beginning from the day after Prim (the full moon) until and
including the next new moon day constitutes the Ka Paka, the'dark part' of the month.
The names of the 12 months, as also their sequence, are the same in both calendars; however, the new year is celebrated at separate
points during the year and the "year zero" for the two calendars is different. In the Vikrama calendar, the zero year corresponds to 56
BCE, while in the Shalivahana calendar, it corresponds to 78 CE. The Vikrama calendar begins with the month of Baikha or Vaikha
(April), or Kartak (October/November) in Gujarat. The Shalivahana calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March) and the
Ugadi/Gudi Padwa festivals mark the new year.
Another little-known difference between the two calendars exists: while each month in the Shalivahana calendar begins with the 'bright
half' and is followed by the 'dark half', the opposite obtains in the Vikrama calendar. Thus, each month of the Shalivahana calendar ends
with the no-moon day and the new month begins on the day after that, while the full-moon day brings each month of the Vikrama
calendar to a close (This is an exception in Gujarati Calendar, its month (and hence new year) starts on a sunrise of the day after new
moon, and ends on the new moon, though it follows Vikram Samvat).
In Gujarat, Diwali is held on the final day of the Vikram Calendar and the next day marks the beginning of the New Year and is also
referred as Annakut or Nutan Varsh or Bestu Varash. In the Hindu calendar popularly used in North India the year begins with Chaitra
Shukala Pratipadha (March April).
Samvat calendars
Samvat is one of the several Hindu calendars in India:
12 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
Vikram Samvat: lunar months, solar sidereal years
Shaka Samvat (traditional): lunar months, solar sidereal years
Shaka Samvat (modern): solar tropical
Bangla Calendar: solar tropical years
Tamil Nadu/Kerala: solar tropical years such as Tamil calendar
Nepali calendar with Bikram Sambat: solar tropical years
Most holidays in India are based on the first two calendars. A few are based on the solar cycle, Sankranti (solar sidereal) and Baisakhi
(solar tropical).
Months and approximate correspondence
Indian months are listed below. Shaka and Chaitradi Vikram (UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra etc.) start with Chaitra, Kartikadi Vikram
(Gujarat) start in Kartika.
# Indian Gregorian
1 Chaitra AprilMay
2 Vaiskha MayJune
3 Jyeshta JuneJuly
4 shda JulyAugust
5 Shraavana AugustSeptember
6 Bhdrapada SeptemberOctober
7 Ashwina OctoberNovember
8 Kartika NovemberDecember
9
Mrgasirsa
(Agrahayana)
DecemberJanuary
10 Pausha JanuaryFebruary
11 Mgha FebruaryMarch
12 Phlguna MarchApril
Nakshatras are divisions of ecliptic, each 13 20', starting from 0 Aries. The purnima of each month is synchronized with a nakshatra.
Time cycles in India
The time cycles in India are:
60-year cycle
Year
6 seasons of a year
about 60 days (2 months) in a season
Month (lunar)
2 pakshas in a month, shukla (waxing) and krishna (waning)
15 tithis in a paksha (1-14, 15th is purnima or amavasya)
60 ghatikas (or 30 muhurtas or 8 praharas) in a 24-hour period (ahoratra).
30 Kala (approx) in 1 muhurta
30 Kastha in 1 kala
15 Nimisha in 1 kastha
Years are synchronized with the solar sidereal year by adding a month every three years. The extra month is termed as "Adhik Mass"
(extra month). This extra month is called Mala Masa (impure month) in Eastern India.
Date conversion
Converting a date from an Indian calendar to the common era can require a complex computation. To obtain the approximate year in the
common era (CE):
Chaitradi Vikram (past) : Chaitra-Pausha: subtract 57; Pausha-Phalguna: subtract 56.
13 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
Shaka: add 78-79
Kalachuri: add 248-249
Gupta/Valabhi: add 319-320
Bangla: add 593-594
Vira Nirvana Samvat: subtract 527-526
Yudhishthira Samvat: Subtract 3101 (Ascension of Lord Krishna at age 125) from common era
Sri Krishna Samvat: Subtract 3226 (Birth of Lord Sri Krishna) from common era
Balabhi Samvat: add 320 to common era
Kyoto University Panchanga Converter Program (http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~yanom/pancanga/)
The Kali "Samvat"
The Kali Era is not called a "Samvat" in common Indian usage, but since it Is also an era, it might be useful to mention it here too. The
Hindu calendar article has more information on the Kali Era. The conversion is given here:
Add 3101 or 3100 (using the same guidelines as above) to the Gregorian year to get the number of elapsed Kali years.
Add 3102 or 3101 to get the current Kali yuga number.
Remember that the former (of the above two) is the standard, as explained at the Hindu calendar article.
This era also corresponds with Yudhisthira Samvat in which we have present year as 5115 (April 2013 AD)
Variations
In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and many northern region of India months are Purnimanta (means month ends on Purnima or
Full Moon). In Gujarat, Maharashtra, and other parts of many south Indian region, months are Amanta (months end on Amavasya).
In inscriptions, the years may be gata (past) or current.
National calendars in South and South East Asia
A variant of the Shalivahana Calendar was reformed and standardized as the Indian National calendar in 1957. This official calendar
follows the Shalivahan Shak calendar in beginning from the month of Chaitra and counting years with 78 CE being year zero. It features
a constant number of days in every month (with leap years).
The Bengali Calendar, or Bengali calendar (introduced 1584), is widely used in eastern India in the state of West Bengal, Tripura and
Assam. A reformation of this calendar was introduced in present-day Bangladesh in 1966, with constant days in each month and a leap
year system; this serves as the national calendar for Bangladesh. Nepal follows the Bikram Sambat. Parallel months and roughly the same
periods apply to the Buddhist calendars used in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Correspondence between calendars
As an indicator of this variation, Whitaker's Almanac reports that the Gregorian year 2000 CE corresponds, respectively with:
Year 5101 in the Kaliyuga calendar; 1.
Year 2544 in the Buddha Nirvana calendar; 2.
Year 2543 in the Buddhist Era (BE) of the Thai solar calendar 3.
Year 2057 in the Bikram Samvat calendar; 4.
Year 1922 in the Saka calendar; 5.
Year 1921 (shown in terms of 5-yearly cycles) of the Vedanga Jyotisa calendar; 6.
Year 1407 in the Bengali calendar; 7.
Year 1362 in the Burmese Calendar; 8.
Year 514 in the Gaurabda Gaudiya calendar; 9.
Year 1176 in the Malayalam calendar or Kolla Varsham calendar. 10.
See also
Hindu astrology
Hindu chronology
Hindu units of measurement
List of Hindu festivals
Panchangam
14 of 15 10/22/2013 10:57 PM
Panjika
Ancient Vedic units of measurement
Perpetual Calendar of 800 Years
Pambu Panchangam
References
^ Time Measurement and Calendar Construction (http://books.google.com/books?id=wwEVAAAAIAAJ). Brill Archive. Retrieved
2011-09-18.
1.
^ Chatterjee, S.K. (1998). Indian Calendric System. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. 2.
^ Chia Daphne and Helmer Aslaksen (April 2001). "Indian Calendars: Comparing the Surya Siddhanta and the Astronomical Ephemeris"
(http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/projects/dc-urops.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 2004-04-04.
3.
^ Basham, A.L. (1954). The Wonder that was India. Macmillan (Rupa and Co, Calcutta, reprint),., Appendix II: Astronomy 4.
^ Notable Horoscopes - Bangalore Venkat Raman - Google Books (http://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sXJ02csFd5kC&oi=fnd&
pg=PA149&dq=jyotish+shastra+b+v+raman&ots=HVjh9wbhqf&sig=LOlXrQr71MO0_G4KWN6eEc-fZeA). Books.google.co.in. Retrieved
2012-08-13.
5.
^ Sarma (2008), Astronomy in India 6.
^
a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

i

j
Charak, Dr. K.S. (1996). Essentials of Medical Astrology, Uma Publications, pp.56. 7.
^ Hindu Lunar Month Names (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnmfuTxgDa4) 8.
^ Bhgavata Pura 12.2.29-33 9.
^ Yano, Michio, "Calendar, astrology and astronomy" in Flood, Gavin (Ed) (2003). Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Publishing.
ISBN 0-631-21535-2.
10.
Further reading
Reingold and Dershowitz, Calendrical Calculations, Millennium Edition, Cambridge University Press, latest 2nd edition 3rd
printing released November 2004. ISBN 0-521-77752-6
S. Balachandra Rao, Indian Astronomy: An Introduction, Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2000.
Rai Bahadur Pandit Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha, The Paleography of India, 2 ed., Ajmer, 1918, reprinted Manshuram
Manoharlal publishers, 1993.
Mughal, Muhammad Aurang Zeb. 2012. Temporal rhythm of change in Village Jhokwala, Pakistan: Ethnographic insights from
calendars (http://dro.dur.ac.uk/10880/1/10880.pdf). Giovanni Bennardo (ed.), Cultural Models of Nature and the Environment:
Self, Space, and Causality Workshop. ESE Working Paper No. 1. DeKalb, IL: Institute for the Study of the Environment,
Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, pp. 6165.
External links
Hindu Chronology (http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Hindu_Chronology), Encyclopdia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1911)
The Astronomical Basis of the Hindu Lunisolar Calendar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpqLuB-T7h0)
Reinventing the Indian(Hindu) Calendar (http://gonitsora.com/reinventing-the-indian-hindu-calendar/)
Hindu Calendars in various Indian Languages (http://www.indiancalendars.org/)
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