Hindu calendar

Hindu calendar is a collective name for most of the

luni-sidereal calendars and sidereal calendars traditionally used in Hinduism.
The Hindu calendars have undergone many changes in
the process of regionalization. Some of the more prominent regional Hindu calendars include the Nepali calendar, Assamese calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam
calendar, Tamil calendar, Vikrama Samvat used in
Northern India, and Shalivahana calendar in the Deccan
States of Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra
Pradesh.[1][2] 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). 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 derived from Gupta era astronomy as developed by ryabhaa and Varhamihira in
the 5th to 6th century. These in turn were based in the
astronomical tradition of Vedga Jyotia, which in the
preceding centuries had been standardized in a number
of (non-extant) works known as Srya Siddhnta. Regional diversication took place in the medieval period.
The astronomical foundations were further developed in
the medieval period, notably by Bhskara II (12th century).
Dierences and regional variations abound in these computations, but the following is a general overview of the
Hindu lunisolar calendar.
The Indian national calendar or Saka calendar was introduced in 1957 based on the traditional Hindu calendars.

1 Day
In the Hindu calendar, the day starts with the sunrise. It
is allotted ve "properties" or "limbs", called agas. They
are:
1. the Tithi (one of 30 divisions of a synodic month)
active at sunrise
A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72.

2. the Vsara (ancient nomeclature), vra (modern

nomeclature), like in ravi-vra, som-vra, etc. or
1

1 DAY
weekday
3. the Nakatra (one of 27 divisions of the celestial
ecliptic) in which the moon resides at sunrise

Hence more than one star is mentioned for each nakatra.

1.3 Yoga

4. the Yoga (one of 27 divisions based on the ecliptic

longitude of the sun and moon) active at sunrise time The Sanskrit word Yoga means union, but in astronomical calculations it is used in the sense of alignment.
5. the Karaa (divisions based on tithis) active at sunFirst one computes the angular distance along the ecliptic
rise.
of each object, taking the ecliptic to start at Mea or Aries
(Medi, as dened above): this is called the longitude
Together 5 limbs or properties are labelled under as the of that object. The longitude of the sun and the longitude
pacgas (Sanskrit: paca = ve). An explanation of of the moon are added, and normalized to a value rangthe terms follows.
ing 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
1.1 Vsara
which means 1/60 of a degree). These parts are called
the yogas. They are labeled:
Vsara refers to the weekdays and the names of the week
in many western cultures bear striking similarities with
1. Vikambha
the Vsara:
The term -vsara is often realized as vra or vaar in
Sanskrit-derived and inuenced languages. There are
many variations of the names in the regional languages,
mostly using alternate names of the celestial bodies involved.

2. Prti
3. yumn
4. Saubhgya
5. obhana

1.2

Nakatra

The ecliptic is divided into 27 Nakatras, which are variously called lunar houses or asterisms. These reect
the moons cycle against the xed stars, 27 days and 7
hours, the fractional part being compensated by an intercalary 28th nakatra titled Abhijit. Nakatras computation appears to have been well known at the time of the
igveda (2nd1st millennium BC).
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 dierent denitions 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 dierence 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 xed (sidereal) position. Given the 25,800 year
cycle for the precession of the equinoxes, the equinox was
directly opposite Spica in AD 285, around the date of the
Srya Siddhnta.[3][4]
The nakatras with their corresponding regions of sky
are given below, following Basham.[5] As always, there
are many versions with minor dierences. The names on
the right-hand column give roughly the correspondence of
the nakatras 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.

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

3
25. Brahma

2 Months of the lunisolar calendar

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.

1.4

Karaa

A karaa is half of a tithi. To be precise, a karaa is the

time required for the angular distance between the sun
and the moon to increase in steps of 6 starting from 0. The astronomical basis of the Hindu lunar day. Also illustrates
(Compare with the denition of a tithi.)
Kshaya Tithi (Vaishaka-Krishna-Chaturdashi (i.e. 14th)) and
Since the tithis are 30 in number, and since 1 tithi = 2
karaas, therefore one would logically expect there to be
60 karaas. But there are only 11 such karaas which ll
up those slots to accommodate for those 30 tithis. There
are actually 4 xed (sthira) karaas and 7 repeating
(cara) karaas.
The 4 xed karaas are:
1. akuni ()
2. Catupda ()
3. Nga ()
4. Kistughna()
The 7 repeating karaas are:
1. Vava or Bava ()
2. Valava or Blava ()
3. Kaulava ()
4. Taitila or Taitula ()
5. Gara or Garaja ()
6. Vaija ()

Adhika Tithi (Jyeshta- Shukla-Dashami(i.e. 10th))

There are two traditions being followed with respect to

the start of the month. Amavasyant (Amanta) tradition
followed mainly in the Western and Southern states of
India (namely Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu) considers a new moon occurring before sunrise on a day to be the rst day of the
lunar month.[6] Purnimant tradition, on the other hand,
considers the next day of a Full moon to be the rst day
of the lunar month. This tradition is chiey followed in
the Northern and Eastern states of India (Bihar, Himachal
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar
Pradesh).[7] Having the two active traditions in practice
would also mean that while the month names of the Hindu
lunar calendar remains the same, there is on an average
15 days dierence in starting and ending of the month
between the two traditions. This has its eects of the
dates of recurring annual events such as the holy month
of rvaa.[8] For example, between the followers of the
two traditions, the start of rvaa month and its religious
abstinence and observations will be deferred by 15 days
for the followers of Amavasyant tradition.
A lunar month has 29 or 30 days (according to the movement of the moon).

7. Vii (Bhadra) ()

The tithi at sunrise of a day is the only label of the day.

There is no running day number from the rst day to the
Now the rst half of the 1st tithi (of ukla Paka) is last day of the month. This has some unique results, as
always Kitughna karaa. Hence this karaa' is explained below:
xed.
Sometimes two successive days have the same tithi. In
Next, the 7-repeating karaas repeat eight times to such a case, the latter is called an adhika tithi where adcover the next 56 half-tithis. Thus these are the re- hika means extra. Sometimes, one tithi may never touch
peating (cara) karaas.
a sunrise, and hence no day will be labeled by that tithi.
The 3 remaining half-tithis take the remaining It is then said to be a Tithi Kaya where Kaya means
xed karaas in order. Thus these are also xed "loss".
(sthira).

Thus one gets 60 karaas from those 11 preset 2.1 Month names
karaas.
There are 12 months in Hindu lunar Calendar (Sanskrit:
The Vedic day begins at sunrise. The karaa at sunrise ):
of a particular day shall be the prevailing karaa for the
1. Chaitra
whole day.

2
2. Vaikha
3. Jyeha
4. ha
5. rvaa
6. Bhdrapada, Bhdra or Prohapada

MONTHS OF THE LUNISOLAR CALENDAR

Primnta or gauna mana system a month begins

with a full moon and ends at full moon, followed
more in North India. Primnta is also known as
uklnta Msa and this system is recommended by
Varhamihira.
2.2.1 Extra months (Adhika Msa)

7. vina
8. Krtika
9. Agrahyaa, Mrgara
10. Paua
11. Mgha
12. Phlguna
Determining, which name a lunar month takes is somewhat indirect. It is based on the rshi (Zodiac sign) into The astronomical basis of the Hindu lunar months. Also illuswhich the sun transits within a lunar month, i.e. before trates Adhika Masa (Year 2-Bhadrapada) repeats twice; the rst
the new moon ending the month.
time the Sun moves entirely within Simha Rashi thus rendering it
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 Chaitra which
has both Mna ri and Mea ri . When the sun transits
into Vabha ri, then the lunar month is Vaikha which
has both Mea ri and Vabha ri. So on.

2.2

Seasons

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:

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 rst 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 Chaitra 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 rst 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, it is said that the name is been given
by Lord Vishnu as his name to this month. Thus 12 Hindu
mas (msa) is equal to approximate 356 days, while solar
year have 365 or 366 (in leap year) which create dierence of 9 to 10 days, which is oset every 3rd year. No
Similarly, for the nakatras Vikha, Jyeh, (Prva) adhika msa falls during Krtika to Mgh.
h, ravaa, Bhdrapad, Avin (old name
Avayuj), Kttik, Mgairas, Puya, Megh and A month-long fair is celebrated in Machhegaun during
(Prva/Uttara) Phalgu the names Vaikha etc. at adhika msa. It is general belief that one can wash away
prim, the other Lunar names are derived subse- all ones sins by taking a bath in the Machhenarayans
pond.
quently.
The Sanskrit derivation of the lunar month names Chaitra
etc., is the (lunar) month which has its central full moon
occurring at or near the Citr nakatra is called Chaitra.
Another example is lets say when Prim occurs in or
near Vikha nakatra, this in turn results to the initiation of the lunar month titled Vaikha Msa.[9]

The lunar months are split into two pakas of 15 days.

The waxing paksha is called ukla Paka light half and 2.2.2 Lost months (Kaya Msa)
the waning paka the ka paka dark half. There are
two dierent systems for making the lunar calendar:
If the sun transits into two rshis within a lunar month,
then the month will have to be labeled by both transits and
Amvsyanta or mukhya mana system a month be- will take the epithet kaya or loss. There is considered
gins with a new moon and ends at new moon, mostly to be a loss because in this case, there is only one month
followed in South India
labeled by both transits. If the sun had transited into only

2.4

Vaiava calendar

one raashi in a lunar month as is usual, there would have 2.4 Vaiava calendar
been two separate months labeled by the two transits in
question.
Main article: Gaurabda
For example, if the sun transits into Mea and Vabha
in a lunar month, then it will be called Chaitra-Vaikha
kaya-msa. There will be no separate months labeled
Chaitra and Vaikha.

3 Year of the lunisolar calendar

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.

The new year day is the rst day of the shukla paksha of
Chaitra. In the case of adhika or kshaya months relating to Chaitra, the aforementioned religious rules apply
giving rise to the following results:

Special Case:
If there is no solar transit in one lunar month but there are
two transits in the next lunar month,

If an adhika Chaitra is followed by a nija Chaitra, the

new year starts with the nija Chaitra. (e.g., 101502-22 CE)

the rst month will be labelled by the rst transit of

the second month and take the epithet Adhika and

If an adhika Chaitra is followed by a ChaitraVaishkha kshaya, the new year starts with the adhika Chaitra.

the next month will be labelled by both its transits as

is usual for a Kaya-Msa

If a Chaitra-Vaikha Kaya occurs with no adhika Chaitra before it, then it starts the new year.

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.

2.3

If a Chaitra-Phlguna Kaya' occurs, it starts the

new year.

4 Another kind of lunisolar calendar

Religious observances in case of extra There is another kind of lunisolar calendar which difand lost months
fers from the former in the way the months are named.

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 rst 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 rst adhika month
itself.

When a full moon (instead of new moon) occurs before sunrise on a day, that day is said to be the rst 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 denition leads to a lot of complications:
The rst paka of the month will fall on KaPaka whilst the second will be ukla-Paka in
Primnta system.

When two months are rolled into one in the case of a

kshaya msa, the festivals of both months will also be
The new year is still on the rst day of the Chaitra
rolled into this Kaya Msa'. For example, the fesukla-Paka. The subsequent Pakas will, for examtival of Mahshivartri which is to be observed on
ple, be:
the fourteenth tithi of the Mgha Ka-Paka was,
in 1983, observed on the corresponding tithi of PauaMgha Kaya Ka-Paka, since in that year, Paua Note:
and Mgha were rolled into one, as mentioned above.
1. Phlguna Msa is the last Lunar month, with the
When two months are rolled into one in the case of a
last paka of the year in this primnta system
Kaya Msa, the festivals of both months will also be
being Phlguna ukla-Paka.
rolled into this kaya msa.

6
The ukla Paka of a given month, say Chaitra,
comprises the same actual days in both systems, as
can be deduces from a careful analysis of the rules.
However, the Chaitra Ka-Pakas dened by the 2
systems will be on dierent days, since the Chaitra
Ka-Paka precedes the Chaitra ukla-Paka in
the prnimnta system but follows it in the amnta
system.

YEAR NUMBERING

The considerations for the new year are:

1. If there is a Chaitra-Vaikha Kaya uklaPaka:
(a) if an adhika Chaitra' precedes it, then
the adhika Chaitra ukla-Paka starts the
new year
(b) if not, the Kaya ukla-Paka starts the
new year

Though the regular months are dened by the full

2. If there is a Phlguna-Chaitra Kaya uklamoon, the adhika and kaya lunar months are still
Paka then it starts the new year
dened by the new moon. That is, even if the prnimnta system is followed, adhika or kaya months
will start with the rst sunrise after the new moon, However, none of these above complications cause a
change in the day of religious observances. Since only the
and end with the new moon.
name of the Ka-Pakas of the months will change in
The adhika month will therefore get sandwiched the two systems, festivals which fall on the Ka-Paka
between the 2 pakas of the nija months. For ex- will be dened by the appropriate changed name. That
ample, a rvaa Adhika Msa will be inserted as is, the Mahivartri, dened in the amnta mna to be
observed on the fourteenth of the Mgha krishna pakfollows:
sha will now (in the prnimnta mna) be dened by the
1. nija rvaa Ka-Paka
Phlguna krishna paksha.
2. adhika rvaa ukla-Paka
3. adhika rvaa Ka-Paka and
4. nija Shrvana ukla-Paka
after which Bhdrapada Ka-Paka will
follow subsequently as usual.
If there is an adhika Chaitra, then it will follow the
(nija) Chaitra Kra-Paka at the end of the year.
Only with the nija Chaitra ukla-Paka will the new
year start. The only exception is when it is followed
by a kaya, and that will be mentioned later.

5 Correspondence of the lunisolar

calendar to the solar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is always a calendar based on the
moons celestial motion, which in a way keeps itself close
to a solar calendar based on the suns (apparent) celestial motion.[10] That is, the lunisolar calendars new year
is to kept always close (within certain limits) to a solar
calendars new year.

The kaya month is more complicated. If in the

Since the Hindu lunar month names are based on solar
amnta system there is a Paua-Mgha Kaya
transits, and the month of Chaitra will, as dened above,
Msa, then in the prnimnta system there will be
always be close to the solar month of Mea (Aries), the
the following pakas:
Hindu lunisolar calendar will always keep in track with
the Hindu solar calendar.
1. Paua Ka-Paka
The Hindu solar calendar by contrast starts on April 14
15 each year. This signies the suns entry into Me3. Mgha-Phlguna Kaya Ka-Paka and a
sha rashi and is celebrated as the New Year in Assam,
4. Phlguna ukla-Paka.
Bengal, Odisha, Manipur, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu
The special Kaya case where an adhika msa pre- and Tripura. The rst month of the year is called
cedes a kshaya msa gets even more convoluted. "()" in Tamil, Medam in Malayalam and BoFirst, we should remember that the vina ukla- hag in Assamese, Baisakh in Bengali/Punjabi and Nepali.
Paka is the same in both the systems. After this This solar new year is celebrated on the same day in
Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Thailand.
come the following Pakas:
2. Paua-Maagha kshaya ukla-Paka

1. nija Krtika Ka-Paka

2. adhika Krtika ukla-Paka

6 Year numbering

3. adhika Krtika Ka-Paka

4. Krtika-Mgara Kaya ukla-Paka
5. Mgarsa-Paua Kaya Ka-Paka
6. Paua ukla-Paka
followed by the Mgha Ka-Paka etc., as
usual.

The epoch (starting point or rst day of the zeroth year)

of the current era of Hindu calendar (both solar and lunisolar) is February 18, 3102 BC in the proleptic Julian
calendar or January 23, 3102 BC in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. According to the Puras this was the moment when r Ka returned to his eternal abode.[11][12]

7
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.

23. Virodhi (200910)

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 persons true age is measured by
the number of years that have elapsed starting from the
date of the persons birth, the Hindu calendar measures
the number of years elapsed. As of August 31, 2014,
5116 years have elapsed in the Hindu calendar. However,
the lunisolar calendar year usually starts earlier than the
solar calendar year, so the exact year will not begin on the
same day every year.

25. Khara (201112)

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 rst year (at elapsed
years zero) and runs continuously:

24. Vikrita (201011)

26. Nandana (201213)

27. Vijaya (201314)
28. Jaya (201415)
29. Manmatha (201516)
30. Durmukhi
31. Hevilambi
32. Vilambi
33. Vikri
34. Shrvari
35. Plava
36. Shubhakruti

1. Prabhava

37. Sobhakruthi

2. Vibhava

38. Krodhi

3. Shukla

39. Vishvvasu

4. Pramoda

40. Parbhava

5. Prajpati

41. Plavanga

6. ngirasa

42. Klaka

7. Shrmukha

43. Saumya

8. Bhva

44. Sdhrana

9. Yuva

45. Virodhikruthi

10. Dhtri

46. Paridhvi

11. shvara

47. Pramdicha

12. Bahudhnya

48. nanda

13. Pramdhi

49. Rkshasa

14. Vikrama (2000-2001)

50. Anala

15. Vrisha (200102)

51. Pingala

16. Chitrabhnu (200203)

52. Klayukthi

17. Svabhnu (200304)

53. Siddhrthi

18. Trana (200405)

54. Raudra

19. Prthiva (200506)

55. Durmathi

20. Vyaya (2006-2007)

56. Dundubhi

21. Sarvajeeth (200708)

57. Rudhirodgri

22. Sarvadhri (200809)

58. Raktkshi

10 REGIONAL VARIANTS

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 (or yuga, meaning age). The four yugas are:

The traditional Vedic calendar used to start with the

month of agrahayan (agra=rst + 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 fth nakshatra (around
lambda orionis). Due to the precession of the Earths
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 dierent regions
to assert dierent months as the start month for the year.
Thus, some calendars (e.g. Vikram) start with Chaitra,
which is the present-day month of the vernal equinox, as
the rst month. Others may start with Vaikha (e.g.
Bangabda). The shift in the vernal equinox by nearly four
months from Agrahyaa to Chaitra in sidereal terms
seems to indicate that the original naming conventions
may date to the fourth or fth millennium BC, since the
period of precession in the Earths axis is about 25,800
years.

1. Kta Yuga or Satya Yuga

2. Treta Yuga
3. Dwapar Yuga
4. Kali Yuga
They are often translated into English as the Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages, respectively. The ages follow
a gradual decline of dharma, wisdom, knowledge, intellectual capability, life span and emotional and physical
strength. The Kali Yuga began approximately ve thousand years ago, and it has a duration of 432,000 years.
The Dvpara, Tret, and Kta Yugas are two, three, and
four times the length of the Kali Yuga, respectively. Thus,
the ages together constitute a 4,320,000 year period.

10 Regional variants
The Indian Calendar Reform Committee, appointed in
1952, identied more than thirty well-developed calendars, all variants of the Surya Siddhanta calendar outlined here, in systematic use across dierent 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.

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,
A thousand and a thousand (i.e. two thousand) Catur- Maharashtra and Goa.
Yugas are said to be one day and night of the creator In the year 56 BC, Vikrama Samvat era was founded by
Brahm. Brahm lives for 100 years of 360 days and at the emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain following his victory
the end, he is said to dissolve, along with his entire Cre- over the Sakas. Later, in a similar fashion, Satavahana
ation, into the Eternal Soul or Paramtman.
king Gautamiputra Satakarni initiated the Saka era to celebrate his victory against the Sakas in the year AD 78.

History

The Hindu Calendar descends from the Vedic times.

There are many references to calendrics in the Vedas.
The (6) Vedgas (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),
Varhamihira (6th century) and Bhskara (12th century)
who were experts scholars in Jyotia and contributed to
the development of the Hindu Calendar.

Both the Vikrama and the Shalivahana 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 rst 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 most widely used authoritative text for the Hindu The names of the 12 months, as also their sequence, are
Calendars is the "Srya Siddhnta", a text of uncertain the same in both calendars; however, the new year is celage, though some place it at 10th century.
ebrated at separate points during the year and the year

9
zero for the two calendars is dierent. In the Vikrama Nakshatras are divisions of ecliptic, each 13 20', starting
calendar, the zero year corresponds to 56 BC, while in from 0 Aries. The purnima of each month is synchrothe Shalivahana calendar, it corresponds to AD 78. The nized with a nakshatra.
Vikrama calendar begins with the month of Baikha or
Vaikha (April), or Kartak (October/November) in Gujarat. The Shalivahana calendar begins with the month 11 Time cycles in India
of Chaitra (March) and the Ugadi/Gudi Padwa festivals
mark the new year.
The time cycles in India are:
Another little-known dierence between the two calen 60-year cycle
dars exists: while each month in the Shalivahana calendar begins with the 'bright half' and is followed by the
Year
'dark half', the opposite obtains in the Vikrama calendar.
Thus, each month of the Shalivahana calendar ends with
6 seasons of a year
the no-moon day and the new month begins on the day
about 60 days (2 months) in a season
after that, while the full-moon day brings each month of
the Vikrama calendar to a close (This is an exception in
Month (lunar)
Gujarati Calendar, its month (and hence new year) starts
2 pakshas in a month, shukla (waxing) and krishna
on a sunrise of the day after new moon, and ends on the
(waning)
new moon, though it follows Vikram Samvat).
15 tithis in a paksha (1-14, 15th is purnima or
In Gujarat, Diwali is held on the nal day of the Vikram
amavasya)
Calendar and the next day marks the beginning of the
New Year and is also referred as Annakut or Nutan
60 ghatikas (or 30 muhurtas or 8 praharas) in a 24Varsh or Bestu Varash. In the Hindu calendar popularly
hour period (ahoratra).
used in North India the year begins with Chaitra Shukala
30 Kala (approx) in 1 muhurta
Pratipadha (March April).
30 Kastha in 1 kala

10.1

Samvat calendars

Samvat is one of the several Hindu calendars in India:

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

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.

12 Date conversion

Tamil Nadu/Kerala: solar tropical years such as

Tamil calendar

Converting a date from an Indian calendar to the common

era can require a complex computation. To obtain the
approximate year AD:

Nepali calendar with Bikram Sambat: solar tropical

years

Chaitradi Vikram (past) : Chaitra-Pausha: subtract

57; Pausha-Phalguna: subtract 56.

Most holidays in India are based on the rst two calendars. A few are based on the solar cycle, Sankranti (solar
sidereal) and Baisakhi (solar tropical).

10.2

Months and approximate correspondence

Indian months are listed below, numbered according to

the Shaka calendar. Shaka and Chaitradi Vikram (UP,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra etc.) start with Chaitra (The rst
month of the year is called Chitterai ()" in Marathi)
Kartikadi Vikram (Gujarat) start in Kartika.

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: add 3101 (Ascension of Lord
Krishna at age 125)
Sri Krishna Samvat: add 3226 (Birth of Lord Sri
Krishna)
Balabhi Samvat: add 320

10

13

17

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.

14

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 ocial calendar follows the Shalivahan Shak calendar in beginning from the month of Chaitra and counting
years with AD 78 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.

15

Correspondence between calendars

As an indicator of this variation, Whitakers Almanac reports that the Gregorian year AD 2000 corresponds, respectively with:
1. Year 5102 in the Kaliyuga calendar; (3102 BC)
2. Year 2544 in the Buddha Nirvana calendar; (544
BC)
3. Year 2543 in the Buddhist Era (BE) of the Thai solar
calendar (543 BC)
4. Year 2057 in the Bikram Samvat calendar; (57 BC)
5. Year 1922 in the Saka calendar; (AD 78)
6. Year 1921 (shown in terms of 5-yearly cycles) of the
Vedanga Jyotisa calendar; (AD 79)
7. Year 1407 in the Bengali calendar; (AD 593)
8. Year 1362 in the Burmese Calendar; (AD 638)

REFERENCES

9. Year 1176 in the Malayalam calendar or Kolla Varsham calendar; (AD 824)
10. Year 514 in the Gaurabda Gaudiya calendar. (AD
1486)

16 See also
Hindu astrology
Hindu chronology
Hindu units of measurement
List of Hindu festivals
Panchangam
Panjika
Ancient Vedic units of measurement
Perpetual Calendar of 800 Years
Pambu Panchangam

17 References
[1] Mughal, Muhammad Aurang Zeb. (2014). Time, Space
and Social Change in Rural Pakistan: An Ethnographic
Study of Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District. PhD thesis.
Durham University.
[2] Time Measurement and Calendar Construction.
Archive. Retrieved 2011-09-18.

Brill

[3] Chatterjee, S.K. (1998). Indian Calendric System. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
[4] Chia Daphne and Helmer Aslaksen (April 2001). Indian
Calendars: Comparing the Surya Siddhanta and the Astronomical Ephemeris (PDF). Retrieved 2004-04-04.
[5] Basham, A.L. (1954). The Wonder that was India.
Macmillan (Rupa and Co, Calcutta, reprint),., Appendix
II: Astronomy
[6] http://www.drikpanchang.com/faq/faq-ans8.html
[7] http://www.drikpanchang.com/faq/faq-ans8.html
[8] http://www.drikpanchang.com/festivals/sawan/
sawan-somwar-vrat-dates.html
[9] Hindu Lunar Month Names
[10] Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal (2014). Calendars Tell
History: Social Rhythm and Social Change in Rural Pakistan. History and Anthropology 25(5): 592-613.
[11] Bhgavata Pura 12.2.29-33
[12] Yano, Michio, Calendar, astrology and astronomy in
Flood, Gavin (Ed) (2003). Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0-631-21535-2.

11

18

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.
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.

19

External links

Hindu Chronology, Encyclopdia

Eleventh Edition (1911)

Britannica

The Astronomical Basis of the Hindu Lunisolar Calendar

Hindu Calendars in various Indian Languages
Nepali-Hindu Calendar Ocial Hindu Calendar of
Nepal
Kyoto University Panchanga Converter Program

12

20

20
20.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

Text

Hindu calendar Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar?oldid=675698627 Contributors: Bryan Derksen, Arvindn, Shii,

Michael Hardy, Mkweise, Ronz, Bluelion, Nikai, Kaysov, Mxn, KRS, Itai, Lord Emsworth, Robbot, RedWolf, Naddy, Ambarish,
Diberri, Marcika, Michael Devore, Joe Kress, Niteowlneils, Ragib, Wmahan, Utcursch, Beland, Mukerjee, Icairns, Terabyte~enwiki,
Fanghong~enwiki, Rich Farmbrough, Murtasa, Jamadagni, Dbachmann, Alren, El C, VishalB, Szquirrel, Kwamikagami, QuartierLatin1968, Indiver, Cmdrjameson, Caeruleancentaur, Nsaa, Ogress, HasharBot~enwiki, Ranveig, Raj2004, Anthony Appleyard, Wiki-uk,
Geke, Wtshymanski, Ghirlandajo, Martian, Woohookitty, Shreevatsa, BlankVerse, Tabletop, Dangerous-Boy, Marudubshinki, BD2412,
Search4Lancer, Rjwilmsi, ZanderSchubert, Tangotango, TheRingess, Mike s, Dewrad, SNIyer12, Ian Pitchford, Gurch, Mskadu, Sstrader,
DaGizza, Bgwhite, YurikBot, Wavelength, Deeptrivia, RussBot, Conscious, Gaius Cornelius, NawlinWiki, Joel7687, Dureo, SameerKhan,
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Cydebot, Goldfritha, Viscious81, Doug Weller, Thylacine222, Thijs!bot, Epbr123, Fisherjs, Qwyrxian, O Govinda, Danianjan, NERIUM, Manosij.m, P.K.Niyogi, Luna Santin, AstroLynx, Fayenatic london, Kishorekumar 62, Naveen Sankar, RajeshPandey, Marcus111,
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