Samvat (calendars)
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Samvat is any of the various Hindu calendars. In India, there are several calendars in use:
- Vikrama Samvat: lunar months, solar sidereal years
- Shaka Samvat (traditional): lunar months, solar sidereal years
- Shaka Samvat (modern): solar tropical
- Bangla Calendar: solar tropical years
- Tamilnadu/Kerala: solar tropical years such as Malayalam calendar
- Nepali 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).
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[edit] Months and approximate correspndence
Indian months are listed below. Shaka and Chaitradi Vikram (UP, Rajasthan etc) start with Chaitra, Kartikadi Vikram (Gujarat, Maharashtra) start in Kartika.
| # | Indian | Gregorian |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaitra | March-April |
| 2 | Vaisākha | April-May |
| 3 | Jyeshta | May-June |
| 4 | Āshāda | June-July |
| 5 | Srāvana | July-August |
| 6 | Bhādrapada | August-September |
| 7 | Ashwina | September-October |
| 8 | Kārtika | October-November |
| 9 | Mārgasirsa (Agrahayana) |
November-December |
| 10 | Pausha | December-January |
| 11 | Māgha | January-February |
| 12 | Phālguna | February-March |
Nakshatras are divisions of ecliptic, each 13° 20', starting from 0° Aries. The purnima of each month is synchronized with a nakshatra.
[edit] 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).
- more to be added
Years are synchronized with the solar sidereal year by adding or skipping months.
[edit] 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.
- Shaka: add 78-79
- Kalachuri: add 248-249
- Gupta/Valabhi: add 319-320
- Bangla: add 593-594
- Vira Nirvana: subtract 527-526
[edit] Variations
- In UP/Rajasthan, months are purnimanta. In Gujarat/Maharashtra, they are amanta.
- In inscriptions, the years may be gata (past) or current.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Rai Bahadur Pandit Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha, The Paleography of India, 2 ed., Ajmer, 1918, reprinted Manshuram Manoharlal publishers, 1993.
