Malayalam calendar

Malayalam calendar or Kollam Era, also known as Kollavarsham (Malayalam: കൊല്ലവര്‍ഷം), is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Kerala, India. The origin of the calendar has been dated as 825 CE (Pothu Varsham) at Kollam.[1][2][3]

History

There are multiple conflicting accounts regarding the origins of the Malayalam calendar, some of which are mentioned below:

Months

The Malayalam months are named after the Zodiac signs. Thus Cingam (from Simham or Lion) is named after the constellation Leo and so on. The following are the months of the astronomical Malayalam calendar:

Comparative table showing corresponding months of other calendars
Months in Malayalam Era In Malayalam Gregorian Calendar Tulu calendar Tamil calendar Saka era Sign of Zodiac
Chingam ചിങ്ങം August–September Sona Aavani Sravana–Bhadrapada Leo
Kanni കന്നി September–October Nirnaala Purattasi Bhadrapada–Asvinahg Virgo
Thulam തുലാം October–November Bonthyel Aippasi Asvina–Kartika Libra
Vrishchikam വൃശ്ചികം November–December Jaarde Karthigai Kartika–Agrahayana Scorpio
Dhanu ധനു December–January Peraarde Margazhi Agrahayana–Pausa Sagittarius
Makaram മകരം January–February Ponny Thai Pausa–Magha Capricon
Kumbham കുംഭം February–March Maayi Maasi Magha–Phalguna Aquarius
Meenam മീനം March–April Suggy Panguni Phalguna–Chaitra Pisces
Medam മേടം April–May Paggu Chithirai Chaitra– Vaisakha Aries
Edavam ഇടവം May–June Besa Vaikasi Vaisakha–Jyaistha Taurus
Midhunam മിഥുനം June–July Kaarthel Aani Jyaistha–Asada Gemini
Karkidakam കര്‍ക്കടകം July–August Aaty Aadi Asada–Shravana Cancer

Days

The days of the week in the Malayalam calendar are suffixed with Aazhcha (ആഴ്ച), meaning week.

Comparative table showing corresponding weekdays
Malayalam മലയാളം English Kannada Tamil Hindi Hijri(Arabic)
Njayar ഞായർ Sunday Bhanuvara Nyaayiru Ravivar al-aḥad
Thinkal തിങ്കൾ Monday Somavara Thinkal Somvar al-ithnayn
Chowva ചൊവ്വ Tuesday Mangalavara Chevvai Mangalvar al-thalāthāʾ
Budhan ബുധൻ Wednesday Budhavara Budhan Budhvar al-arbaʿāʾ
Vyazham വ്യാഴം Thursday Guruvara Vyazhan Guruvar al-khamīs
Velli വെള്ളി Friday Shukravara Velli Sukravar al-jumuʿah
Shani ശനി Saturday Shanivara Sani Shanivar al-sabt

Like the months above, there are twenty seven stars starting from Aswati (Ashvinī in Sanskrit) and ending in Revatī. The 365 days of the year are divided into groups of fourteen days called Ñattuvela (ഞാറ്റുവേല), each one bearing the name of a star.

Significant dates

Vishu (വിഷു), celebrated on the 1st of Metam, and Onam (ഓണം), celebrated on the star Thiruvonam [t̪iruʋoːɳəm] in the month of Chingam, are two of the major festivals. The first day of Chingam is celebrated as the Kerala New Year replacing Vishu (വിഷു), which was till then considered the beginning of a year.

The Makaravilakku festival is celebrated in the Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala on the 1st day of month Makaram. This marks the grand finale of the two-month period to the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The 1st of Makaram marks the Winter Solstice (Uttarayanam) and the 1st of Karkadakam marks the summer solstice (Dakshinayanam) according to the Malayalam calendar. (According to the astronomical calendar the summer solstice is on June 21, and the winter solstice on December 21)

Formerly the New Year in the Malabar region was on the 1st of Kanni and that in the Travancore region was on the 1st of Chingam. When the Government of Kerala adopted Kolla Varsham as the regional calendar the 1st of Chingam was accepted as the Malayalam New Year. Metam is the first month according to the astronomical calendar; it is identical with Chaitram of the Saka Varsha. The first of these months are supposed to mark the vernal equinox. Astronomically the calendars need to be corrected to coincide with actual vernal equinox which falls on the 21st of March. (Chaitram 1 usually falls on March 20, and Metam 1 falls on April 14.)

Derived names

Many events in Kerala are related to the dates in the Malayalam calendar.

The agricultural activities of Kerala are centred on the seasons. The southwest monsoon which starts around June 1 is known as Etavappathi, meaning mid-Etavam. The northeast monsoon which starts during mid October is called thulavarsham (rain in the month of thulam). The two harvests of paddy are called Kannikkoythu and Makarakkoythu (harvests in the months kanni and makaram) respectively.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kollam Era" (PDF). Indian Journal History of Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Broughton Richmond (1956), Time measurement and calendar construction, p. 218
  3. ↑ R. Leela Devi (1986). History of Kerala. Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot. p. 408.
  4. 1 2 A. Sreedhara Menon (2007) [1967]. "CHAPTER VIII - THE KOLLAM ERA". A Survey Of Kerala History. DC Books, Kottayam. pp. 104–110. ISBN 81-264-1578-9. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Kollam - Short History". Statistical Data. kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original (Short History) on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Kerala government website Archived 2007-11-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ In the Travancore State Manual, Ch:XIII, pages 49-50, by Sri. T.K. Velu Pillai according to keralainfoservice
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