The Hindu calendar used in Vedic times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars. Mostly, these are inherited from a system first enunciated in Jyotish Vedanga (one of the six adjuncts to the Vedas, 12th to 14th century BC), standardized in the Surya Siddhanta (3rd century) and subsequently reformed by astronomers such as Aryabhata (499), Varahamihira (6th century), Bhaskara (12th century), and Fatehullah Shirazi (16th century). The adjective Vedic may refer to The Vedas, the oldest preserved Indo-Aryan texts. ... A calendar is a system for naming periods of time, typically days. ... The Vedas are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... (13th century BC - 12th century BC - 11th century BC - other centuries) (1200s BC - 1190s BC - 1180s BC - 1170s BC - 1160s BC - 1150s BC - 1140s BC - 1130s BC - 1120s BC - 1110s BC - 1100s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1200 BC - Ancient Pueblo Peoples... (15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC - other centuries) (1400s BC - 1390s BC - 1380s BC - 1370s BC - 1360s BC - 1350s BC - 1340s BC - 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC - 1300s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1344 - 1322 BC -- Beginning of... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... Aryabhata (आर्यभट) (Āryabhaṭa) is the first of the great astronomers of the classical age of India. ... Events March 1 - Pope Symmachus makes Antipope Laurentius bishop of Nocera in Campania. ... Varahamihira (505-587) was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer. ... (5th century — 6th century — 7th century — other centuries) Events The first academy of the east the Academy of Gundeshapur founded in Persia by the Persian Shah Khosrau I. Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, began migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland) Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland founded by St. ... Bhāskara (1114-1185), also called Bhāskara II and Bhāskarācārya (Bhaskara the teacher) was an Indian mathematician. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

The Indian Calendar Reform Committee 1957 formalized the Indian National Calendar as well as a religious calendar (referred to as the Rashtriya Panchang). The formality was meant for most civil purposes but is mainly used to determine the holidays of government workers. The latter, like many regional calendars, defines a solar calendar based on the authoritative version of the Surya Siddhanta (edited 10th century). Here months are determined based on the sun's position against the fixed stars (constellations) at sunrise; the sun's position being computed by antipodal observations of the full moon. This sidereal computation avoids having to do leap year adjustments, but the number of days in any given month can vary by one or two days and conversion of dates to Gregorian or day of the week computations requires one to consult an ephemeris. The lay person therefore relies on the panchangs or almanacs produced by authoritative astronomical schools. The word panchang is derived from the sanskrit panchangam (pancha=five, anga=limb), which refers to the five limbs of the calendar: 1. the lunar day, 2. the solar day, 3. the asterism on which the sun rises, 4. the angle of the sun and moon and 5. the half lunar day. Over time, different Brahminical bodies producing the panchang's have varied in their geographical center and other aspects of the computation, resulting in a divergence of a few days in the different regional calendars. Even within the same region, there may be more than one competing authority, occasionally resulting in disagreement on festival dates by as much as a month. 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season and so are synchronized to the declination of the sun. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ... The Gregorian calendar is the calendar widely used in the Western world. ... An ephemeris (plural: ephemerides) (from the Greek word ephemeros= daily) was, traditionally, a table providing the positions (given in a Cartesian coordinate system, or in right ascension and declination or, for astrologers, in longitude along the zodiacal ecliptic), of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets in the sky at... An almanac (sometimes spelled almanack) is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar. ... In space exploration, a lunar day is the period of time it takes for the Moon to complete one full rotation on its axis. ... Solar time is based on the idea that, when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, it is noon. ... A Brahmin (less often Brahman) is a member of the Hindu priestly caste. ...

In the majority of Indian calendars, a separate thread of luni-solar tithis run concurrently with the solar calendar. While birthdates and the like are recorded in solar terms, the tithis determine the timing of religious rituals. Thus every day is marked with a solar month and date as well as a lunar tithi, corresponding to the position of the moon at sunrise. Religious events are then identified e.g. as "the tenth day of the waxing moon in Ashvin", which is the date for Dussehra. The actual date may fall on Kartik 8 (as in 2004). This is similar to the computation of Easter or the Chinese New Year and unlike that of purely lunar computations such as Eid ul-Fitr, which rotate around the solar year. For non-religious purposes however, the Gregorian calendar is the default, though government books also refer to the Indian National Calendar. In many rural areas however, the traditional calendar continues to hold sway. A lunisolar calendar is a calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the season. ... In vedic timekeeping, a tithi (also spelled thithi) is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours. ... Ashvin is the seventh month of Hindu calendar, also known as Aswayuja. ... Dussehra (less commonly transliterated as Dussera or Dassera) or Vijaya Dashami is one of the important Hindu festivals. ... Kaartika ( Hindi: कातिक kaatik or कार्तिक kaartik) is a month of the Hindu calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Easter is the most important holiday of the Christian year, observed in March, April, or May each year to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday), which Christians believe happened at about this time of year around AD 30-33. ... A banner of the celebration of Chinese New Year. ... Lunar is an adjective that means having to do with or pertaining to the Moon, or to moons in general. ... The Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر) marks the end of Ramadan. ... The Hindu calendar used in Vedic times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars. ...

Names of months (Indian National Calendar)

The most common names for the twelve months are shown below. In Vedic times, these were lunar months, but since the Surya Siddhanta they are computed on a solar basis. The later months are shorter because on the average, the Sun's motion is more rapid when it is at perihelion. This article is about several astronomical terms (apogee & perigee, aphelion & perihelion, generic equivalents based on apsis, and related but rarer terms. ...

Note that this table is an agglomeration of disparate entities. The first day and number of days in each month is from the Indian National Calendar which is based on the Vikram calendar. Note that in leap years (which coincide with the Gregorian), the first month of Chaitra has 31 days instead of 30, and starts on March 21 instead of March 22. The association of seasons or ritus with months is based on religious calendars (including the Rashtriya Panchang, which has Vaisakha as the first month) – the six ritus of two months each constitutes the rituchakra (the cycle of the seasons): Grishma (summer), Varsha (rains), Sarat (autumn), Hemanta (late autumn), Sisir (dew/winter), Vasanta (spring). Starting the calendar on Vaisakha avoids the split in the season of Vasanta. Chaitra is the first month of the Hindu calendar. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... Vaisakha is the second month of the Hindu calendar. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... Jyeshta is the third month of the Hindu calendar, also known as Jeth or Iethe. ... May 22 is the 142nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (143rd in leap years). ... Aashaadha is the fourth month of the Hindu calendar. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... Shraavana is the fifth month of Hindu calendar, also known as Sawan. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... In Hinduism, Bhadra is a goddess of the hunt and one of Shivas servants. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (236th in leap years), with 130 days remaining. ... Ashvin is the seventh month of Hindu calendar, also known as Aswayuja. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... Kaartika is the eighth month of Hindu calendar. ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 69 days remaining. ... Agrahayana is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. ... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Pausha is the tenth month of the Hindu calendar also know as Poush or Pushya. ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Maagha is the eleventh month of the Hindu calendar. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Phalguna is the twelfth month of the Hindu calendar. ... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... March 21 is the 80th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (81st in leap years). ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... There are six ritus (also transliterated rutu) or Indian seasons in the Hindu calendar. ...

The nakshatra-based names of these months (e.g. Chaitra, from Chitraa), reflect the origin of these names in the lunar calendar that was used in Vedic times, when an intercalary month (Purushottam) was added as the adhika maas (extra month) when the lunar year went about 30 days behind the solar calendar. A number of regions still use the purely lunar calendar, but the intercalary is determined as the month in which the sun is in the same rashi on two consecutive dark moons. Thus one may have the two months "Shravana-nija" and "Shravana-adhika" (nija=original, adhika=extra). Lunar months consist of thirty lunar days, or tithis. A lunar day is based on the moon's position in a nakshatra, and the solar day is measured from sunrise to sunrise. In the paksha system, the lunar days are numbered from the full moon and the new moon. Lunar is an adjective that means having to do with or pertaining to the Moon, or to moons in general. ...

A.L. Basham writes in his The Wonder that was India:

The vedic calendar had lunar months split into two pakshas of 15 days, with the day (tithi) being designated by the moon phase at sunrise (sometimes a tithi would be skipped if started after sunrise and ended before the next).

The waxing paksha is called shuklapaksha, light half, and the waning paksha the krishnapaksha, dark half. There are two different systems for making the lunar calendar:

• amanta or mukhya mana system – a month begins with a new moon, mostly followed in the southern states
• purnimanta or gauna mana system – a month begins with a full moon, followed more in the North.

Regional variants

The two calendars most widely used in India today are the Vikram calendar followed in North India while South Indian states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu follow the Shalivahana calendar. A variant of the Vikram Calendar was reformed and standardized as the Indian National calendar in 1957 to have constant days in every month (with leap years). Years are counted from 78, year zero of the Saka era. The Bengal Calendar, Bangabda (introduced 1584) is widely used in Eastern India. A reformed version of this calendar, with constant days in each month and a leap year system (1966) serves as the national calendar for Bangladesh. Nepal also follows the Vikram calendar. The same month names and roughly the same periods apply to a number of Buddhist calendars in Sri Lanka, Tibet and other areas. Karnataka (ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ in Kannada) is one of the four southern states of India. ... Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం), a state in South India, lies between 12°41 and 22°N latitude and 77° and 84°40E longitude . ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... For other uses, see number 78. ... Gregorian and Julian calendars There is no year 0 in either the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar. ... For the breed of cat, see Bengal cat; for the tiger, see Bengal Tiger; for the American football franchise , see Cincinnati Bengals Bengal (Banga, Bangla, Bangadesh, or Bangladesh in Bengali) comprises a region in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent, today divided between the independent country of Bangladesh and the... Events June 1 - With the death of the Duc dAnjou, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre becomes heir-presumptive to the throne of France. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Bikram Sambat (abbreviated B.S.) is the official calendar of Nepal. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... This article is on Historic Tibet. ...

The traditional Vedic calendar used to start with the month of agrahayan (agra=first + ayan = travel of the sun, equinox) or Margashirshe. This is the month where the Sun crosses the equator, i.e. the vernal equinox. This month was called margashirshe after a nakshatra around lambda Orionis (see below). 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 Chaitra, which is the present-day month of the vernal equinox, as the first month. Others may start with Vaisakha (e.g. Bangabda). The shift in the vernal equinox by nearly four months from agrahaayana to chaitra in sidereal terms seems to indicate that the original naming conventions may date to the fourth or fifth millennium BC, since the period of precession in the earth's axis is about 25,800 years. Illumination of Earth by Sun on the day of equinox In astronomy, the vernal equinox (spring equinox, March equinox, or northward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. ... Precession (also called gyroscopic precession) is the phenomenon by which the axis of a spinning object (e. ... (5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC - other millennia) Events City of Ur in Mesopotamia (40th century BC). ... (6th millennium BC – 5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – other millennia) Events 4713 BC – The epoch (origin) of the Julian Period described by Joseph Justus Scaliger occurred on January 1, the astronomical Julian day number zero. ...

Nakshatras

The ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun through the sky, is divided into 27 nakshatras, or lunar mansions, reflecting the moon's cycle against the fixed stars, 27 days and 7¾ hours. The set of nakshatras, which were well known at the time of the Rig Veda (2nd–1st millennium BC), are as follows (with some of their defining landmarks in the sky): The plane of the Ecliptic is well seen in this picture from the 1994 lunar prospecting Clementine spacecraft. ... The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit ṛc praise + veda knowledge) is the earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas. ... (3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – other millennia) Events Second dynasty of Babylon First Bantu migrations from west Africa The Cushites drive the original inhabitants from Ethiopia, and establish trade relations with Egypt. ... (2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium – other millennia) Events The Iron Age began in Western Europe Egypt declined as a major power The Tanakh was written Buddhism was founded Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and created the Persian Empire (6th century BC) Sparta and Athens fought the Peloponnesian...

1. Asvini (β and γ Arietis)
2. Bharani (35, 39, and 41 Arietis)
3. Kr.ttikA / Karthigai (Pleiades)
4. Rohini (Aldebaran)
5. Mrigashirsha (λ, φ Orionis)
6. Ardra (α Orionis - Betelgeuse)
7. Punarvasu (α and β Geminorum - Castor, Pollux)
8. Pushya (γ, δ and θ Cancri)
9. Aslesha (δ, ε, η, ρ, and sigma Hydrae)
10. Magha (α, γ, ε, ζ, η, and μ Leonis - Regulus)
11. Purva-Phalguni (δ and θ Leonis)
12. Uttara-Phalguni (β and 93 Leonis - Denebola)
13. Hasta (α to ε Corvi)
14. Chitra (Virgo - Spica)
15. Svati (Bootes - Arcturus )
16. Vishakha (α, β, γ and ι Librae)
17. Anuradha (β, δ and π Scorpionis)
18. Jyeshtha (α, σ, and τ Scorpionis - Antares)
19. Mula (ε, ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ and ν Scorpionis)
20. Purvasharha (δ and ε Sagittarii)
21. Uttarasharha (ζ and σ Sagittarii)
22. Sravana (α, β and γ Aquilae - Altair)
23. Dhanishtha / SraviShThA / Avittam (α to δ Delphinis)
24. Satabhishaj / Chadayam (γ Aquarii etc.)
25. Purva-Bhadrapada / Poorattaadhi (α and β Pegasi - Markab)
26. Uttara-Bhadrapada / Uttrattadhi (γ Pegasi and α Andromedae - Alpheratz)
27. Revati (ζ Piscum)

An additional 28th intercalary nakshatra, Abhijit (α, ε and ζ Lyrae - Vega - between Uttarasharha and Sravana), is required to compensate for the sidereal month being eight hours more than 27 days. Unlike the 13°20' range of the 27 proper nakshatras, Abhijit spans 4°14' to reflect the extra span of 7¾ hours.

Rashis

The ecliptic is also divided into twelve rashis, equivalent to the twelve signs of the zodiac. The names of these signs correspond to those in the West, and may indicate a common Sumerian origin. Greek astronomical interchange, as in the Romaka Siddhanta, also led to a degree of homogenization. For some time these were also the names of solar months (saura maasa), and now only the calendar of Kerala called the Kollavarsha uses those names for its months; the first month is Simha (Chingam) and the last is Karka(Karkkatakam).

There are six ritus (also transliterated rutu) or Indian seasons in the Hindu calendar. ... This article is about the astrological concept. ... For the rocket, see Aries (rocket) Aries (♈) is one of the constellations of the zodiac, and its name is Latin for Ram. ... Taurus (♉) is one of the constellations of the zodiac, and its name is Latin for Bull. ... In mythology, the Gemini are Castor and Polydeuces. ... In astronomy and astrology, Cancer (♋), Latin for crab, is one of the twelve constellations of the zodiac. ... Leo (Latin for lion) is a constellation of the zodiac. ... See VIRGO (physics) for a French-Italian project in physics. ... Libra (♎, and Latin for balance) is a constellation of the zodiac. ... For the fictional alien character Scorpius from Farscape see Scorpius (Farscape). ... Sagittarius (♐, and Latin for Archer) is a constellation of the zodiac, commonly depicted as a centaur drawing a bow. ... Capricornus (♑), a name meaning Horned Goat in Latin, is one of the constellations of the zodiac. ... Aquarius (♒), being Latin for of the water, is one of the oldest recognized constellations along the zodiac, the suns apparent path. ... In classical zoological taxonomy, Pisces is the scientific name of the superclass Pisces, which has been proven paraphyletic. ...

See also

• Jyotish
• Metrics of time in Hinduism
• Bangla Calendar

This article needs cleanup. ... The Hindu metrics of time can be summarized as below. ... The Bangla Calendar is the traditional calendar used in Bangladesh and Bangla speaking regions of India. ...

External links

• Indian Calendar Webexhibits.org (http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-indian.html)
• Pandit Sanjay Rath, Some facts on the Hindu Calendar (http://srath.com/lectures/hinducalendar.htm)
• Read the pure astronomical definitions of the Hindu Solar Calendar [1] (http://samvit.org/calendar/astro/hsc.htm) and Hindu Lunar Calendar [2] (http://samvit.org/calendar/astro/hlc.htm).
• Vedic Calendar Program (freeware), [3] (http://www.krishna.com/downloads/Software/BBT_and_ISKCON_software/index.html) For any modern year, anywhere in the world, tells when each tithi, each naksatra, and each lunar month occurs, and the dates for various festivals (especially Gaudiya Vaishnava). Also calculates birthdays. -- Useful generally only for ISKCON adherents or North Indian Vaishnava traditions.

Sources

• A.L. Basham, The wonder that was India, Appendix II: "Astronomy", Macmillan, 1954. Rupa and Co, Calcutta, reprint.
• S. Balachandra Rao, Indian Astronomy: An introduction, Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2000.