Samvat (calendars)

Samvat (calendars)

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).

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.

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).
* more to be added

Years are synchronized with the solar sidereal year by adding a month every four years. The extra month is termed as "adhik-mass" (extra month).

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

Variations

* In UP/Rajasthan, months are purnimanta. In Gujarat/Maharashtra, they are amanta.
* In inscriptions, the years may be gata (past) or current.

ee also

* Hindu Calendar
* Ancient Indian units of measurement
* Perpetual Calendar of 800 Years

External links

* [http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~yanom/pancanga/index.html Pancanga: Vikrama/Saka to Gregorian conversion utility]

References

* Rai Bahadur Pandit Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha, "The Paleography of India", 2 ed., Ajmer, 1918, reprinted Manshuram Manoharlal publishers, 1993.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Samvat — There is disagreement as to the meaning of the Indian word Samvat. Some hold that it refers to different eras associated with Hindu calendars while others hold that it refers to the calendars themselves. Hence, a disambiguation page is created… …   Wikipedia

  • Vikram Samvat — (Bikram Sambat, Vikram Samvat Vikram Samwat or Vikram s Era, Devanagari:विक्रम संवत्, abbreviated V.S. or B.S ) is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya. It is a popularly used calendar in India and the official calendar of… …   Wikipedia

  • П:НГ — Начинающим · Сообщество · Порталы · Награды · Проекты · Запросы · Оценивание География · История · Общество · Персоналии · Религия · Спорт · Техника · Наука · Искусство · Философия …   Википедия

  • Nepal Sambat — (Nepal Bhasa: नेपाल सम्बत) is the national lunar calendar of Nepal. [1] It was used throughout Medieval Nepal, and into early modern Nepal, until Chandra Sumsher decided to remove it in BS 1960. [2] It was started in 880 AD during the reign of… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu calendar — The Hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Most of these calendars are inherited from a… …   Wikipedia

  • Gregorian calendar — For the calendar of religious holidays and periods, see Liturgical year. For this year s Gregorian calendar, see Common year starting on Saturday. 2011 in other calendars Gregorian calendar 2011 MMXI …   Wikipedia

  • Bikram Samwat — (Bikram Sambat, or Vikram samvat, Devnagari:बिक्रम संवत, abbreviated B.S. ) is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya. It is official calendar of Nepal. In addition to Bikram Samwat, the Gregorian calendar and the original… …   Wikipedia

  • Hindu cosmology — According to Hindu mythology and cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. The life span of Brahma, the creator, is 120 divine years (Mahakalpamu). Every day, Brahma creates 14 Manus one after the other, who in turn create and… …   Wikipedia

  • chronology — /kreuh nol euh jee/, n., pl. chronologies. 1. the sequential order in which past events occur. 2. a statement of this order. 3. the science of arranging time in periods and ascertaining the dates and historical order of past events. 4. a… …   Universalium

  • Hindu chronology — The subject of Hindu chronology divides naturally into three parts: the calendar, the eras, and other reckonings. The Calendar The Hindus have had, from very ancient times, the system of lunisolar cycles, made by the combination of solar years,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”