- Nanakshahi calendar
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The Nanakshahi (Punjabi: ਨਾਨਕਸ਼ਾਹੀ, nānakashāhī) calendar is a tropical solar calendar that was adopted by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee to determine the dates for important Sikh events.[1] It was designed by Pal Singh Purewal to replace the Saka calendar and has been in use since 1998. Since 1998, amongst the critics, no-one has come forward with suggestions of specific changes, other than to suggest that the Sikh people should revert back to the Vikrami calendar. The epoch of this calendar is the birth of the first Sikh Guru, Nanak Dev in 1469. New Year's Day falls annually on what is March 14 in the Gregorian Western calendar.[1]
The calendar is accepted in about 90% of the gurdwaras throughout the world. There is some controversy about the acceptance of the calendar among certain orthodox sectors of the Sikh world. The situation with this calendar is similar to the one at the time of the implementation and acceptance of the Gregorian calendar in the late 16th century. Even after more than 400 years, some of the Greek Orthodox churches, the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches still follow the Julian Calendar in their observances. Most people in the Sikh community believe that the calendar is important as it re-affirms the Sikh faith's independence from the Hindu and Muslim faiths.[2] Some orthodox organizations and factions have not accepted it including many orders dating from the time of the Gurus such as Damdami Taksal, Buddha Dal Nihungs, Takhats etc.
♠ Features of the new calendar
- a tropical solar calendar
- called Nanakshahi after Guru Nanak (founder of Sikhism)
- year one is the year of Guru Nanak's birth (1469 CE). * 2010 CE is NANAKSHAHI 541 *
- uses most of the mechanics of the Western calendar
- year length is same as Western calendar (365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 45 seconds)
- contains 5 months of 31 days followed by 7 months of 30 days
- leap year every 4 years in which the last month (Phagun) has an extra day
- Approved by Akal Takht in 2003 but later ammended
Contents
Months of the Nanakshahi calendar
The months in the Nanakshahi calendar are:[1]
No. Name Punjabi Days Julian Months 1 Chet ਚੇਤ 31 14 March - 13 April 2 Vaisakh ਵੈਸਾਖ 31 14 April - 14 May 3 Jeth ਜੇਠ 31 15 May - 14 June 4 Harh ਹਾੜ 31 15 June - 15 July 5 Sawan ਸਾਵਣ 31 16 July - 15 August 6 Bhadon ਭਾਦੋਂ 30 16 August - 14 September 7 Assu ਅੱਸੂ 30 15 September - 14 October 8 Katak ਕੱਤਕ 30 15 October - 13 November 9 Maghar ਮੱਘਰ 30 14 November - 13 December 10 Poh ਪੋਹ 30 14 December - 12 January 11 Magh ਮਾਘ 30 13 January - 11 February 12 Phagun ਫੱਗਣ 30/31 12 February - 13 March Nanakshahi Calendar
Important Events Nanakshahi Date Common Era Calendar ♦Birth of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Sikh Guru 23 Poh 5 Jan Birth of Guru Har Rai, the seventh Sikh Guru 19 Magh 31 Jan Guru Har Rai becomes the seventh Guru of the Sikhs
♦Nanakshahi New Year commences
♦Hola Mohalla festival1 Chet 14 Mar Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru, passes away 6 Chet 19 Mar ♦The ordination of the Khalsa
♦Birth of Guru Nanak1 Vaisakh 14 Apr Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, passes away 3 Vaisakh 16 Apr Guru Amar Das becomes the third Guru of the Sikhs 3 Vaisakh 16 Apr Guru Harkrishan, the eighth Guru of the Sikhs, passes away 3 Vaisakh 16 Apr Guru Tegh Bahadur becomes the Ninth Guru of the Sikhs 3 Vaisakh 16 Apr Birth of Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru 5 Vaisakh 18 Apr Birth of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru of the Sikhs 5 Vaisakh 18 Apr Birth of Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru 19 Vaisakh 2 May Birth of Guru Amar Das, the third Sikh Guru 9 Jeth 23 May Guru Hargobind becomes the sixth Guru of the Sikhs 28 Jeth 11 Jun ♦Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru of the Sikhs, in martyred by Chandu Shah in Lahore 2 Harh 16 Jun Birth of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh Guru 21 Harh 5 Jul Guru Hargobind Sahib 6 Sawan 21 Jul Guru Harkrishan Sahib 8 Sawan 23 Jul Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture, is installed at the Golden Temple for the first time 17 Bhadon 1 Sep Guru Amar Das, the third Guru of the Sikhs, passes away 2 Assu 16 Sep Guru Ram Das becomes the fourth Guru of the Sikhs 2 Assu 16 Sep Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs, passes away 2 Assu 16 Sep Guru Arjan becomes the fifth Guru of the Sikhs 2 Assu 16 Sep Guru Angad becomes the second Guru of the Sikhs 4 Assu 18 Sep Guru Nanak, the first Guru of the Sikhs, passes away 8 Assu 22 Sep Birth of Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru of the Sikhs 25 Assu 9 Oct Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru of the Sikhs, passes away 6 Katak 20 Oct Guru Harkrishan becomes the eighth Guru of the Sikhs 6 Katak 20 Oct ♦Sovereignty of the Sikh Scripture (Guru Granth Sahib) declared as the Guru for all times to come by Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and the last Sikh Guru 6 Katak 20 Oct Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, passes away 7 Katak 21 Oct Guru Gobind Singh becomes the tenth Guru of the Sikhs 11 Maghar 24 Nov ♦Guru Tegh Bahadur martyred in Delhi by Aurangzeb for defending the oppressed 11 Maghar 24 Nov Ajit Singh, and Jujhar Singh,the two elder sons of Guru Gobind Singh, martyred in the battle of Chamkaur 8 Poh 21 Dec Zorawar Singh, and Fateh Singh, the two younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh, executed in Sirhind 13 Poh 26 Dec See also
- Bangla calendar
- Hindu calendar
- Indian national calendar
References
- ^ a b c "What is the Sikh Nanakshahi calendar". allaboutsikhs.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20080510183956/http://www.allaboutsikhs.com/sikh-way-of-life/the-sikh-nanakshahi-calendar-3.html. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ "Nanakshahi Calendar at BBC". BBC. 2003-07-29. http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/sikhism/customs/nanakshahi.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
External links
- Nanakshahi.net, website of Mr. Pal Singh Purewal, the creator of the Nanakshahi Calendar, this site contains detailed articles about this calendar
- Nanakshahi Calendar at SGPC.net
- Nanakshahi Calendar at BBC
- Gurpurab Nanakshahi Calendar
- Nanakshahi Calendar (JavaScript)
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