Different Calendars in India
In India, there are mainly 4 types of Calendars:
1. Saka Samvat
2. Vikram Samvat.
3. Hijri calendar.
4. Gregorian calendar.
1. Saka Samvat
The Saka Samvat Calendar is the National Calendar of India, which is used alongside the Gregorian calendar.
| Month Name | Native Name | Start Date | Start Date (Gregorian Calendar) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaitra | Chait | 30/31 | March 22 |
|
| Vaishakha | crutches | 31 | April 21 | |
| Jyeshtha |
Brother |
31 | May 22 | |
| Ashadha | eighty | 31 | June 22 | |
| Shravana | Monsoon | 31 | July 23 | |
| Bhaadra | Bhaadon | 31 | August 23 | |
| Ashwin | seated | 30 | September 23 | |
| Kartika | Karthik | 30 | October 23 | |
| Agrahayana | agahan | 30 | November 22 | |
| Pausha | Pus | 30 | December 22 | |
| Magha | Magh | 30 | January 21 | |
| Phalguna | Fagun | 30 | February 20 |
History of Saka Calendar
It was believed that Kushana King Kanishka was the creator of this calendar, which came to be known as Saka Calendar.
The national calendar is based on the Saka Era, with Chaitra having tha first month and normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 March 1957 along with the Gregorian calendar. The Saka calendar was formed in 79 AD and is based on the crowning of King Shalivaahan in 78 AD, according to a lecturer. The Saka Calender is based on luni-solar reckoning of time. The calendar consists of 365 days and 12 months like the normal Gregorian calendar. Chaitra is the first month of the year beginning on March 22 which is the day after the Spring Equinox. During leap years, the starting day of Chaitra corresponds with March 2.
The Calendar Reform Committee introduced the Saka Calendar in 1957 as part of the Indian Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. The Calendar Reform Committee was headed by renowned astrophysicist Dr. Meghnad Saha, and under his leadership the committee sought to designate a nationally accepted accurate calendar for use in government offices.
Saka Samvat’s starting mark is from Gudi-Padwa (March-April).
Vaisakhi, Pongal, and those associated with Sankranti are based on the solar cycle, while other festivals are based on the Lunar cycle and their dates vary on the Georgian calendar, like Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Guru Purnima, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Diwali.
2. Vikram Samvat
The Vikram Samvat is also known as the Vikrami calendar which is a historical calendar for the Hindus in India. Vikram Samvat is also the official calendar of Nepal and is named after the king Vikramaditya. This calendar came into focus after the 9th century with the beginning of epigraphical artwork. It marks the beginning of the Vikrama era that prevailed in India and Nepal. It starts at 57 B.C. before the 9th century with Vikramaditya.
The Vikram Samvat has 12 months with each month divided into two phases:
1. Shukla paksha (15 days) – begins with the new moon and ends with a full moon.
2. Krishna paksha (15 days) – begins with a full moon and ends with the new moon.
Division of a year accoording to Vikram Samvat:
| Vikram Samvat | Gregorian Calendar |
|---|---|
| Baisakh | April-May |
| Jyestha | May-June |
| Ashadh | June-July |
| Shrawan | July-August |
| Bhadra | August-September |
| Ashwin | September-October |
| Kartik | October-November |
| Mangsir | November-December |
| Poush | December-January |
| Magh | January-February |
| Falgun | February-March |
| Chaitra | March-April |
The first day of the Vikram Samvat calendar is celebrated after Diwali in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Vikram Samvat is similar in design to the Gregorian calendar. It has been used by the Hindus and the Sikhs. This calendar system is one of the lunisolar calendars developed by ancient human cultures. It uses the lunar months and solar sidereal years for the division of a year. The Starting mark of Vikram Samvat is from Diwali (October-November).
Saka Samvat starts from 78 AD, whereas Vikram Samvat starts from 57 BC.
3.Hijri/Hijra Calendar
The Hijri calendar is also known as Lunar Hijri calendar which consists of 12 lunar months and 354/355 days. The Hijri calendar is used to determine the Islamic holidays and rituals such as the annual period of fasting and the pilgrimage time to Mecca. The Islamic year began in AD 622 during which the migration of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, known as the Hijra happened. It has 354 days.It is used to date events in many Muslim countries simultaneously with the Gregorian calendar.
There are 12 months in the Hijri calendar which are given below:
1. Muharram
2. Safar
3. Rabia Awal
4. Rabia Thani
5. Jumaada Awal
6. Jumaada Thani
7. Rajab
8. Sha’ban
9. Ramadan
10. Shawwal
11. Dhul-Qi’dah
12. Dhul-Hijjah
The beginning of each month is contingent on the visibility of the moon at the end of the previous month. Once the moon is sighted, the new month commences. Each month starts with a new lunar cycle. Hence, the Muslim Calendar gives only a tentative overview of the upcoming Islamic dates as the start of each month is subject to the sighting of the moon.
The Islamic New Year starts off with the month Muharram.
1. Al-Hijra — Islamic New Year. Marks the end of Mohammad’s journey from Mecca to Medina.
2. Eid ul-Adha — Festival of Sacrifice
3. Eid ul-Fitr — End of Muslim Month of Fasting (Ramadan)
4. Prophet’s Birthday — Celebration of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad
5. Ramadan — Muslim Month of Fasting
4. Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar was introduced in October 1582. This calendar is named after Pope Gregory XIII and is the most used calendar in the world. This calendar determines the Earth’s revolution around the Sun and spaces leap years to make the average year 365.2422 days long. It is the calendar used in the international standard for Representation of dates and times: ISO 8601:2004. It is a
Months of Gregorian Calendar are as follows:
| Months Name | Latin | Origin of the month |
|---|---|---|
| January | Januarius | It was Named after the god Janus. |
| February | Februarius | Named after Februa, the purification festival |
| March | Martius | Named after the god Mars |
| April | Aprilis | Named either after the goddess Aphrodite or the Latin word aperire, to open. |
| May | Maius | Probably named after the goddess Maia. |
| June | Junius | Probably named after the goddess Juno |
| July | Julius | Named after Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.E. Prior to that time its name was Quintilis from the word quintus, fifth, because it was the 5th month in the old Roman calendar. |
| August | Augustus | Named after emperor Augustus in 8 B.C.E. Prior to that time the name was Sextilis from the word sextus, sixth, because it was the 6th month in the old Roman calendar. |
| September | September | From the word septem, seven, because it was the 7th month in the old Roman calendar. |
| October | October | From the word octo, eight, because it was the 8th month in the old Roman calendar. |
| November | November | From the word novem, nine, because it was the 9th month in the old Roman calendar. |
| December | December | From the word decem, ten, because it was the 10th month in the old Roman calendar. |
Festivals according to Gregorian Calendar:
January
1. New Year’s Day- 1 january( First day of the Gregorian year)
2. Old New Year- 14th january (old ney year according to old Julian Calendar)
3. 13 january- Lohri
4. 14 january- Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Lohri
February
5. 14 february- Valentines’s Day
6. 12 february- Darwin’s day
March
7. 21 March- OstaraSpring Equinox
8. 8 March- International’s Women’s day
9. Holi- (Holiday in honour of Lord Vishnu)
10. 28 March- Ram Navami (Birthday of Lord Rama is celebrated all over India.)
April
11. 8 April- Hanamatsuri
12. 14 April (Secular)- Ramadan
13. Good Friday
14. Easter
15. 14 April- Traditional New Year
May
16. May 4- Star Wars Day
June
17. Ratha Yatra- Procession of Vishnu
18. Eid-ul-fitr
July
19. Guru Purnima
20. Eid-al-Adha
August
21. Raksha Bandhan
22. Krishna Janmashtmi
23. Onam
24. International Friendship day
September
25. Labor day
October
26. Navratri- celebrate the conquest of goddess Durga
27. Diwali- (mid October-mid November)
28. Kartika Purnima
29. 2 October- Gandhi Jayanti
30. 31 October- Halloween
November
31. 19 November- International’s Men’s day
December
32. 8 december- Bodhi day
33. 25 December- Christmas Day
34. 31st december- New year’s Eve
