The Indian National Calendar also known as
the Saka Calendar or Hindu calendar is the official civil calendar used in
India. The Saka Calendar is derived from ancient Hindu Lunisolar calendars. It
also has some influence of Persian calendar. King Kanishka started the Saka
calendar in 78AD. It comprises of 12 months, just like the Gregorian calendar,
but its structure is quite different from Gregorian structure. For instance,
the first month, Chaitra, starts from March 21st or 22nd
of Gregorian Calendar and the last month, Falgun, ends in February 20 or 21st.
Structure:
Each month lasts for 30 or 31 days, with Chaitra
starting in March, followed by Vaishakha, Jyeshta, Ashadha, Shravana,
Bhadrapada or Bhadarva, Ashvini, Kartika, Agrahayana, Pausha, Magha and lastly
Phalguna. In leap years, Chaitra starts from 21st of March and has
31 days. Also, the first six months of the Saka Calendar has 31 days,
considering the fact, the earth takes longer to revolve around the sun at this
time of the year. This is different from Gregorian calendar where the numbers
of days are alternated every month.
Usage:
While establishing a civil calendar based on Saka
calendar in 1950s, the government officials had to make some reforms based on
scientific calculations. This was done in order to establish a uniform
calendar, which was a difficult task back then, considering there were 30
variations of Saka calendar.
Today, the India Meteorological Department
calculates the motions of the Sun and Moon and publishes the yearly calendar in
The Indian Astronomical Ephemeris. There are 30 lunar days or tithis, each
tithi calculated based on longitude of the Moon and the Sun. The lengths of
tithis vary from 20 to 27 hours depending on the time of the year. The 15
tithis during the waxing period are known as Shukla paksha and the 15 tithis
during the waning period are known as Krishna paksha. Festivals are determined
using these tithis.
Recognition:
This calendar is recognized by The Gazette of
India, all news broadcasts as well as the Government of India. Most Hindu
festivals in India are determined through this calendar.
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