Divisions
47-540: Traditional The Hindu calendar , also called Panchanga ( Sanskrit : पञ्चाङ्ग ), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia , with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or
94-478: A 60 years cycle based on solar entry. Each zodiacal sign is represented by five years starting from Pramadi and the sixty years are equally distributed in successive order among the twelve signs (Rasis) starting from Mesha (Aries) and ending in Meena (Pisces). Varsha or the year, used in astrological context refers to the solar calendar of year and months, which starts with Sun entering Aries (Mesha Rasi) and completing
141-580: A Lunar month distributed in the 360 degrees of the Zodiac and each tithi is completed when the longitude of the Moon gains exactly twelve degrees or its multiple on that of the Sun. By name there are only 15 tithis repeating in the two halves of the month – Shukla 1 to Shukla 15 (known as Poornima or Full Moon) and Krishna 1 to 15 (known as Amavasya or New Moon). In astrological parlance tithi has great significance in
188-440: A Panchāngam involves elaborate mathematical work involving high level of spherical geometry and sound understanding of astronomical phenomena, such as sidereal movements of celestial bodies. However, in practice the tabulation is done on the basis of short-cut formulations as propounded by ancient Vedic sages and scholars. A typical Panchāngam may state tabulations of positions of Sun , Moon , and other planets for every day of
235-536: A casual or not yet trained reader. They forecast celestial phenomena such as solar eclipses , forecasting weather (rain, dry spells) as well as more mundane occurrences. The study of Panchāngams involves understanding Rasi phala (also pronounced 'Rashi phala'), the impact of the signs of the zodiac on the individual. Astrologers consult the Panchāngam to set auspicious dates for weddings , corporate mergers, and other activities as per their religion. The casting of
282-583: A full circle of the zodiac in a period of twelve months. There are two kinds of lunar months followed in India - the new moon ending called the Amanta or Sukladi system and the full moon ending (covering one full moon to the next) called the Purnimanta system. But it is the lunar months (full moon reckoned), which are reckoned in predictive astrology, and each represents the name of the star on full moon day of
329-521: A lunar system. The Buddhist calendar and the traditional lunisolar calendars of Cambodia , Laos , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and Thailand are also based on an older version of the Hindu calendar. Similarly, the ancient Jain traditions have followed the same lunisolar system as the Hindu calendar for festivals, texts and inscriptions. However, the Buddhist and Jain timekeeping systems have attempted to use
376-582: A number of systems of which intercalary months became most used, that is adding another month every 32.5 months on average. As their calendar keeping and astronomical observations became more sophisticated, the Hindu calendar became more sophisticated with complex rules and greater accuracy. According to Scott Montgomery, the Siddhanta tradition at the foundation of Hindu calendars predate the Christian era, once had 18 texts of which only 5 have survived into
423-595: A rudimentary level. Later medieval era texts such as the Yavana-jataka and the Siddhanta texts are more astrology-related. Hinduism and Buddhism were the prominent religions of southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, prior to the Islamic conquest that started in the 14th century. The Hindus prevailed in Bali, Indonesia, and they have two types of Hindu calendar. One is a 210-day based Pawukon calendar which likely
470-524: A similar manner to the Christian era . There are several samvat found in historic Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts and epigraphy, of which three are most significant: Vikrama era, Old Shaka era and Shaka era of 78 CE. The Hindu calendar divides the zodiac into twelve division called rāśi ("group"). The Sun appears to move around the Earth through different divisions/constellations in the sky throughout
517-857: A specific name of ‘Tara’ proceeded by a word defining benefic or malefic nature. These are found to be extremely useful in Vedic astrology which is widely practiced in India. The nine taras (star groups) by their individual names are listed below. The basic purpose of Hindu Panchāngam is to check various Hindu festivals and auspicious time (election- Muhurta). In the Hindu system of election, various element of Panchāngam constitute auspicious and inauspicious moments (Yogas) by combination of weekday-Tithi, weekday-constellation, weekdays-Tithis-constellations. In addition, individual weekdays, Tithis, constellations, Yoga and Karanas have been prescribed for specific activities which fructify during their currency. For selecting an auspicious moment Panchāngam Shuddhi (purified-time)
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#1732779973878564-728: A tabulated form. It is sometimes spelled Panchāngamu, Pancanga , Panchanga , Panchaanga , or Panchānga , and is often pronounced Panchāng . Panchangas are used in Jyotisha ( Jyotiṣa ) (Indian astrology). In Nepal and Eastern India, including Assam , Bengal and Odisha , the Panchangam is referred to as Panjika , and in the Mithila region, it is known as Maithili Panchang or Patra. Panchāngams are published in India by many authors, societies, academies, and universities. Different publications differ only minutely, at least for
611-595: Is a pre-Hindu system, and another is similar to lunisolar calendar system found in South India and it is called the Balinese saka calendar which uses Hindu methodology. The names of month and festivals of Balinese Hindus, for the most part, are different, though the significance and legends have some overlap. The Hindu calendar is based on a geocentric model of the Solar System . A large part of this calendar
658-670: Is also found in the Hebrew calendar , the Chinese calendar , and the Babylonian calendar , but different from the Gregorian calendar. Unlike the Gregorian calendar which adds additional days to the month to adjust for the mismatch between twelve lunar cycles (354 lunar days) and approximately 365 solar days, the Hindu calendar maintains the integrity of the lunar month, but inserts an extra full month, once every 32–33 months, to ensure that
705-501: Is defined based on the movement of the Sun and the Moon around the Earth (saura māna and cāndra māna respectively). Furthermore, it includes synodic , sidereal , and tropical elements. Many variants of the Hindu calendar have been created by including and excluding these elements (solar, lunar, lunisolar etc.) and are in use in different parts of India. Samvat refers to era of the several Hindu calendar systems in Nepal and India , in
752-462: Is fundamental. In addition favourable transits, purified ascendant, absence of malefic yogas, favourable Dasha (Hindu progression), name of doer, propitiations, chanting of Mantras, place of activity, social customs, omens, mode of breathing are also examined. Vedanga Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Vedanga ( Sanskrit : वेदांग vedāṅga , "limb of
799-470: Is used in predictive astrology . The Lahiris Ephemeris published annually is the most widely used English almanac in Vedic astrology, many Panchāngas are published in local languages, which are mostly based on the National Panchānga. The[Bangalore press publishes Mallige Panchanga Darshini calendar every year Accuracy of attributes depending upon the Moon's motions were considered most crucial for
846-569: The Chinese language in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, and the Rigvedic passages on astronomy are found in the works of Zhu Jiangyan and Zhi Qian . According to Subhash Kak , the beginning of the Hindu calendar was much earlier. He cites Greek historians describing Maurya kings referring to a calendar which originated in 6676 BCE known as Saptarsi calendar. The Vikrami calendar is named after king Vikramaditya and starts in 57 BCE. Hindu scholars kept precise time by observing and calculating
893-566: The Buddha and the Mahavira's lifetimes as their reference points. The Hindu calendar is also important to the practice of Hindu astrology and zodiac system. It is also employed for observing the auspicious days of deities and occasions of fasting, such as Ekadashi . Time keeping [The current year] minus one, multiplied by twelve, multiplied by two, added to the elapsed [half months of current year], increased by two for every sixty [in
940-626: The Malayalam calendar broadly retains the phonetic Sanskrit names, the Bengali and Tamil calendars repurpose the Sanskrit lunar month names (Chaitra, Vaishaka etc.) as follows: The solar months ( rāśi ) along with their equivalent names in the Bangali, Malayalam and Tamil calendar are given below: or ଭାଦ୍ର (Bhādra) (Tai) or ଫଗୁଣ (Phaguṇa) (Māsi) The solar months ( rāśi ) along with
987-650: The Sun towards north for 6 months, and south for 6 months. Time keeping was important to Vedic rituals, and Jyotisha was the Vedic era field of tracking and predicting the movements of astronomical bodies in order to keep time, in order to fix the day and time of these rituals. This study is one of the six ancient Vedangas , or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Vedic Sanatan Sanskriti. Yukio Ohashi states that this Vedanga field developed from actual astronomical studies in ancient Vedic Period. The texts of Vedic Jyotisha sciences were translated into
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#17327799738781034-590: The Veda-s"; plural form : वेदांगानि vedāṅgāni ) are six auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism that developed in ancient times and have been connected with the study of the Vedas : The character of Vedangas has roots in ancient times, and the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions it as an integral part of the Brahmanas layer of the Vedic texts. These auxiliary disciplines of study arise with
1081-454: The Vedic texts composed centuries earlier grew too archaic to the people of that time. Vedangas developed as ancillary studies for the Vedas, but its insights into meters, structure of sound and language, grammar, linguistic analysis and other subjects influenced post-Vedic studies, arts, culture and various schools of Hindu philosophy . The Kalpa Vedanga studies, for example, gave rise to
1128-491: The approximate correspondence to Hindu seasons and Gregorian months are: Meṣa ♈ Mid May ( Spring ) [sõ:tʰ] Mithuna ♊ Mid July ( Summer ) [greʃim] Siṃha ♌ Mid Sep ( Monsoon ) [wəhraːtʰ] Tulā Panchangam Traditional A panchāngam ( Sanskrit : पञ्चाङ्गम् ; IAST : pañcāṅgam ) is a Hindu calendar and almanac , which follows traditional units of Hindu timekeeping, and presents important dates and their calculations in
1175-521: The basic tenet of astrology was integrated with celestial events and thus was born various branches of Vedic astrology and the Panchānga. In simple terms, "Panchānga" means the Day, Nakshatra (Star), tithi, Yoga and Karana every day. It is a mirror of the sky. The document used as Panchāngam has evolved over the last 5000 years. The theories propounded in the two scriptures, Surya Siddhanta and Grahalaghava formed
1222-479: The basis for the myriad calendars or Panchāngas in the past in different regions of India. The Grahalaghava was compiled about 600 years ago and Surya Siddhanta was available long before that. These had become outdated and did not tally with actual astronomical events and did not tally with each other. Hence, a committee was appointed by the Government of India with experts in the field drawn from various parts of
1269-486: The basis for the plethora of calendars or Panchāngas in the past in different regions of the country - a culturally complex system. The five Angas or parts of Panchāngam are elaborated in the following paragraphs but before that the composition of the Samvatsara OR Years (60 Years cycle), Varsha or Year and Masa or month are first explained, as these important calendar events are part of every Panchānga. All
1316-445: The characteristics of the respective planetary motion. Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta dated to have been completed sometime between the 5th century and 10th century present their chapters on various deified planets with stories behind them. The manuscripts of these texts exist in slightly different versions. They present Surya, planet-based calculations and Surya's relative motion to Earth. These vary in their data, suggesting that
1363-530: The codification of the Vedas in Iron Age India . It is unclear when the list of six Vedangas were first conceptualized. The Vedangas likely developed towards the end of the Vedic period, around or after the middle of the 1st millennium BCE. An early text of the genre is the Nighantu by Yaska , dated to roughly the 5th century BCE. These auxiliary fields of Vedic studies emerged because the language of
1410-561: The components of Panchangam are relevant in Predictive Astrology, Prasna Shastra (electional astrology), etc. All followers and practitioners of Vedic astrology must know how to read a Panchāngam and in this context it is necessary to know the terminology used in the Panchāngam for different time slots of the day. Panchāngas are also published in English as Ephemeris - The Lahiris Ephemeris is most widely used, which gives all
1457-558: The country who were involved with preparation of Panchāngam in local languages to draw up a reliable Panchāngam in which the mathematical calculations provides the positions of grahas (the planets ) and nakshatras ( constellations ) in the sky as they are observed. Thus, the Government of India has prepared the National Panchānga or the Indian national calendar in 1957 (was proposed by Meghnad Saha and Lahiri in 1952), which
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1504-530: The cycles of Surya (the Sun), Moon and the planets. These calculations about the Sun appear in various astronomical texts in Sanskrit , such as the 5th-century Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata , the 6th-century Romaka by Latadeva and Panca Siddhantika by Varahamihira, the 7th-century Khandakhadyaka by Brahmagupta and the 8th-century Sisyadhivrddida by Lalla. These texts present Surya and various planets and estimate
1551-518: The details as contained in a traditional Panchāngam published in Sanskrit or Hindi and all the regional languages of the country. There are several forms of reckoning the varsha or year based on solar entry (solar ingress), lunar entry , Jupiter entry in a sign or the Julian calendar of starting the year from the first of January, but the most widely accepted practice in India is the Samvatsara,
1598-546: The fact that each tithi from 1 to 14 in both Pakshas has what are called daghda rasis or burnt rasis – two rasis for each tithi except Chaturdasiwhich has four daghda rasis. But new moon and full moon have no dagdha rasis. The tithis are divided into five groups as under. A unique Vedic system is followed in Muhurtha astrology, Horary astrology and predictive astrology, which envisages grouping of Nakshtaras (stars) into nine sub-groups. Each sub-group covers three stars and has
1645-544: The festivals and crop-related rituals fall in the appropriate season. The Hindu calendars have been in use in the Indian subcontinent since Vedic times, and remain in use by the Hindus all over the world, particularly to set Hindu festival dates. Early Buddhist communities of India adopted the ancient Vedic calendar,later Vikrami calendar and then local Buddhist calendars . Buddhist festivals continue to be scheduled according to
1692-666: The lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the solar cycle is emphasized and this is called the Tamil calendar (though Tamil Calendar uses month names like in Hindu Calendar) and Malayalam calendar and these have origins in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. A Hindu calendar is sometimes referred to as Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्), which is also known as Panjika in Eastern India. The ancient Hindu calendar conceptual design
1739-515: The mean diameter of the Earth, which was very close to the actual 12,742 km (7,918 mi). Hindu calendars were refined during the Gupta era astronomy by Āryabhaṭa and Varāhamihira in the 5th to 6th century. These, in turn, were based in the astronomical tradition of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa , which in the preceding centuries had been standardised in a number of (non-extant) works known as Sūrya Siddhānta . Regional diversification took place in
1786-644: The medieval period. The astronomical foundations were further developed in the medieval period, notably by Bhāskara II (12th century). Later, the term Jyotisha evolved to include Hindu astrology . The astrological application of the Hindu calendar was a field that likely developed in the centuries after the arrival of Greek astrology with Alexander the Great , because their zodiac signs are nearly identical. The ancient Hindu texts on Jyotisha only discuss timekeeping, and never mention astrology or prophecy. These ancient texts predominantly cover astronomy, but at
1833-473: The modern era. These texts provide specific information and formulae on motions of Sun, Moon and planets, to predict their future relative positions, equinoxes, rise and set, with corrections for prograde, retrograde motions, as well as parallax. These ancient scholars attempted to calculate their time to the accuracy of a truti (29.63 microseconds). In their pursuit of accurate tracking of relative movements of celestial bodies for their calendar, they had computed
1880-577: The reliability of a panchāngam, because the Moon is the fastest among all heavenly entities shown in traditional panchāngas. Tithi, Nakshatra, Rāśi, Yoga, and Karana depend upon Moon's motions, which are five in number. Panchānga is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning "having five limbs". If these five limbs, for example, the five attributes depending upon Moon, are accurate, an almanac is held to be reliable, because other elements are not so difficult to compute due to their slow rates of change. There are three popular meanings of panchāngam: In Vedic astrology,
1927-405: The same challenge of accounting for the mismatch between the nearly 354 lunar days in twelve months, versus over 365 solar days in a year. They tracked the solar year by observing the entrance and departure of Surya (sun, at sunrise and sunset) in the constellation formed by stars in the sky, which they divided into 12 intervals of 30 degrees each. Like other ancient human cultures, Hindus innovated
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1974-416: The solar months. The twelve lunar months starting from Chaitra along with the names of the solar months are given below. In Vedic astrology, the basic tenets of astrology were integrated with celestial events with vara or weekday and thus was born the Muhurtha astrology or electional astrology. Tithi or Lunar day is an important concept in Hindu astrology. It means lunation. There are thirty tithis in
2021-834: The sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of the various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka (Based on the King Shalivahana , also the Indian national calendar ) found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize
2068-414: The sun], is the quantity of half-months ( syzygies ). — Rigveda Jyotisha-vedanga 4 Translator: Kim Plofker The Vedic culture developed a sophisticated time keeping methodology and calendars for Vedic rituals, and timekeeping as well as the nature of solar and Moon movements are mentioned in Vedic texts. For example, Kaushitaki Brahmana chapter 19.3 mentions the shift in the relative location of
2115-464: The text were open and revised over their lives. For example, the 1st millennium CE Hindu scholars calculated the sidereal length of a year as follows, from their astronomical studies, with slightly different results: The Hindu texts used the lunar cycle for setting months and days, but the solar cycle to set the complete year. This system is similar to the Jewish and Babylonian ancient calendars, creating
2162-429: The year on a fixed place (longitude, latitude) and time of day (in 24-hour format IST). The users calculate the remaining data using their relative difference from this fixed place and time. There are several panchāngas that contain information for more than one year. There is one, Vishvavijaya Panchāngam , that covers 100 years. The theories propounded in the two scriptures, Surya Siddhanta and Grahalaghava formed
2209-438: The year, which in reality is actually caused by the Earth revolving around the Sun. The rāśi s have 30° each and are named for constellations found in the zodiac. The time taken by the Sun to transit through a rāśi is a solar month whose name is identical to the name of the rāśi. In practice, solar months are mostly referred as rāśi (not months). The solar months are named differently in different regional calendars. While
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