KNOWLEDGE FROM COSMOS

  Measurement of time   One of the most striking features of the Hindu calendar system is its intricacy. It offers a  multidimensional method of structuring time, combining information about lunar days, solar days, lunar months, solar months, the Sun's and the Moon's movements in relation to stellar constellations, and other astronomically defined time spans. This makes the Hindu calendar vastly more complex than the  Western calendar , which is  built around only two basic units of time:  solar days  and  solar years . The Flux of Time is apparently, without a beginning or end, but it is cut up periodically by several natural phenomena, The ever-recurring alternation of daylight and night defined a day The recurrence of the moon's phases, defined as a month The recurrence of seasons, defined as a year It is this recurring phenomenon which is used to make a calendar. In the Vedic period, they observed and used these very natural phen...

  The Hindu Calendar Basics of Calendar Making Calendars are used for regulating two essentially distinct types of human activities, (a) Civic and administrative, (b) Social and religious In ancient and medieval times and even today, different countries and religions have developed their characteristic calendars to serve both purposes.  Today in India, different parts of the country follow a distinct accounting system to observe the same ritual. Isn’t it Crazy? This is what appears to a layman, but actually, it is not. The Gregorian calendar fulfils civic and administrative purposes and most of us have a fair idea of this calendar; however, our social and religious requirements are met by the Hindu calendar, without understanding our own calendar. All religious, festivals, rituals, and social occasions are determined based on the Hindu calendar/almanac or a Panchang. One can find festivals and religious rituals almost every month. They apply either to the entire ...