HIndu Calendar- Eras 3

 Eras

“हम अंग्रेज़ों के ज़माने के जेलर हैं” This famous dialogue from a film summarises what an era is and how life is affected due to an era. The following regnal eras elaborate on this.

Harsha Era

  The era was founded by हर्षवर्धन, of Thanesar and Kanauj, from the 1^st year of his reign. Al Biruni mentions the beginning of this era, referring to Panchang /Almanack available in Kashmir, as 664 years after Vikram Samvat, 664-57=607 CE. He ruled from 606 CE to 647 CE 

An inscription of Bhoj Deva of Kannauj, Pehowa inscription from the temple of Garibnath, is dated as 276 in figures and in words (translated as two hundred exceeded by seventy-six Shukla paksha of Vaishakh ) –Samvat 276 Vaishakh sudi 7.

So, referring to the Harsha era, the inscription is dated 606+276=882 CE

Inscriptions discovered in Nepal by Pandit Bhagwan Lal are records of King Amshuverma of Nepal. They are dated as Samvat 34, 35, 45, etc. When converted by adding 606, these denote the actual dates of his reign. There is no specific mention of the Harsha era, but it implies that the Harsha era was used for dating in Nepal, before the advent of the Newar era (introduced by King Raghavdeva in 880 CE)

It is not clear whether theचैत्रादी or  कृतिकादी system was in use in this era

The period of Harsha is well documented in 'हर्षचरित्र' written by बाणभट्ट (author of the famous Sanskrit prose ‘ कादम्बरी’). The writings of Chinese scholar Hiuen-Tsang, who visited Harsha’s court, also provide great detail about Harsha and India of Harsha’s time.

He also tried to extend his kingdom beyond the Narmada but failed to do so.  He faced a defeat at the hands of Pulakesin II, the Chalukya king of Badami. The Aihole inscription in Badami, Karnataka, mentions this event

 Harsh Ka Tila

 

 

Hijra Era

 The era used in the Islamic lunar calendar. It begins its count from the Islamic New Year, in which Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Yathrib (now Medina) in 622 CE. This event, known as the Hijrah,  

Khalif Umar I introduced the Hijrah era, now distinguished as AH, in 639 CE.

He abolished the earlier practice of (Pre-Islamic, Arabic Lunar Calendar) naming the years (similar to Hindu Samvatsar in a 60-year Jovian cycle) and started numbering the years. Umar started the first year AH with the first day of the lunar month of Muḥarram (there was no set order of months during the pre-Islamic era). Muharram became the 1^st month of the Hijri year.

This event corresponds to Friday, July 16, 622 CE

Another sect in Islam begins the Hijri year with the month of Rabi' Al-Awwal, rejecting Muharram as the starting month. Consequently, there is a variation in the dates of certain festivals depending on the system followed.

The year is purely Lunar, and the month begins with the first heliacal rising of the moon after the new moon. The year consists of 354 days and 355 days in intercalary years.

The months have alternately 30 and 29 days each, with an extra day added to the last month eleven times in a cycle of thirty years. These are usually taken as the 2^nd, 5^th, 7^th,10^th , 13^th , 15^th , 18^th, 21^st , 24^th , 26^th , and 29^th  in the cycle, but some consider  the 8^th , 16^th19^th, and 27^th as intercalary instead of the 7^th, 15^th, 18^th and 26^th.

Ulug Beg mentions the 16^th as a leap year. It may be taken as certain that the practice varies in different countries, and sometimes even at different periods in the same country.

Trivia- To find whether any given year is intercalary, then divide it by 30 and if the remainder is one of the numbers given above, then the year is intercalary by 355 days.

 Since each Hijra year begins 10/11 days earlier, in a span of 33 years, the Hijri year runs through the whole course of seasons. 

For example, the Month of Ramadan as compared with the Gregorian calendar

• In 1431 AH was on 11 Aug 2010
• In 1441 AH was on 24 Apr 2020
• In 1451 AH will be on 6 Jan 2030 and 1452 AH on 26 Dec 2030(phenomena similar to Adhik maas because of the use of the Lunar calendar and seen wrt the Gregorian Calendar. The Same phenomenon was seen in 1997)
•  In 1452 AH, 26 Dec 2030
• In 1462 AH will be on 07 Sep 2040

However,Hindu Lunar calendar does  intercalation  every 30 months. Hence, the months and seasons are in sync. One can relate a month to a season and vice versa. This makes the Hindu calendar a Luni-Solar calendar.

Since the Hijri year invariably begins with the heliacal rising of the moon, or the first observed appearance on the western horizon shortly after the sunset following the new moon. (अमावस्या) It is actually the Shukla Pratipada, 1^st tithi, of the Hindu calendar. As, however, the Hijri day—contrary to Hindu practice, which counts the day from sunrise to sunrise—consists of the period from sunset to sunset, the first date of a Hijri calendar month is always entered in the Hindu Panchang as corresponding with the following Hindu civil day.

Since the beginning of the Hijri calendar month depends on the heliacal rising of the moon, the month may begin a day earlier at one place than at another, and therefore, the following month may have more days than the other.

Different Variations of the Hijri Calendar

Tabular Hijri Calendar: The Tabular Hijri is a mathematical adaptation of the calendar, it standardises the length of the year, and uses fixed calculations. This technique is frequently utilised for historical and scholarly purpose but often , it doesn’t correspond with real moon observations.

Solar Hijri Calendar: This calendar is mainly utilised in Iran and Afghanistan. The Solar Hijri Calendar corresponds with seasonal events like the Persian New Year (Nowruz) and differs from the conventional lunar-based Hijri calendar.

 30 Jun 2025 will be 5 Muharram 1447 AH 

Bengali San

This era is still in use in W Bengal and eastern regions (with different names), though CE and Gregorian calendar is used for commercial and administrative purposes. However all festivals and religious rituals are conducted as per Bengali San.

Bengali Calendar is also called BANGABDA Calendar or Bengali Samvat, BS

 It is the official calendar of Bangladesh (It is a revised version of the original Bengali calendar)

The Saka Era (Vikram Samvat) was widely used in the Bengal region before the arrival of Muslim rule. Some historians claim that this era was started by Akbar, but it is not so. Akbar started the Ilahi and Fasli eras (These eras will be explored in later blogs).

Epigraphical evidence mentions that the Bikrami calendar was in use by the Bengali people of the region, pointing to Vikram Samvat. In rural Bengali communities, the Bengali calendar is credited to "Bikromaditto", like many other parts of India and Nepal.

King Shashank or Shashank deva, created the first separate political entity and state called as Gauda Kingdom. This was around the unified area of Bengal (see map).He reigned in 7th century, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 and 625 at decline of Gupta empire.

 बाणभट्ट mentions King Shashank and his rule in the Gauda region in his text, हर्षचरित्र. Al Biruni also describes the Gaud region in the east in his texts.

Shashank is credited with the start of the Bengali calendar around his reign during 594 CE.

He continued to follow Vikram Samvat, using lunar months and sidereal solar years, in short, the Vikram solar calendar (Also used in southern India with some modifications).

The Year starts from मेष संक्रांति (Sun entering मेष राशि) and is called वैशाख, around 13/14 April. The New Year is celebrated as ‘Poilo Baishakh”.Though the Tamil area calls the month Chaitra. The era is denoted as BS

30 Jun 2025 will be 15^th Ashar 1432 BS

Trivia- The whole of Gauḍa was once known as Gauḍa Desh. The Bengali language was also known as Gauḍiya Bhasha… The older generations call  Bengalis as Gauḍiya. The script is Proto-Bengali, also known as the Gaudī script, and is the ancestor of the modern Bengali script. It evolved from the Siddhamātrika script and is considered an Eastern Indian derivative of it. Odiya, Assamese are other derivatives of this script.

The Magi-San.—This era was prevalent in the District of Chittagong. It is very similar to the Bengali calendar, the days and months in each being exactly alike. The Magi is, however, 45 years behind the Bengali year,' e.g.. Magi 1200= Bengali 1245.

Vilayati and Amli Era

This era is in use in south south-southwestern regions of the Bengal region, now Odisha. The calendar and its arrangements are similar to those of Bengali San. It uses a solar year, but the months use lunar names. The year begins with कन्या संक्रांति(Virgo) day . The months start on the sankranti day itself, unlike the Bengal rule (see Hindu Calendar 3 of 5 ). By the 16^th to 17^th century, the vilayati year is supposed to commence from Krishna paksha of Chaitra. (as per Warren in his text ‘Kala Sankhalita’, 1825). The epoch of this era is the same as 592/593 CE. As of date, the year starts with solar mesh Sankranti in the lunar month of Baishakh.

Amli era, The era commences from the birth of King Indradyumna of Odisha, onभाद्रपद शुक्ल द्वादशी, and the months commence from the moment the Sun enters the new sign. This day is also the festival of ‘ Sunia’. This era was used for business purposes and is now considered the start of a financial year.

The कन्या संक्रांति can take place on any day from about 11 days before भाद्रपद शुक्ल द्वादशी to about 18 days after it. With the difference of so many days, the epoch and the numerical designation of the Amli and Vilayati years are the same.

30 Jun 2025 is आषाढ़ शुक्ल पंचमी 1432 Vilayati Era

............... more eras in India follow

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References:-

1.  Bhartiya Jyotish Shastra- SB Dixit
2. The Indian Calendar- Robert Sewell and SB Dixit
3. Cowasjee Patells Chronology
4. The book of Eras- Gen A Cunningham
5. Indian Antiquary, Vol XII, pp 155, Dr Bühler
6. Prof F Kielhorn - Indian Antiquary  Vol XIX
7. Inscriptions of Harayana- SR Phogat,1978
8. Gauda Kingdom by Dr Avantika Lal
9. The Calendars of India by VK Mishra, PhD 
10. Girish Chandras' Chronological tables, 1894

 

 

Hindu Calendar-Eras 2

 Eras

Different regions of India have used various eras for their accounting years, ranging from  Luni-solar to solar systems, Amanta and Purnimanta methods. These differences in practice arise from the adoption of distinct interpretations of Hindu science by various tribes and kingdoms.

When a segment of people migrate out of their home place to another, they continue to use their own era, calendar, notwithstanding that another era may be in use in the new place. In doing so, they tend to mix up the calendar and treat it from their own point of view. This is one of the main problems while ascertaining the antiquity of the past. 

It is therefore difficult to point out the kind of year, Solar or Luni Solar, arrangements of months and fortnights to a particular era. However, one thing is certain: Luni Solar years follow the Chaitradi system, and Solar years follow the Meshadi system to their corresponding solar reckoning.

Chedi or Kalchuri Era

Some inscriptions and plates were found at the beginning of the 19^th century in central and western India, mentioning the reign of the Kalchuri dynasty. These artefacts, when studied by archaeologists, mentioned some dates, which did not correspond to the usual Saka or Vikram era, but referred to a different era.

Prof Keilhorn, Dr Bird, Capt Wilford, Gen Cunningham, Dr JF Fleet, were a few who tried to interpret these artefacts and coins of the Kalchuri dynasty to know the era's beginning. The earliest attempt was made by Pandit Bhagwanlal Indraji; his dates were approximate.

The scholars ruled out the Gupta era or the Valabhi era, in the absence of characters and dates on coins, referring to them as’ Gupia-kala, Guptasya kala, Gupta-Nripa-rajya-bhukti, or Gupta Sam’

The first, and approximately correct, conjecture about the epoch of the era was made in 1859 by Prof Fitz-Edward Hall in his article on the Behra-Ghat inscription of Alhanadevi, dated Samvat 907, and the Tewar inscription of Jayasimhadeva, dated Samvat 928.

All these scholars presented their estimated dates for the commencement of the era. Nearly a hundred-plus artefacts were examined to arrive at a conclusive beginning date of the era. The challenge was due to the practice of mentioning expired years and ignoring the intercalated years.

The research and study established that the Kalachuri era commenced on the purnimanta Karttika, ie, the 6th October, In 248  CE.

However, this was in conflict with the earlier conclusion of the examination of other dates and artefacts. It was concluded that the era commenced on the Kartik month(Amanta System) in 249 CE.

The earlier dates come from artefacts found in Gujarat and Maharashtra, while the later dates were obtained from North India and Chhattisgarh.

A general system was to date events in the regnal years of the ruling king. When the Kalachuris established themselves in Chhattisgarh, they introduced an era which they had been using in their home province of Dahala for several centuries. It, therefore, came to be designated as Kalachuri-Samvat. The other name, Chedi-Samvat or Chedisasya Samvat, was also appropriate, for the Imperial family to which the Tuman branch, in Chatisgarh, showed allegiance, which was then ruling over the Chedi country.

Ruins of Mahadev Temple, in Tuman, Chhattisgarh.

 

The 1^st day of the 1^st current year of Chedi Year, corresponds to अश्विन शुक्ल प्रतिपदा of चैत्रादी Vikram Samvat,306 current(Saka 171 current 05 Sep 248 CE), months are पूर्णिमांत, अश्विनादी years. Chedi's current year 0 is equal to 247-248 CE.

The CE date is obtained by adding 248/249 or 249/250 (depending if the expired or current year is used ) to the Chedi Year.

Gupta Era

Dr. J.F. Fleet, while examining the inscriptions from the Gupta period, observed that the feudatories and successors of Chandragupt II and III had inscriptions with dates arranged in a continuous sequence. This led him to believe that these inscriptions were connected to a specific era. However, he was uncertain whether the dates belonged to the Gupta era or the kingdom. He found a reference to the alliance between the Guptas and the Lichchavis of Nepal, which was established around 319/320 CE. Based on this, he presumed that the dates were part of the Gupta era, although he had no evidence to support this claim.

Al Beruni did mention the ‘Gupta Kal’ in his book “Al Biruni’s India”, but could not authenticate it with any evidence. Though he mentions that the Gupta era was founded 241 years after the Saka era, this corresponds to 318/319 CE. He did not specify the start or the conclusion of an era.

Later, researchers and scholars did find evidence of the existence of the Gupta era. Some of these are

• Date 61 is inscribed on the Mathura pillar inscription.
• Sarnath Buddha image inscription, of the reign of Kumargupta and Budhagupta
• Allahabad Posthumous Stone Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta

Allahabad Stone Pillar Inscriptions

The era started from the coronation of King Chandragupta I, corresponding to 319/320 CE

Interestingly, only 7 inscriptions of the Gupta era have been found to mention “Samvatsar” in the records of the Early Gupta period, which give full details for calculation, regarding the heliacal-rising system of 12 /60 year Jovian cycle. This confirmed that the Jovian cycle was used, for calendric purposes, in the Gupta period.

The Gupta era years are current and follow चैत्रादी, पूर्णिमांत, of Saka 242 (current), corresponding to 319/320 CE.

Valabhi/Ballabhi Era

Next in chronological sequence, but slightly overlapping some of the preceding records, come the inscriptions of the Kings of Valabhi, ranging from 436 CE to 766 CE. Of the numerous copper-plate inscriptions of this family that have been discovered, apart from the full genealogical tree which they give, including twelve generations, they make known the historical fact that the Senapati Bhatarka, the founder of the family, successfully waged war against, and overthrew, a dynasty, tribe, or clan called Maitrakas, the Maitraka dynasty of Vallabhi: this resulted in the era being called the "Vallabhi" era in the Maitraka-ruled territory.

 According to the inscriptions, the Gupta era was prevalent in Kathiawar and some neighbouring parts of Gujarat, at least as late as 766 CE. It was more of a continuation of the Gupta era, with the name changed to the Vallabhi era.

The beginning of the year was thrown back from चैत्र शुक्ल प्रतिपदा to the previous कार्तिक शुक्ल प्रतिपदा; hence, its epoch went back by five months, and is synchronous with the current कृतिकादी Vikrama year 376, corresponding to 318/319 CE. The months appear to be पूर्णिमांत अमंता. This is because Vikram Samvat was in use in the area around Gujarat, whose year began in theकार्तिक month

Map showing different kingdoms during 590 CE.

 

.............to be continued with the eras prevalent  in India 

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References:-

1.  Bhartiya Jyotish Shastra- SB Dixit
2. The Indian Calendar- Robert Sewell and SB Dixit
3. Cowasjee Patells Chronology
4. The book of Eras- Gen A Cunningham
5. Indian Antiquary , Vol XII ,pp 155 Dr Bühler
6. Prof F Kielhorn - Indian Antiquary  Vol XIX
7. The Kalchuris and Their Times, RK Sharma, 1980
8. Inscriptions of the Kalchuri–Chedi Era, Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi,1955
9. Age of Imperial Guptas, Prof RD Banerji, 1933
10. Origin of the Gupta-Valabhî Era. G. Bühler
11. Rise and Fall of Imperial Guptas, Ashwini Agarwal, 1989