KNOWLEDGE FROM COSMOS

  Eras in India Kollam Era or Era of Parshuram Kollam Era (also known as  Malayalam Era ,  Kollavarsham  or  Malayalam Calendar  or  Malabar Era  or  Nasrani Era ) is a solar and sidereal calendar used in Kerala, India. The origin of the calendar has been dated as 825 CE (Pothu Varsham) at Kollam (Quilon). It replaced the traditional Hindu calendar used widely elsewhere in India and is now prominently used in Kerala. All temple events, festivals and agricultural events in the state are still decided according to the dates in the Malayalam calendar.  See  Parshuram Era   for cycles of 1000 Years There are two versions of calendars.  The Malabar calendar is generally in the Northern part of Kerala - Kozhikode (or Calicut); and the Travancore or Kollam(or Quilon) calendar (Kollavarsham) is used in the Southern part of Kerala.  Incidentally, there are two versions of th...

  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 ...

  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...

  Era Natural phenomena in the zodiac are used to record the passage of time. The art of writing afforded the means to record the exact succession of events and epochs. In chronology and periodisation, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. We have eras for cosmological, calendric and historiographical purposes. Hindu cosmology was mentioned in the previous blog.  Non-Regnal Eras Grahaparivritti Cycle   This cycle is a chronological system used in southern India. It is a cycle of 90 years based on the the sum of the products in days of 15 revolutions of Mars,22 Mercury , 11 Jupiter,5 venus, 29 Saturn and 1 for Sun. The epoch occurs in 27 BCE on termination of 3078 of Kali yug. It is a sidereal year. To convert to CE date add 24 and divide by 90 to know the number of cycles till date.  2025 CE will correspond ...

  Hindu Calendar- Era ब्रहस्पती चक्र or Jovian Cycles The cycle of Jupiter is considered as one of the most ancient chronological systems, not only in India, but in Tibet, China, and Myanmar But why did Jupiter cycles come into prominence? I think, just as we count short periods From sunrise to sunrise – One day From lunation to lunation of Moon- One Month From season to season – One Year. A twelfth part is one month Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun is 12 years. A twelfth part is one Solar year or a Jovian month. Jupiter takes about 12 years to complete a round of the zodiac. (Actually, it takes 4332.59 days or 11.862 years) This method was easy to monitor, time longer than one year, as one could observe Jupiter returning to its original position at the end of 12 years. Observing a 60-year cycle was not practical and was hence calculated as per siddhantas and Karana works. Jupiter has two cycles, the 12-year and 60-year cycles, which were/are being followed. The 60-year cycle origina...