Hindu calendar 2006 by SIDH

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Namaskar Mitra,

 

To read about Hindu calendar 2006 by SIDH (The Society for Integrated

Development of the Himalayas). Excerpts below.

http://esamskriti.com/html/essay_index.asp?cat=764&subcat=763&cname=hindu_calender_2006

 

In the traditional Hindu calendar, the breaks were observed on pratipada (first

day of the waxing and waning phase of the moon) and ashtami (eighth day of

waxing and waning phase). The main divisions of the year were: season, month,

half-month (paksha), day-night and sunrise. However, an alien system

(Gregorian) was imposed upon the entire country during the colonial rule. The

concept of Sunday as a day of rest is just one example. When the British came

to the subcontinent, observance of Sunday as a day of rest was limited to

Europeans – Indians worked all seven days. However, in 1842 the Governor

of Bombay Sir George Arthur ordered that no government work was to be done

either by Indians or Europeans on a Sunday and that future government contracts

with outside tenderers were to specify this. As a result, we overtly

to one set of politically correct assumptions that dominate the world today,

but these are constantly belied by the reality of our everyday experience. Even

though we would now feel quite lost without the Gregorian calendar, many people

still think that the weather turns cold only after Diwali (amavasya or the new

moon in the month of Kartik) and warm weather only beings after Holi (Poornima

or the full moon in Phalgun).

 

Organization of the Hindu Calendar

 

The Hindu calendar is a combined lunar and solar calendar as is based on the

position of both sun and moon. When referring to the lunar cycle we refer to

tithi and paksha, but when referring to the solar cycle we talk in terms of

sankranti and gate. Festivals and other religious occasions are based both on

the solar and the lunar cycles. For example some of the sankrantis

(corresponding to the solar calendar) like the Mesh Sankranti (more popularly

known as Baishaki), Kark Sankranti, etc. are very important and celebrated

throughout the country, while on the other hand important festivals like Basant

Panchami, Mahashivratri, Holi, Diwali, Janmashtami, Ramnavami, etc. are

determined by the lunar calendar.

 

The names of the months like Chaitra, Baishaka, etc. are the same in both the

lunar and solar cycles. These two cycles cannot be separated and seen in

isolation. However, it should also be remembered that these two cycles are not

in step. This creates a slight difficulty for those unacquainted with the Hindu

calendar as demonstrated by the following example. In 2006, Baishaki falls on

April 14th. According to the solar calendar it is the first day (or sankranti)

of the month of Vaishakh, but according to the lunar cycle it is Chaitra Shukla

Dwadashi (or the twelfth day of the bright half/waxing phase of the month of

Chaitra). So it can be seen that according to the lunar cycle it is the month

of Chaitra, but according to the solar cycle the month of Baishaka has started.

 

SOLAR CYCLE

 

A solar month is the time it takes the sun to travel through a zodiac sign

(rashi). The entry of the sun in a rashi is celebrated as sankrant and is also

the start of the solar month. Thus there are twelve sankrants in a year. For

example, the month of Baishaka begins when the sun enters the zodiac sign

Aries.

 

A solar year has two ayana (halves) of six months each, solar month is further

divided in to 30 or 31 gate (days). The northern declination of the sun when it

appears to move between the constellation Capricorn and Gemini is called

Uttarayan. This corresponds to the movement of the sun from the Tropic of

Capricorn northwards towards the Tropic of Cancer. Uttarayan starts on the day

of Makar Sankranti. The southern declination of the sun when it appears to move

between the constellations Cancer and Sagittarus is called Dakshinayan. This

corresponds to the movement of the sun from the Tropic of Cancer southwards

towards the Tropic of Capricorn. Dakshinayan starts on the day of Kark

Sankranti. The solar year begins with the entrance of the sun into Mesha

(Aries) or Makara which is around 14/15 of January.

 

LUNAR CYCLE

 

The lunar month (masa) consists of 30 tithis (days) which can begin at any time

of the solar day, but for practical purposes they are considered to commences

at sunrise and last through the whole solar day. The tithes are grouped into

pakshas with 14-15 days each. The Krishna Paksha is the dark half or waning

phase, from purnima to amavasya, and the Shukla Paksha is the bright half or

waxing phase, from amavasya to purnima. In North India, the lunar month starts

on the first day of the Krishna Paksha (Krishna Paksh Pratipada) and the last

day of the month is the day of purnima. In Bengal, Maharashtra and South India,

the amanta system is used, in which the lunar month instead starts on the first

day of Shukla Paksha (Shukla Paksha Pratipada) and ends on the day of amavasya.

Each masa is named after the naksatra in which the full moon occurs in each

successive month.

 

The Hindu new year or samvatsar starts on the day of Chitra Shukla Pratipada

(the first day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra). But the New Year is

celebrated on different days in different part of country. Some regions and

communities start their new year on KartikShukla Pratipada (the first day of

the bright half of the month of kartik). This would be the time of Diwali. In

Bengal and Punjab the New Year starts on the day of Mesh Sankrant (popularly

known as Baisakhi), while the Tamil New Year called Pongal falls on the day

after Baishakhi (i.e. 15 April).

To read the whole piece above.

 

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