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← Older revision		Revision as of 21:48, 3 January 2022
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	;Sources		;Sources
	*Saha, M. N. (Chairman) (1955) [http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/39692 ''Report of the Calendar Reform Committee''] New Delhi: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research		*Saha, M. N. (Chairman) (1955) [http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/39692 ''Report of the Calendar Reform Committee''] New Delhi: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
	*{{cite book \|last1=Richards \|first1=Edward Graham \|title=Mapping Time: The Calendar and Its History \|date=1998 \|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-286205-1 \|pages=~~184-185~~ \|edition=illustrated, reprint, revised \|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Mapping_Time.html?id=GqXDQgAACAAJ}}		*{{cite book \|last1=Richards \|first1=Edward Graham \|title=Mapping Time: The Calendar and Its History \|date=1998 \|publisher=Oxford University Press \|isbn=978-0-19-286205-1 \|pages=184–185 \|edition=illustrated, reprint, revised \|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Mapping_Time.html?id=GqXDQgAACAAJ}}

	==External links==		==External links==

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{{Short description|A calendar used in India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2021}}
[[File:Nepal30005a.JPG|thumb|Mohar of Gorkha(later Nepal's) king [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] dated [[Saka era]] 1685 (AD 1763).]]
The '''Indian national calendar''', sometimes called the '''Shalivahana Shaka calendar''', is used, alongside the [[Gregorian calendar]], by ''[[The Gazette of India]]'', in news broadcasts by [[All India Radio]] and in calendars and communications issued by the [[Government of India]].<ref name=GoIcalendar>{{cite web |title=Government Holiday Calendar |url=https://www.india.gov.in/calendar |publisher=[[Govt. of India]] Official website }}</ref>

Originally through historical Indian influence, the Saka calendar is also used in [[Java]] and [[Bali]] among [[Hinduism in Indonesia|Indonesian Hindus]]. [[Nyepi]], the "Day of Silence", is a celebration of the Saka new year in Bali. Nepal's [[Nepal Sambat]] evolved from the Saka calendar. The Saka calendar was also used in several areas in the modern-day [[Philippines]] as written in the [[Laguna Copperplate Inscription]], the only available primary documentary source in the country containing religious Hinduistic references.

The term may also refer to the [[Hindu calendar]]; the [[Saka era|Shalivahana era]] is also commonly used by other calendars.

The historic [[Saka era|Shalivahana era]] calendar is still widely used. It has years that are solar.

== Calendar structure ==
The calendar months follow the signs of the [[tropical zodiac]] rather than the [[sidereal zodiac]] normally used with the [[Hindu calendar]].
{| class="wikitable standard"
! #
! Name (Sanskrit)
! Length
! Start date (Gregorian)
! Tropical zodiac
! Tropical zodiac (Sanskrit)
|-
|1
|[[Chaitra]]
|30/31
|March 22/21
|Aries
|Meṣha
|-
| 2
|[[Vaisakha|Vaisākha]]||31||April 21||Taurus||Vṛiṣabha
|-
| 3
| [[Jyeshtha (month)|Jyēshtha]]|| 31 || May 22 || Gemini || Mithuna
|-
| 4
| [[Ashadha|Āshādha]]|| 31 || June 22 || Cancer || Karkata/Karka
|-
| 5
| [[Shraavana|Shrāvana]]|| 31 || July 23 || Leo || Simha
|-
| 6
|[[Bhaadra|Bhādra]]|| 31 || August 23 || Virgo || Kanyā
|-
| 7
| [[Ashvin|Āshwin]]|| 30 || September 23 || Libra || Tulā
|-
| 8
| [[Kārtika]]|| 30 || October 23 || Scorpio || Vṛiśchik‌‌‌a
|-
| 9
| [[Agrahayana|Agrahāyana]]|| 30 || November 22 || Sagitarius || Dhanur
|-
| 10
| [[Pausha]]|| 30 || December 22 || Capricorn || Makara
|-
| 11
|[[Magha (month)|Māgha]]|| 30 || January 21 || Aquarius || Kumbha
|-
| 12
| [[Phalguna|Phālguna]]|| 30 || February 20 || Pisces || Mīna
|-
|}

Chaitra<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Identity Elements - National Calendar - Know India: National Portal of India|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/national-identity-elements/national-calendar.php#:~:text=The%20national%20calendar%20based%20on,broadcast%20by%20All%20India%20Radio.|access-date=2020-06-14|website=knowindia.gov.in}}</ref> is the first month of the calendar. Chaitra has 30 days and starts on March 22, except in [[leap years]], when it has 31 days and starts on March 21. The months in the first half of the year all have 31 days, to take into account the slower movement of the sun across the [[ecliptic]] at this time.

The names of the months are derived from older, [[Hindu]] [[lunisolar calendar]]s, so variations in spelling exist, and there is a possible source of confusion as to what calendar a date belongs to.

The first day of the week is Ravivara (Sunday).<ref name="QuintSaka">{{cite news |last1=Quint |first1=The |title=Happy ‘Saka’ New Year 1941: Story Behind India’s National Calendar |url=https://www.thequint.com/news/india/indian-national-calendar-saka-calendar-new-year-22-march-1941 |access-date=12 August 2020 |work=TheQuint |date=22 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The official calendar reckoned by Govt. Of India has Sunday to Saturday as the week.<ref name=GoIcalendar />

{| class="wikitable"
|+Days of the Saka calendar<ref name="QuintSaka"/>
!Weekday
!Saka
!Gregorian
|-
|0
|Ravivara
|Sunday
|-
|1
|Somvara
|Monday
|-
|2
|Mangalavara
|Tuesday
|-
|3
|Budhavara
|Wednesday
|-
|4
|Brahaspativara
|Thursday
|-
|5
|Shukravara
|Friday
|-
|6
|Shanivara
|Saturday
|}

Years are counted in the [[Saka era]], which starts its [[year 0]] in the year [[AD 78|78]] of the [[Common Era]]. To determine leap years, add 78 to the Saka year – if the result is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, then the Saka year is a leap year as well.

==History==

=== Vikram ===
=== Period ===
{{Expand section|date=January 2021}}
[[Kushan Empire|Kushana]] king [[Kanishka]] is believed to have created the a calendar that came to be known as the Saka Calendar.

=== Adoption ===
Senior Indian [[Astrophysicist]] [[Meghnad Saha]] was the head of the [[Calendar Reform Committee]] under the aegis of the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]]. Other members of the Committee were: A. C. Banerjee, K. K. Daftari, J. S. Karandikar, Gorakh Prasad, R. V. Vaidya and N. C. Lahiri. It was Saha's effort, which led to the formation of the Committee. The task before the Committee was to prepare an accurate calendar based on scientific study, which could be adopted uniformly throughout India. It was a mammoth task. The Committee had to undertake a detailed study of thirty different calendars prevalent in different parts of the country. The task was further complicated by the integration of those calendars with religion and local sentiments. India's first prime minister, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], in his preface to the Report of the Committee, published in 1955, wrote: "They (different calendars) represent past political divisions in the country ... . Now that we have attained Independence, it is obviously desirable that there should be a certain uniformity in the calendar for our civic, social, and other purposes, and this should be done on a scientific approach to this problem."<ref>{{cite web |title=Meghnad Saha, A Pioneer in Astrophysics |url=http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/saha/sahanew.htm |publisher=Vigyan Prasar Science Portal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223073932/http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/scientists/saha/sahanew.htm |archive-date=23 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Usage started officially at 1 Chaitra 1879, Saka Era, or 22 March 1957.

==See also==
{{col div|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Hindu calendar]]
* [[Vikram Samvat]]
* [[History of calendars]]
* [[Saka era]]
* [[Bengali calendar]], a related Indic calendar
* [[Persian calendar]]
* [[Indian New Year's days]]
* ''[[Vishuddha Siddhanta Panjika|Bisuddhasiddhanta Panjika]]''
* [[Ritu (Indian season)]]
* [[Kollam era]] the [[Malayalam]] calendar
* [[Tamil calendar]]
* [[List of calendars]]
{{colend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
;Sources
*Saha, M. N. (Chairman) (1955) [http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/39692 ''Report of the Calendar Reform Committee''] New Delhi: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
*{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=Edward Graham |title=Mapping Time: The Calendar and Its History |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-286205-1 |pages=184-185 |edition=illustrated, reprint, revised |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Mapping_Time.html?id=GqXDQgAACAAJ}}

==External links==
* [http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendars.html Calendars and their History (by L.E. Doggett)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180417203122/http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/projects/lcl.pdf Indian Calendars (by Leow Choon Lian, pdf, 1.22mb)]
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.india.hindicalender Indian Calendar with daily Panchang details]
* [http://pib.nic.in/feature/fe0999/f2109991.html Positional astronomy in India]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070219205856/http://www.indiaimage.nic.in/nationalcalendar.htm Indian National Calendar]
* [http://packolkata.gov.in/?lan=en India Meteorological Department/ Positional Astronomy Centre: current and past issues of the ''Rashtriya Panchang'' and ''The Indian Astronomical Ephemeris'']

{{Symbols of India}}
{{calendars}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian National Calendar}}
[[Category:Indian culture|National calendar]]
[[Category:National symbols of India]]
[[Category:Months of the Hindu calendar]]
[[Category:Time in India]]
[[Category:1957 introductions]]

Indian national calendar - Revision history

Sshekhar898: improved details based on references and improved wording

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