Hindu Calendar Systems
पञ्चाङ्ग पद्धति — calendar traditions of India
Amanta · Purnimanta · Vikrama · Shaka · Solar
There is no single "Hindu calendar". India has a family of related calendars that share the same astronomical building blocks — the tithi, the nakshatra, the solar sankranti and the sidereal zodiac — but combine them in different ways. Some count months by the Moon and some by the Sun; some end the lunar month at new moon and others at full moon; and years are numbered in several eras. This page explains the main choices so that you can read any Panchangam with confidence. For region-by-region detail see regional calendars.
Lunisolar and solar calendars
A lunisolar calendar counts months by the phases of the Moon but keeps the year aligned with the Sun. Its months — Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, Shravana, Bhadrapada, Ashvina, Kartika, Margashirsha, Pausha, Magha and Phalguna — are named after the nakshatra near which the full moon usually falls. Twelve lunar months last only about 354 days, so an extra month is periodically inserted. Most Indian festivals, such as Deepavali, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi and the Ekadashis, are defined by tithi in this calendar, which is why their Gregorian dates move from year to year.
A solar calendar instead starts each month on the day the Sun enters a new sidereal rashi (a sankranti). Solar months last between about 29 and 32 days and the year is always about 365 days long, so solar festivals such as Makar Sankranti, Puthandu and Vishu fall on nearly the same Gregorian date every year. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Bengal, Assam, Tripura and Punjab use solar calendars for civil purposes, while still observing lunar tithis for many festivals.
Amanta and Purnimanta months
The lunar month can be reckoned in two ways. In the Amanta (or Mukhya Mana) system the month ends at Amavasya, the new moon, and begins with the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha). In the Purnimanta (Gauna Mana) system it ends at Purnima, the full moon, and begins with the dark fortnight (Krishna Paksha).
| Feature | Amanta | Purnimanta |
|---|---|---|
| Month ends on | Amavasya (new moon) | Purnima (full moon) |
| First fortnight | Shukla Paksha | Krishna Paksha |
| Shukla Paksha name | Same in both systems | Same in both systems |
| Krishna Paksha name | Month X | Month X + 1 (one month ahead) |
| Main regions | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Himachal, Jharkhand, Nepal |
| Example | Maha Shivaratri: Magha Krishna Chaturdashi | Maha Shivaratri: Phalguna Krishna Chaturdashi |
The example shows why the two systems sometimes seem to disagree: Maha Shivaratri is celebrated on the same night everywhere, but almanacs in the south call its month Magha while those in the north call it Phalguna. The same applies to Krishna Janmashtami (Shravana Krishna Ashtami in the Amanta system, Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami in the Purnimanta system). The Vedangam Panchangam uses Amanta month names; see our methodology.
Adhika and Kshaya masa
Because twelve lunar months fall about 11 days short of the solar year, the lunisolar calendar adds an Adhika Masa (intercalary month) whenever a whole lunar month passes without a solar sankranti — that is, without the Sun entering a new rashi. This happens roughly every 32 to 33 months, or about seven times in nineteen years. The extra month takes the name of the following month with the prefix adhika (for example, 2023 had an Adhika Shravana and 2026 an Adhika Jyeshtha). It is also called Purushottama Masa and is devoted to prayer and charity, while weddings and most festivals are avoided.
Much more rarely, around the winter months when the Sun moves fastest along the ecliptic, a lunar month can contain two sankrantis. It then becomes a Kshaya Masa (lost month), and the same year usually contains two adhika months that compensate for it. Kshaya months occur only at long and irregular intervals.
The eras: Vikrama, Shaka and Kali
Vikrama Samvat
The Vikrama Samvat era begins in 57 BCE and is traditionally associated with King Vikramaditya of Ujjain. It is the most common era in North and western India and is the official calendar of Nepal, where it is used in a solar form. A Vikram Samvat year is 57 years ahead of the Common Era year after the spring new year, so the year that began in March 2026 is VS 2083. In Gujarat the Vikrama year begins later, on the day after Deepavali.
Shaka Samvat
The Shaka era begins in 78 CE. It became the standard era of Indian astronomers — Varahamihira, Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya all date their works in it — and is still used in Panchangas of the Deccan and South India, where it is often called the Shalivahana Shaka. The year that began at Ugadi 2026 is Shaka 1948.
Separately, in 1957 the Government of India adopted the Indian National Calendar recommended by the Calendar Reform Committee led by the astrophysicist Meghnad Saha. It uses Shaka year numbers but is a solar calendar with fixed month lengths: 1 Chaitra falls on 22 March (21 March in leap years), and the months follow the tropical year in step with the Gregorian calendar. It appears alongside the Gregorian date in official publications.
Kali era
The Kali Yuga era starts in 3102 BCE, the traditional beginning of the present age and the epoch used by Aryabhata and later Siddhantas for astronomical calculation. The number of elapsed Kali years is found by adding 3,101 to the Common Era year. It appears in some almanacs and in the sankalpa recited before rituals. See Kala — Vedic units of time for the larger cycles.
| Era / calendar | Epoch | Conversion | Year begins | Type | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikrama Samvat | 57 BCE | CE + 57 (after the new year) | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada; Kartika Shukla Pratipada in Gujarat | Lunisolar (solar in Nepal) | North and western India, Nepal |
| Shaka (Shalivahana) era | 78 CE | CE − 78 (after the new year) | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (Ugadi, Gudi Padwa) | Lunisolar | Deccan and South Indian Panchangas |
| Indian National Calendar (Saka) | 78 CE era, adopted 1957 | CE − 78 | 1 Chaitra = 22 March (21 March in leap years) | Solar, fixed month lengths | Government of India gazette and official use |
| Kali era (Kaliyugabda) | 3102 BCE | CE + 3101 (elapsed years) | Varies by region | Astronomical epoch | Siddhanta astronomy, sankalpas, some almanacs |
| Kollam era (Malayalam) | 825 CE | CE − 825 (from Chingam) | 1 Chingam (mid-August) | Solar | Kerala |
| Bangabda (Bengali San) | 593–594 CE | CE − 593 (from Boishakh) | 1 Boishakh (14–15 April) | Solar | West Bengal, Tripura, Bangladesh |
The 60-year Samvatsara cycle
In addition to a number, each year has a name from a cycle of 60 samvatsaras, beginning with Prabhava, Vibhava and Shukla and ending with Krodhana and Akshaya. The cycle is connected with the planet Jupiter (Brihaspati), which takes close to 12 years to go around the zodiac; five such revolutions make 60 years, so the cycle is also called the Barhaspatya cycle. In South India the name changes at the new year (Ugadi or Puthandu) — the year that began in 2026 is Parabhava, the 40th — while in some northern traditions the name is reckoned from Jupiter's mean motion, so northern and southern almanacs can give different names for the same year.
Regional New Years
Because regions follow different calendars, India celebrates many new years. Lunisolar regions begin the year on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the day after the new moon in March or April (Gujarat being the main exception), while solar regions begin it when the Sun enters Mesha in mid-April.
| New Year | Region | Date | Calendar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ugadi | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (March–April) | Lunisolar, Amanta |
| Gudi Padwa | Maharashtra, Goa (Samvatsar Padvo) | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada | Lunisolar, Amanta |
| Navreh | Kashmiri Pandits | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada | Lunisolar |
| Vikram Samvat new year | Hindi-speaking North India | Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (start of Chaitra Navaratri) | Lunisolar, Purnimanta months |
| Bestu Varas | Gujarat | Kartika Shukla Pratipada, the day after Deepavali | Lunisolar, Amanta |
| Puthandu | Tamil Nadu | 1 Chithirai, Sun enters Mesha (about 14 April) | Solar |
| Vishu | Kerala | 1 Medam, Mesha Sankranti (14–15 April) | Solar (the Kollam era year starts in Chingam) |
| Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) | Punjab, Haryana | Mesha Sankranti (13–14 April) | Solar |
| Pohela Boishakh | West Bengal, Tripura, Bangladesh | 1 Boishakh (14–15 April; fixed at 14 April in Bangladesh) | Solar |
| Pana Sankranti | Odisha | Mesha Sankranti (about 14 April) | Solar |
| Bohag Bihu | Assam | Mesha Sankranti (about 14–15 April) | Solar |
One sky, many calendars
Despite these differences, every Indian calendar is built from the same sky. A given evening has the same tithi and nakshatra in Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi; what differs is how days are grouped into months, when the year begins and how it is numbered. Once you know whether a calendar is solar or lunisolar, Amanta or Purnimanta, and which era it counts in, any Panchangam becomes easy to read. You can see all of these values for today on our daily Panchangam.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Amanta and Purnimanta?
Both are ways of grouping the same 30 tithis into a lunar month. In the Amanta system, followed in most of western and southern India, the month ends on the new moon (Amavasya). In the Purnimanta system of North India it ends on the full moon (Purnima). The bright fortnight has the same month name in both systems, but the dark fortnight is named after the following month in the Purnimanta system. Festival dates themselves do not change.
Which year is it in Vikram Samvat and Shaka Samvat?
From the Chaitra new year in spring 2026, the Vikram Samvat year is 2083 and the Shaka year is 1948. As a rule of thumb, add 57 to the Common Era year for Vikram Samvat and subtract 78 for Shaka, remembering that the traditional year changes in March or April, not on 1 January.
What is an Adhika Masa?
An Adhika Masa (extra or intercalary month, also called Purushottama or Mala Masa) is a lunar month during which the Sun does not move into a new zodiac sign. It is added roughly every 32 to 33 months so that the lunar year of about 354 days keeps pace with the solar year of about 365 days. Most festivals are not celebrated in the adhika month.
Why do Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bengal celebrate New Year in mid-April?
These regions use solar calendars in which each month begins when the Sun enters a new sidereal rashi. The year begins when the Sun enters Mesha (Aries), which in the sidereal zodiac currently happens around 13 to 15 April, so Puthandu, Vishu, Baisakhi and Pohela Boishakh fall in mid-April every year.
What is the 60-year Samvatsara cycle?
Each year in the traditional calendar has one of 60 names, from Prabhava to Akshaya, after which the cycle repeats. The cycle is linked to Jupiter, which takes about 12 years to circle the zodiac, so five Jupiter cycles make 60 years. The year that began at Ugadi 2026 is Parabhava, the 40th name in the cycle.