The Hindu calendar or Panchang is more than 5000 years old and is based on the phases of the moon. It is an essential tool for Vedic astrologers - especially in predictive astrology. There are twelve months in one year but there is a shortfall of around two days, this results in the dates of festivals moving back around eleven days each year. An extra leap month is added to rectify this every three years (called Adhika Maas).
Hindu Calendar Explained
Devout Hindus refer to a Hindu calendar (also called Panchang) for the dates of festivals and auspicious times for various rituals. "Panchanga" means the five areas and these relate to the following:
- Vaar/vasara (weekday);
- Nakshatra (star);
- Tithi (lunar day);
- Yoga (division based on the longitude of the sun and moon); and
- Karana (half a lunar day).
According to this Vedic system the day begins at sunrise.
The Hindu Calendar Months
The year begins with Makar Sankranti - the sun's entrance into Capricorn. A Hindu lunar month begins with the new moon called "amavasya" and has two fortnights. Each month is called a "maasa" and has around 30 tithis (lunar days), and the tithis during the waxing phase beginning with the full moon night called "purnima" are referred to as "shukla" (in the bright auspicious phase). Tithis for the dark waning phase are called "krishna" and deemed to be inauspicious.
The names of the Hindu months and approximate correspondence with the Gregorian calendar is explained below:
- Chaitra (begins in March/April);
- Vaisakha (begins in April/May);
- Jyaistha (begins in May/June);
- Asadha (begins in June/July);
- Shravana (begins in July/August);
- Bhadra (begins in August/September);
- Asvina (begins in September/October);
- Kartik ((begins in October/November);
- Agrahayana (begins in November/December);
- Pausa (begins in December/January);
- Magha (begins in January/February); and
- Phalguna (begins in February/March).
Hindu Weekdays and Auspicious Times
The day almost always begins at sunrise and depends on the chosen astrological system. Each day is divided into fifteen muhurtas and are about 48 minutes long. Brahma muhurta is the most famous and occurs around an hour and half before sunrise, it is considered most auspicious for spiritual practice. The night is also split in fifteen muhurtas in the same manner. Like the West, the week is divided into seven days, and each aligns to one of seven planets:
- Somvaar - Monday (Moon);
- Mangalavaar - Tuesday (Mars);
- Budhavaar - Wednesday (Mercury);
- Guruvaar - Thursday (Jupiter);
- Shukravaar - Friday (Venus);
- Shanivaar - Saturday (Saturn); and
- Ravivaar - Sunday (Sun).
Each day is related to a specific deity. For example, Saturday is linked with Hanuman and Monday with Shiva. Hindus can perform fasts to please a deity on the relevant day of the week.
Not everyone can decipher the Hindu calendar because of the unique way it works. As a Panchang is mostly used for religious rituals, identifying festival dates and horoscopes it isn't necessary to have a refined understanding of the complexities behind it. Most Hindus consult a professional astrologer to draw up horoscopes and for auspicious times for weddings, therefore a basic awareness of the calendar is acceptable.
Priya Chauhan - A designer, topic editor and feature writer (for Hinduism) and all round experimenter of healthy living; Priya enjoys being creative, and ...
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