Vikram Samvat (

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, also called Panchangam, Panchanga (), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes ...

historically used in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and still also used in several

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. It is a

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of mont ...

, using twelve to thirteen lunar months each solar

sidereal year A sidereal year (, ; ), also called a sidereal orbital period, is the time that Earth or another planetary body takes to orbit the Sun once with respect to the fixed stars. Hence, for Earth, it is also the time taken for the Sun to return to t ...

s. The year count of the Vikram Samvat calendar is usually 57 years ahead of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years. Vikram Samvat is an official calendar of

. And unlike India where it is used only for religious dates, the solar version of Vikram Samvat is an official calendar used for everything from school sessions to legal contracts to any official functions.

History

A number of ancient and medieval inscriptions used the Vikram Samvat. Although it was reportedly named after the legendary king

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan ...

, the term "Vikrama Samvat" does not appear in the historical record before the 9th century; the same calendar system is found with other names, such as Krita and Malava. In colonial scholarship, the era was believed to be based on the commemoration of King Vikramaditya expelling the

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

s from

Ujjain Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain ...

. However, later epigraphical evidence and scholarship suggest that this theory has no historical basis. During the 9th century, epigraphical artwork began using Vikram Samvat (suggesting that the Hindu calendar era in use became popular as Vikram Samvat);

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and Jain epigraphy continued to use an era based on the Buddha or the

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

Vikramaditya legend

According to popular tradition, King

established the Vikrama Samvat era after defeating the Śakas. ''Kalakacharya Kathanaka'' (''An account of the monk Kalakacharya''), by the Jain sage Mahesarasuri, gives the following account: Gandharvasena, the then-powerful king of Ujjain, abducted a nun called Sarasvati, who was the sister of the monk. The enraged monk sought the help of the Śaka ruler King Sahi in

Sistan Sistān (), also known as Sakastān (, , current name: Zabol) and Sijistan (), is a historical region in south-eastern Iran and extending across the borders of present-day south-western Afghanistan, and south-western Pakistan. Mostly correspond ...

. Despite heavy odds but aided by miracles, the Śaka king defeated Gandharvasena and made him a captive. Sarasvati was repatriated, although Gandharvasena himself was forgiven. The defeated king retired to the forest, where he was killed by a tiger. His son, Vikramaditya, being brought up in the forest, had to rule from Pratishthana (modern Paithan in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

). Later on, Vikramaditya invaded Ujjain and drove away the Śakas. To commemorate this event, he started a new era called the "Vikrama era". The Ujjain calendar started around 58–56 BCE, and the subsequent Shaka-era calendar was started in 78 CE at Pratishthana.

Historical origins

The association of the era beginning in 57 BCE with Vikramaditya is not found in any source before the 9th century CE; earlier sources call the era "Kṛṭa" (343 and 371 CE), "Kritaa" (404), "the era of the Malava tribe" (424), or simply "Samvat". The earliest known inscription which calls the era "Vikrama" is from 842. This inscription, from the Chauhana ruler Chandamahasena, was found at

Dholpur Dholpur is a city in the Dholpur district in Rajasthan state of India. It is situated on the left bank of the Chambal river. The city is the administrative headquarters of Dholpur district. Dholpur was established by King Dhaval Dev of the ...

and is dated "Vikrama Samvat 898,

Vaishakha Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calend ...

Shukla 2, Chanda" (20 April 842). The earliest known inscription which associates the era with a king called Vikramaditya is dated 971, and the earliest literary work connecting the era to Vikramaditya is ''Subhashita-Ratna-Sandoha'' (993–994) by the Jain author Amitagati. A number of authors believe that the Vikram Samvat was not started by Vikramaditya, who might be a legendary king or a title adopted by a later king who renamed the era after himself. V. A. Smith and D. R. Bhandarkar believed that

Chandragupta II Chandragupta II (r.c. 375–415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was an emperor of the Gupta Empire. Modern scholars generally identify him with King Chandra of the Iron pillar of Delhi, Delhi iron ...

adopted the title of Vikramaditya, and changed the era's name to "Vikrama Samvat". According to

Rudolf Hoernlé Augustus Frederic Rudolf Hoernlé CIE (1841 – 1918), also referred to as Rudolf Hoernle or A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, was a German Indologist and philologist. He is famous for his studies on the Bower Manuscript (1891), Weber Manuscript (1893) an ...

, the king responsible for this change was

Yashodharman Yashodharman ( Gupta script: ''Ya-śo-dha-rmma'', ) was a ruler of the Malava Empire in North India, from 515 until his death in 545. He belonged to the Second Aulikara dynasty. He conquered much of the Indian subcontinent between c. 530– ...

. Hoernlé believed that he conquered Kashmir and is the "Harsha Vikramaditya" mentioned in

Kalhana Kalhana (c. 12th century) was the author of '' Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be deduced from his own wri ...

's ''

Rajatarangini ''Rājataraṅgiṇī'' (Sanskrit: Devanagari, राजतरङ्गिणी, IAST, romanized: ''rājataraṅgiṇī'', International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɑː.d͡ʑɐ.t̪ɐˈɾɐŋ.ɡi.ɳiː ) is a metrical legend ...

''. Some earlier scholars believed that the Vikram Samvat corresponded to the

Azes era The "Azes era" (also known as the ''Aja'' or ''Ajasa'' era, Prakrit: ''Ayasa vaṣaye'') starting 47/46 BCE, was named after the Indo-Scythian king, "King Azes the Great" or Azes I. As a number of inscriptions are dated in this era it is of great ...

of the Indo-Scythian (Śaka) king King Azes. This was disputed by Robert Bracey after the discovery of an inscription of

Vijayamitra Vijayamitra was an Apracharajas, Apracharaja who ruled in Gandhara, with his capital in Bajaur. He succeeded the previous Apracharaja, Visnuvarma, in 3 BCE with a reign lasting til 32 CE. Rukhana reliquary Vijayamitra is mentioned in a recently ...

, which is dated in two eras. The theory was discredited by Falk and Bennett, who place the inception of the Azes era in 47–46 BCE.

Popularity

The Vikram Samvat has been used by

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

, and

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

. One of several regional Hindu calendars in use on the

, it is based on twelve synodic lunar months and 365 solar days. The lunar year begins with the new moon of the month of

Chaitra Chaitra () is a month of the Hindu calendar. In the standard Hindu calendar and India's national civil calendar, Chaitra is the first month of the year. It is the last month in the Bengali calendar, where it is called Choitro. Chaitra or Cha ...

. The calendar remains in use by people in

serving as its national calendar where the first month is Baisakh and the last month is Chaitra. It is also symbolically used by Hindus of north, west and central India. Alongside Nepal Sambat, Bikram Sambat is one of two official calendars used in Nepal. In south India and portions of east and west India (such as Assam, West Bengal and Gujarat), the

Indian national calendar The Indian national calendar, also called the Shaka calendar or Śaka calendar, is a solar calendar that is used alongside the Gregorian calendar by ''The Gazette of India'', in news broadcasts by All India Radio, and in calendars and officia ...

is widely used. With the arrival of Islamic rule, the Hijri calendar became the official calendar of

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

ates and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. During

British colonial rule The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

of the Indian subcontinent, the

was adopted and is commonly used in urban areas of India. The predominantly-Muslim countries of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

have used the Islamic calendar since 1947, but older texts included the Vikram Samvat and Gregorian calendars. In 2003, the India-based Sikh

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and ...

controversially adopted the

Nanakshahi calendar The Nanakshahi calendar () is a tropical solar calendar used in Sikhism. It is based on the " Barah Maha" (Twelve Months), a composition composed by the Sikh gurus reflecting the changes in nature conveyed in the twelve-month cycle of the year. T ...

Calendar system

Like the Hebrew and Chinese calendars, the Vikram Samvat is

lunisolar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, that combines monthly lunar cycles with the solar year. As with all calendars which divide the year into months, there is an additional requirement that the year have a whole number of months ...

. In common years, the year is 354 days long, while a leap month (''adhik maas'') is added roughly in accordance to the

Metonic cycle The Metonic cycle or enneadecaeteris (from , from ἐννεακαίδεκα, "nineteen") is a period of almost exactly 19 years after which the lunar phases recur at the same time of the year. The recurrence is not perfect, and by precise obser ...

, namely, 7 times every 19 years, to ensure that festivals and crop-related rituals fall in the appropriate season. Early Buddhist communities in India adopted the ancient

, followed by the Vikram Samvat and local

Buddhist calendar The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam as well as in Malaysia and Singapore and by Chinese populations for religious or o ...

s. Buddhist festivals are still scheduled according to a lunar system. The Vikram Samvat has two systems. It began in 56 BCE in the southern Hindu calendar system (''amaanta'') and 57–56 BCE in the northern system (''purnimaanta''). The Shukla Paksha, when most festivals occur, coincides in both systems. The lunisolar Vikram Samvat calendar is 56.7 years ahead of the solar

; the year VS begins mid-April CE, and ends mid-April CE. The Rana dynasty of Nepal made the Vikram Samvat the official Hindu calendar in 1901 CE, which began as 1958 VS. The new year in Nepal begins with the first day of the month of

Baisakh Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calenda ...

, which usually falls around 13–15 April in the Gregorian calendar and ends with the last day of the month

. The first day of the new year is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

in Nepal. Bisket Jatra, an annual carnival in

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

, is also celebrated on Baishakh 1. In 2007, Nepal Sambat was also recognised as a national calendar alongside Vikram Samvat. In India, the reformulated Saka calendar is officially used (except for computing dates of the traditional festivals). In the Hindi version of the preamble of the

constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

, the date of its adoption (26 November 1949) is presented in Vikram Samvat as Margsheersh Shukla Saptami Samvat 2006. A call has been made for the Vikram Samvat to replace the Saka calendar as India's official calendar.

New Year

* Chaitra Navaratri: the second most celebrated, named after ''vasanta'' which means spring. It is observed in the lunar month of

(post-winter, March–April). In many regions the festival falls after spring harvest, and in others during harvest. It also marks the first day of the Hindu calendar, hence also known as the Hindu Lunar New Year according to Vikram Samvat calendar. *

Vaisakhi Vaisakhi, also known as Baisakhi or Mesadi, marks the first day of the month of Vaisakh and is traditionally celebrated annually on 13 April or sometimes 14 April. It is seen as a spring harvest celebration primarily in Punjab and Northern In ...

: **Vaisakhi marks the beginning of Hindu Solar New Year in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Northern, Eastern, North-eastern and Central India according to the solar Vikram Samvat calendar. and marks the first day of the month of

Vaisakha Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calen ...

, which is usually celebrated on 13 or 14 April every year and is a historical and religious festival in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. ** Baisakh (Nepal): The first day of Baisakh is celebrated as Nepalese New Year because it is the day which marks Hindu Solar New Year as per the solar Nepali Bikram Sambat. *Varsha Pratipada or ''Bestu Varas:'' It is considered an auspicious day celebrated in the Indian state of Gujarat to mark the New Year according to the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar. It falls on the first day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika. The day is significant as it symbolizes the beginning of the agricultural year, and farmers traditionally start their new accounting books on this day.

Divisions of a year

The Vikram Samvat uses lunar months and solar

s. Because 12 months do not match a sidereal year, correctional months ('' adhika māsa'') are added or (occasionally) subtracted (''kshaya masa''). A lunar year consists of 12 months, and each month has two

fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

s, with a variable duration ranging from 29 to 32 days. The

lunar day A lunar day is the time it takes for Earth's Moon to complete on its axis one synodic rotation, meaning with respect to the Sun. Informally, a lunar day and a lunar night is each approximately 14 Earth days. The formal lunar day is therefore t ...

s are called ''

tithi In Vedic timekeeping, a ''tithi'' is a "duration of two faces of moon that is observed from earth", known as ''milа̄lyа̄'' () in Nepal Bhasa, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12 ...

s''. Each month has 30 ''tithis'', which vary in length from 20 to 27 hours. The waxing phase, beginning with the day after the new moon ''(

amavasya Amāvásyā () is the lunar phase of the new moon in Sanskrit. Indian calendars use 30 lunar phases, called tithi in India. The dark moon tithi is when the Moon is within 12 degrees of the angular distance between the Sun and Moon before conj ...

)'', is called ''gaura'' or ''

shukla paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, ...

'' (the bright or auspicious fortnight). The waning phase is called ''

krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

'' or '' vadhya paksha'' (the dark fortnight, considered inauspicious).

Lunar metrics

* A ''

'' is the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun to increase by 12 °.Burgess, Ebeneze
''Translation of the Sûrya-Siddhânta: A text-book of Hindu astronomy, with notes and an appendix''
originally published: ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', vol. 6, (1860), pp. 141–498, Chapter 14, Verse 12 ''Tithis'' begin at various times of the day, and vary in duration. * A ''

paksha Paksha () refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the '' purnima'' ( full moon day). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnight ...

'' (or ''pakṣa'') is a lunar fortnight and consists of 15 ''tithis''. * A ''māsa'', or

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...

(about 29.5 days), is divided into two ''paksas''. * A ''ritu'' (season) is two ''māsas''. * An ''ayana'' is three ''ritus''. * A year is two ''ayanas''.

Months

The classical Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calendar, except during January to April, when it is ahead by 56 years. The month that the new year starts varies by region or sub-culture. Up to 13 April 2025, it will be 2081 BS in the BS calendar. The names of months in the Vikram Samvat in Sanskrit and Nepali, with their roughly corresponding Gregorian months, respectively are:

References

External links

Daily Update of Calendar
Prof. Michio Yano and M. Fushimi. For Kartikadi Vikram used in North India to AD, select Try,Vikram Purnimanta. {{calendars Punjabi culture Time in India Specific calendars * Memorials to Vikramaditya Lunisolar calendars Calendar eras * Time in Nepal Nepali calendar Indian inventions Malavas History of Ujjain