Samvat is any of the various Hindu calendar

Hindu calendar

The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...

s. In India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, there are several calendars in use:

• Vikrama Samvat: lunar months, solar sidereal years
• Shaka Samvat (traditional): lunar months, solar sidereal years
• Shaka Samvat
  Indian national calendar
  The Indian national calendar is the official civil calendar in use in India. It is used, alongside the Gregorian calendar, by The Gazette of India, news broadcasts by All India Radio, and calendars and communications issued by the Government of India.The term may also ambiguously refer to the...
  
   (modern): solar tropical
• Bangla Calendar: solar tropical years
• Tamil Nadu/Kerala: solar tropical years such as Malayalam calendar
  Malayalam calendar
  Malayalam calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Kerala, India. The origin of the calendar has been dated as 825 CE....
  
  
• Nepali calendar
  Nepali calendar
  The Nepali Calendar is a traditional solar calendar used in Nepal for both civil and religious purposes. The year begins in the month Baishakh; usually around 14 April....
  
   with Bikram Sambat: solar tropical years

Most holidays in India are based on the first two calendars. A few are based on the solar cycle, Sankranti (solar sidereal) and Baisakhi (solar tropical).

Months and approximate correspndence

Indian months are listed below. Shaka and Chaitradi Vikram (UP, Rajasthan etc.) start with Chaitra, Kartikadi Vikram (Gujarat, Maharashtra) start in Kartika.

#	Indian	Gregorian
1	Chaitra Chaitra Chaitra is a month of the Hindu calendar....	March-April
2	Vaisākha Vaisakha Vaishakha or Baisakha is a month of the Hindu calendar. It is the first month of the Nepalese calendar and the Bengali calendar . In the Indian national calendar Vaisakha is the second month of the year, beginning on April 21 and ending on May 20.In the Hindu solar calendar, Vaisakha begins in...	April-May
3	Jyeshta Jyeshta Jyeshta is a month of the Hindu calendar, also known as Jeth or Iethe. In India's national civil calendar, Jyestha is the third month of the year, beginning on 21 May and ending on 22 June...	May-June
4	Āshāda Aashaadha Aashaadha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Aashaadh is the fourth month of the year, beginning on 22 June and ending on 22 July. The month is known as Aadi in Tamil...	June-July
5	Srāvana Sravana Sravana may refer to:* Shravana, a Hindu nakshatra* Shraavana, a month...	July-August
6	Bhādrapada	August-September
7	Ashwina Ashvin Ashvin , also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the Tamil solar calendar where it is known as Aipassi and the solar India's national civil calendar. It is the sixth month of the solar Bengali calendar. It falls in the season of Shôrot, or Autumn...	September-October
8	Kārtika Kartika Kartika or Karthika may refer to:* alternative transliteration of Kartik** Kartikeya, the son of Shiva in the Indian mythology* alternative transliteration of Karthika, a feminine name in Indian languages** Kartika Rane, Indian actress...	October-November
9	Mārgasirsa (Agrahayana Agrahayana Agrahayana or Margashirsha, is a month of the Hindu calendar and Tamil calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Agrahayana is the ninth month of the year, beginning on 22 November and ending on 21 December. Since Vedic times, this month is known as Maargashirsha after the Nakshatra ... )	November-December
10	Pausha Pausha Pausha is a month of the Hindu calendar In the Indian national calendar, Pausha is the tenth month of the year, beginning with the solstice on 22 December and ending on 20 January....	December-January
11	Māgha Maagha Maagha is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Maagh is the eleventh month of the year, beginning in January and ending in February....	January-February
12	Phālguna Phalguna Phalguna is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phaalgun is the twelfth month of the year, beginning on 20 February and ending on 21 March .In lunar religious calendars, Phaalgun may begin on either the new moon or the full moon...	February-March

Nakshatras are divisions of ecliptic, each 13° 20', starting from 0° Aries. The purnima of each month is synchronized with a nakshatra.

Time cycles in India

The time cycles in India are:

• 60-year cycle
• Year
• 6 seasons of a year
• about 60 days (2 months) in a season
• Month (lunar)
• 2 pakshas in a month, shukla (waxing) and krishna (waning)
• 15 tithi
  Tithi
  In vedic timekeeping, a tithi is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours. There are 30 tithis in each lunar month, named...
  
  s in a paksha (1-14, 15th is purnima or amavasya)
• 60 ghatikas (or 30 muhurtas or 8 praharas) in a 24-hour period (ahoratra).
• 30 Kala (approx) in 1 muhurta
• 30 Kastha in 1 kala
• 15 Nimisha in 1 kastha

Years are synchronized with the solar sidereal year by adding a month every four years. The extra month is termed as "Adhik Mass" (extra month). This extra month is called Mala Masa (impure month) in Eastern India.

Date conversion

Converting a date from an Indian calendar to the common era can require a complex computation. To obtain the approximate year in the common era (CE):

• Chaitradi Vikram (past) : Chaitra-Pausha: subtract 57; Pausha-Phalguna: subtract 56.
• Shaka: add 78-79
• Kalachuri: add 248-249
• Gupta/Valabhi: add 319-320
• Bangla: add 593-594
• Vira Nirvana Samvat
  Vira Nirvana Samvat
  The Vira Nirvana Samvat originated on 15 October 527 BCE. It commemorates the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara. The Vikram Samvat in Gujarat starts from Diwali....
  
  : subtract 527-526
• Yudhishthira Samvat: Subtract 3101 (Ascension of Lord Krishna at age 125) from common era
• Sri Krishna Samvat: Subtract 3226 (Birth of Lord Sri Krishna) from common era
• Balabhi Samvat: add 320 to common era

The Kali "Samvat"

The Kali Era

Kali Yuga

Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...

 is not called a "Samvat

Samvat

Samvat is any of the various Hindu calendars. In India, there are several calendars in use:* Vikrama Samvat: lunar months, solar sidereal years* Shaka Samvat : lunar months, solar sidereal years* Shaka Samvat : solar tropical...

" in common Indian usage, but since it Is also an era, it might be useful to mention it here too. The Hindu calendar article has more information on the Kali Era. The conversion is given here:

• Add 3101 or 3100 (using the same guidelines as above) to the Gregorian year to get the number of elapsed Kali years.
• Add 3102 or 3101 to get the current Kali yuga number.
• Remember that the former (of the above two) is the standard, as explained at the Hindu calendar article.
• This era also corresponds with Yudhisthira Samvat in which we have present year as 5110 (2009 AD)

Variations

• In UP/Rajasthan, months are Purnimanta. In Gujarat/Maharashtra, they are Amanta.
• In inscriptions, the years may be gata (past) or current.

See also

• Hindu Calendar
  Hindu calendar
  The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada...
  
  
• Ancient Indian units of measurement
• Perpetual Calendar of 800 Years

External links

• Pancanga: Vikrama/Saka to Gregorian conversion utility