हिन्दू कैलेंडर

✦ Basic Structure of the Hindu Calendar

The Hindu calendar is fundamentally based on lunar months. One lunar month is approximately 29.5 days — from new moon to new moon (Amanta system) or from full moon to full moon (Purnimanta system). North India follows Purnimanta; South and West India follow Amanta.

A Hindu year has 12 lunar months — Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, Shravana, Bhadrapada, Ashwina, Kartika, Margashirsha, Pausha, Magha, Phalguna. Each month's name is derived from the nakshatra in which the Purnima of that month occurs. For example, Chaitra month's Purnima occurs in the "Chitra" nakshatra.

Between the lunar months and solar year there is a difference of about 11 days (354 vs 365 days). To balance this, an "Adhik Maas" (intercalary month) is added every 2-3 years — also called "Malmaas" or "Purushottam Maas". 2026 has Adhik Jyeshtha (17 May–14 June); the next one will be in 2029.

✦ Paksha — The Two Fortnightly Divisions

Each lunar month is divided into two pakshas — Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha. In Shukla Paksha the Moon waxes (from new moon to full moon); in Krishna Paksha it wanes (from full moon to new moon). Each paksha has 15 tithis — Pratipada, Dvitiya, Tritiya, Chaturthi, Panchami, Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dvadashi, Trayodashi, Chaturdashi, and Purnima/Amavasya.

Shukla Paksha is generally considered auspicious — the Moon is growing, energy is rising. Most auspicious work — marriage, housewarming, naming ceremonies — is done during this. Krishna Paksha is considered favorable for some activities — ancestral rites, shraddha, Saturn worship, tantric practices.

Paksha determination is the basis of panchang. Each paksha has five special tithis called "Pancha Parva" — Chaturthi (Ganesha), Ashtami (Durga), Ekadashi (Vishnu), Chaturdashi (Shiva), Purnima/Amavasya. Each has its own special deity and vrat.

✦ Solar Year and Seasons

The Hindu solar year begins with "Mesha Sankranti" (mid-April) — when the Sun enters sidereal Aries. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, Odisha, Punjab, Assam — these regions celebrate the solar New Year with great festivity (Puthandu, Vishu, Poyla Boishakh, Pana Sankranti, Baisakhi, Bihu).

The Hindu calendar has 6 seasons — Vasanta (Phalguna-Chaitra/spring), Grishma (Vaishakha-Jyeshtha/summer), Varsha (Ashadha-Shravana/monsoon), Sharad (Bhadrapada-Ashwina/autumn), Hemanta (Kartika-Margashirsha/pre-winter), Shishira (Pausha-Magha/winter). Each season covers 2 lunar months. This classification accurately reflects the Indian climate.

Dakshinayana and Uttarayana are also part of the solar calendar. Uttarayana (from Makar Sankranti, January 14, to Karka Sankranti, July 16) is the period when the Sun moves northward — extremely auspicious. Dakshinayana (from Karka Sankranti to Makar Sankranti) is favorable for ancestral rites.

✦ Various Samvats — Hindu Year Counting

The Hindu calendar has several "Samvats" (year-counting systems). Vikram Samvat is most popular — it began with King Vikramaditya's coronation in 57 BCE. 2026 CE = Vikram Samvat 2083. Shaka Samvat (from 78 CE) is the Government of India's national calendar — 2026 CE = Shaka 1948. Bengal, Odisha, Assam use Bengali Samvat (from 593 CE) — 2026 CE = Bengali 1432.

Other samvats: Kali Samvat (from 3102 BCE, the most ancient — according to Hindu belief, the start of Kali Yuga), Saptarshi Samvat (from 3076 BCE, in Kashmir), Nepali Samvat (from 879 CE), and Nanakshahi Samvat (from 1469 CE, from Guru Nanak's birth, in Punjab and Jammu).

✦ Adhik Maas — Lunisolar Balancing

Between the lunar year (354 days) and solar year (365.25 days) is a 11-day difference. To balance this, an extra month — "Adhik Maas" — is added every 32-33 lunar months. It is also called "Malmaas" (impure month) or "Purushottam Maas" (Vishnu's month).

The rule for Adhik Maas: if a lunar month has no solar transition (i.e., the Sun does not enter any zodiac sign in that month), then that month is called "Adhik". The next month gets the name from the next zodiac sign transition. Example: if Shravana has no Sun transition, it is called "Adhik Shravana".

During Adhik Maas, new undertakings — marriage, griha pravesh, naming ceremonies — are prohibited. But this month is dedicated to Lord Vishnu — his worship, vrat, meditation, swadhyaya are extremely fruitful. Throughout the month, Satyanarayan Katha, Srimad Bhagavata, and Vishnu Sahasranama are recited.

Kshaya Maas — sometimes two Sun transitions occur in one lunar month — then that month becomes "lost" (Kshaya Maas). This is very rare — about once in 19 years. There is no Kshaya Maas in 2026.

✦ Modern Use of the Hindu Calendar

Even today, the Hindu calendar is part of the daily life of millions of families in India. Marriage dates, ceremony muhurats, vrat-festival determination, shraddha-tithi — all are decided by the Hindu calendar. Major festivals like Diwali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi are based on lunar tithis.

The Government of India's national calendar is "Shaka Samvat" — adopted on 22 March 1957. Along with the Gregorian (English) calendar, the Hindu calendar is also displayed in government publications, gazettes, and radio broadcasts.

In our online Hindu calendar, we use Lahiri Ayanamsa and Jean Meeus high-precision computations. Local sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset are accurately shown for 200+ cities. Major vrat-festivals, muhurats, eclipse-dates, sankranti-dates — all are available together.

✦ Frequently Asked Questions