Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is the most essential part of every Hindu. Many Hindus do refer the Hindu Calendar daily or even before starting any good work. During ancient times; the time of conception & time of birth was also calculated with the help of Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) to have a pious soul as a child. For the betterment of child, the Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) was used to calculate the right time for the birth of child. Before marriages also, Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) in Hindu culture is of immense importance. A priest or the astrologer recommends the auspicious date & month to organize the marriage ceremony. Like the marriage & birth there are also other important activities for which Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) holds vital part in Hinduism. Even for performing sacrifices, pooja rituals, worships etc., Hindus refer the Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्).
     One of the most striking features of the Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) system is its characteristics of providing minute details. It offers a multi-dimensional method of organizing time, combining information about lunar days, solar days, lunar months, solar months, the movements of the Sun & the Moon in relation to astronomical constellations & other astronomically defined time spans. All these makes the Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) immensely more accurate than the western calendar, which is built around only two basic units of time solar days & solar years. 
     Since Vedic period, Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is used to match the current position of planets with the position of planets in a person’s astrological horoscope to discover astrological good days & times for that person. It is an ancient method to synchronize the actions with good times so as to reduce obstacles & increase the chances for success. In other words, it helps in knowing what days & times are good for an individual & which one may cause problems so as to avoid them. However, many Hindus does not know what is Hindu Calendar because of which we have given a basic overview about Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) through this article.

Significance of Hindu calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) -
     Hindu calendar is an elaborate system with its own subsystem of divisions, rules & modifications & it is popularly known as पञ्चाङ्गम् (Panchangam) in Sanskrit & पञ्चाङ्ग (Panchanga) in Hindi, Gujarati & other Indian languages. पञ्चाङ्गम् literally means comprising of five limbs so, that which comprises of five limbs is known as पञ्चाङ्गम् (Panchangam) i.e., Hindu Calendar. The five limbs of पञ्चाङ्गम् (Panchangam) are;

“ तिथिर्वारश्च नक्षत्रं योगः करणमेव च इति पञ्चाङ्गम् । ”

Meaning- A group of Tithi (तिथिः) (Date), Vaara (वारः) (a Day), Nakshatra (नक्षत्रम्) (Constellation), Yoga (योगः) (Union/Contact) & Karana (करणम्) (Means of Instrument) is known as पञ्चाङ्गम् (Panchangam).
     The collective of these five limbs defines one particular day. These five limbs are connected to the motion & position of the Sun & the moon. This arrangement of Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is of vital importance in the daily life of a Hindu for astrology, rituals, festivals, seasonal activities, astronomy, etc. Now let us understand the basic concept of these five limbs of Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्);
1.    तिथिः - Tithi literally means date. The term तिथिः is used to describe the difference between the Sun & the Moon. According to the Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्), there are fifteen dates (तिथिः) of शुक्लपक्षः (bright fortnight) where numerical 1 to 15 are shown. Likewise, 14 dates (तिथिः) of कृष्णपक्षः (dark fortnight) are shown in numerical 1 to 14 & for अमावस्या (the day of new moon) numerical 30 is used. तिथिः (a date) changes from sunrise & not from midnight like Georgian calendar.
2.    वारः - Vaara means a day. There are total seven (07) days (वारः) in Hindu Calendar. Starting from the sunrise in the morning up to the sunrise of next day is called one वारः (a day). Each day consists of 24 hours. Name of the days starting from Monday to Sunday with its Sanskrit names are; Somavaara (इन्दुवासरः/ चंद्रवासरः), Mangalavaara (भौमवासरः), Budhavaara (सौम्यवासरः), Guruvaara (बृहस्पतिवासरः), Shukravaara (भृगुवासरः), Shanivaara (स्थिरवासरः/ मंदवासरः), Ravivaara (भानुवासरः).
3.    नक्षत्रम् - Nakshatra means constellation. Every day has a mention of a constellation & each day has different constellation. So, we should understand that, the Moon is on that particular constellation on the day the constellation is mentioned. The word Nakshatra (नक्षत्रम्) is used as it is a separate object. There are total 27 constellations (नक्षत्राणि) & they are; (1) Ashvini, (2) Bharni, (3) Kruttika, (4) Rohini, (5) Mrugashirsha, (6) Aardra, (7) Punarvasu, (8) Pushya, (9) Aashlesha, (10) Magha, (11) Purva Phalguna, (12) Uttara Phalguna, (13) Hasta, (14) Chitra, (15) Swati, (16) Vishakha, (17) Anuradha, (18) Jyeshtha, (19) Mool, (20) Purva Ashadha, (21) Uttara Ashadha, (22) Shravana, (23) Dhanishtha, (24) Shatatara, (25) Purva Bhadrapada, (26) Uttara Bhadrapada, (27) Revati.
4.    योगः - Yoga is the union or contact between the celestial objects. By calculating; a Zodiac (राशिः), a portion or part (अंशः) of the Sun & the Moon, a digit of the Moon (कला), defects (विकला) of the Sun & the Moon we get Yoga (योगः). Depending on the fluctuation of the speed of the Sun & the Moon, the duration of the Yoga (योगः) is around 20 to 25 hours. There are total 27 Yoga (योगः) & they are; (1) Vishkumbha, (2) Priti, (3) Aayushmana, (4) Saubhagya, (5) Shobhana, (6) Atiganda, (7) Sukarma, (8) Dhruti, (9) Shoola, (10) Ganda, (11) Vruddhi, (12) Dhruva, (13) Vyaghata, (14) Harshana, (15) Vajra, (16) Siddhi, (17) Vyatipata, (18) Variyana, (19) Paridha, (20) Shiva, (21) Siddha, (22) Sadhya, (23) Shubha, (24) Shukla, (25) Brahma, (26) Aindra & (27) Vaidhruti.
5.    करणम् - Karana (करणम्) is half a Tithi (तिथिः) i.e., each Tithi (तिथिः) (date) is divided into two equal parts, each being a Karana (करणम्) known by a specific name. There are 11 types of Karanas (करणानि) from which 07 are movable Karanas (करणानि) which gets repeated eight times during Lunar month & 04 are fixed Karanas (करणानि) which appears once in Lunar month from Krishnapaksha-14 to Shuklapaksha-01. Movable Karanas (करणानि ) are; (1) Bava, (2) Balava, (3) Kaulava, (4) Taitila, (5) Gara, (6) Vanija & (7) Vishti (Bhadra). Fixed Karanas (करणानि) are; (1) Sakuni, (2) Chatushpada, (3) Naga & (4) Kishtugna. From these 11 Karanas; Vishti (Bhadra) Karana & 04 fixed Karanas are inauspicious Karanas (करणानि). These Karanas (करणानि) are useful to understand the Auspicious (शुभम्) & Inauspicious (अशुभम्) fruits of the transition (संक्रान्तिः).

Aspects of Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) – 
     Every year is divided into 12 months & each month consists of 30 days. These 12 months are; (1) कार्तिकः (Kartika), (2) मार्गशीर्षः (Margashirsha), (3) पौषः (Pausha), (4) माघः (Magha), (5) फाल्गुनः (Falguna), (6) चैत्रः (Chaitra), (7) वैशाखः (Vaishakha), (8) ज्येष्ठः (Jyeshtha), (9) आषाढः (Aashadha), (10) श्रावणः (Shravana), (11) भाद्रपदः (Bhadrapada) & (12) अश्विनः (Ashvina). Each month is divided into two phases i.e., they are further grouped into two fortnights with 15 days each; a bright fortnight that comprises the waxing half phase of the Moon & a dark fortnight that features a waning Moon. The bright half is called the शुक्लपक्षः (Shuklapaksha), it starts with the new moon & ends with a full moon. The dark half is called the कृष्णपक्षः (Krishnapaksha), it starts with the full moon & ends with a new moon. Yet, regarding to the calculation of the start of a new month there are two sub-division; (1) Amavasyanta (अमावस्यान्तः) i.e., a month which ends on the dark fortnight & (2) Purnimanta (पूर्णिमान्तः) i.e., a month which ends on the bright fortnight. All other things remain the same in these two, only the month change is on Amavasya (अमावस्या) (new moon) & Purnima (पूर्णिमा) (full moon) respectively. Most people in southern India count the days of the month from a new moon to the next. The lunar month begins & ends with the new moon (अमावस्या) in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, etc. Most of the solar month begins & end with the full moon (पूर्णिमा) in Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, etc.
     Hindu time calculation applies a similar correction mechanism to keep lunar days & solar days in sync. It defines a lunar day as the time span in which the Moon moves 12° in relation to the Sun. A solar day is defined by the moment of sunrise. If a lunar day starts & ends in the course of one solar day, a date is omitted in the calendar, during such case the date jump from the 5th to the 7th of the month, this process of omitting a date is known as Kshay Tithi (क्षय तिथिः) (declining the date). On the other hand, if a lunar day encompasses two sunrises, the number of the date is repeated. In that case, two consecutive dates are assigned to the same number i.e., there will be same date for two continuous days, this process is known as Vruddhi Tithi (वृद्धि तिथिः) (prolonging date).
     Since 12 lunar months amount to only 354.367 days on average, a leap month is added about every three years. This leap month is known as अधिकमासः (Adhika Maasa) in Sanskrit which literally means an additional month. Purushottama Maasa (पुरुषोत्तम मासः) is another name of Adhik Maasa (अधिकमासः). This extra month is added when a lunar month starts & ends before the Sun has moved to a new zodiac sign (राशिः). This synchronizes the calendar with the length of a sidereal year, which is the time it takes Earth to orbit the Sun in relation to fixed stars. An average sidereal year lasts about 365.256 days. A month can either be added or omitted. In the rare case that the Sun pass through a whole zodiac sign (राशिः) during the course of a lunar month, in such case the month is removed from the calendar. When this occurs, another month is repeated elsewhere in the year, so the year always has 12 or 13 months.
     In Hinduism there are three kind of calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्); (1) Lunar calendar, (2) Solar calendar & (3) Lunisolar calendar; 
(1) Hindu Lunar calendar is known as Vikrama Samvat (विक्रम संवत्) which literally means a year of the Vikrama Era. Vikrama Samvat Dates back to 57 B.C. It is introduced by King Vikramaditya to mark his victory over the Saka rulers. It is a Lunar calendar as it is based on the movement of the moon. In this calendar the year starts with the month Chaitra (चैत्रः) & ends with the month Phalguna (फाल्गुनः) in some states like Maharashtra, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc., again a month also starts with the month Kartika (कार्तिकः) & ends with the Ashvina (अश्विनः) in Gujarat.
(2) Hindu Solar calendar is known as Saka Samvat. The zero year of Saka Samvat is 78 A.D. It was started by Saka rulers to mark their victory over Kushanas. It is a solar calendar. It was adopted by the Government of India as the official calendar in the year 1957. In this calendar, every year has 365 days. In this calendar, the year starts with the month Vaishakha (वैशाखः) & ends with the month Chaitra (चैत्रः). This calendar is widely used in states like Goa, Assam, Bengal, Orissa, etc. & countries like Indonesia & Nepal.
(3) Hindu Lunisolar calendar explains the movements of both the Moon & the Sun, as seen from Earth. It is primarily based on the length of a Lunar month. Each of the 12 Lunar months in the calendar encompasses the time it takes the Moon to orbit the Earth in relation to the Sun. This kind of Calendar is mainly used by Buddhists & Jains. Few Southeast Asian countries like Chinese, Japanese, Vietnam, Tibet, Korea, etc. also follows this Lunisolar calendar.
    Thus, Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is a comprehensive way of determining the important dates in a calendar. Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) not only refers to the date & day but it also gives detailed explanation about the Astronomical & Astrological upcoming aspects. It is believed that, planetary movement affects the different areas of life so, important parts of life; like occupation, marriage, health, career, etc. are under the influence of planets, zodiac, constellation therefore; before finalizing any important deal or making a big decision, Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is considered as beforehand in Hinduism. Indeed, it is really helpful in performing day to day activities at the right time so that the actions lead to upliftment. Again, this basic Hindu calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) is much deep-rooted to the science & none other than Hindu Calendar (पञ्चाङ्गम्) explains one simple day with such vital depth.

वैशाखः शुक्लपक्षे १३, २०७७

अस्तु।