2025 calendar with indian holidays and festivals pdf

Hindu Calendar 2025 with Holidays and Festivals List, Download PDF ,

The following holidays will be observed in the Embassy of India, The Hague during the calendar   year 2025:-

S.No. Holidays Date Day
1. New Year’s Day 01 January Wednesday
2. Republic Day 26 January Sunday
3. Holi 14 March Friday
4. Good Friday 18 April Friday
5. Easter Monday* 21 April Monday
6. Buddha Purnima 12 May Monday
7. Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) 07 June Saturday
8. Whit Monday* 09 June Monday
9. Rath Yatra 27 June Friday
10. Muharram 06 July Sunday
11. Independence Day 15 August Friday
12. Janmashtami 16 August Saturday
13. Id-e-Milad (Prophet Mohammad’s birthday) 05 September Friday
14. Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday 02 October Thursday
15. Dusshera (additional day) 03 October Friday
16. Diwali 20 October Monday
17. Guru Nanak’s Birthday 05 November Wednesday
S.No. Holiday Date Saka Date Day Saka Era
1 Republic Day January 26 Magha 06 Sunday 1946
2 Maha Shivaratri February 26 Phalguna 07 Wednesday 1946
3 Holi March 14 Phalguna 23 Friday 1946
4 Id-ul-Fitr March 31 Chaitra 10 Monday 1947
5 Mahavir Jayanti April 10 Chaitra 20 Thursday 1947
6 Good Friday April 18 Chaitra 28 Friday 1947
7 Budha Purnima Ram Navami May 12 Vaisakha 22 Monday 1947
8 Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid) June 07 Jyaishtha 17 Saturday 1947
9 Muharram July 06 Ashadha 15 Sunday 1947
10 Independence Day August 15 Sarvana 24 Friday 1947
11 Janmashtami August 16 Sarvana 25 Saturday 1947
12 Milad-un-Nabi or Id-e-Milad (Birthday of Prophet Mohammad) September 05 Bhadra 14 Friday 1947
13 Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday October 02 Asvina 10 Thursday 1947
14 Dussehra October 02 Asvina 10 Thursday 1947
15 Diwali (Deepavali) October 20 Asvina 28 Monday 1947
16 Guru Nanak’s Birthday November 05 Kartika 14 Wednesday 1947
17 Christmas Day December 25 Pausha 04 Thursday 1947

List of 2025 Restricted Holidays for Delhi/New Delhi Central Government Administrative Offices

Central Government Restricted Holiday List 2025

1946 SAKA ERA
S.No. Holiday Date Saka Date Day
1. New Year’s Day January 01 Pausha 11 Wednesday
2. Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday January 06 Pausha 16 Monday
3. Makar Sankranti/ Magha Bihu/ Pongal/ Hazarat Ali’s Birthday January 14 Pausha 24 Tuesday
4. Basant Panchami/ Shi Panchami February 02 Magha 13 Sunday
5. Guru Ravi Das’s Birthday February 12 Magha 23 Wednesday
6. Shiva Ji Jayanti February 19 Magha 30 Wednesday
7. Birthday of Swami Dayananda Saraswati Februay 23 Phalguna 04 Sunday
8. Holika Dahan March 13 Phalguna 22 Thursday
9. Dolyatra March 14 Phalguna 23 Friday
1947 SAKA ERA
10. Jamat-Ul-Vida March 28 Chaitra 07 Friday
11. Chaitra Sukladi/ Gudi Padava/ Ugadi/ Cheti Chand March 30 Chaitra 09 Sunday
12. Ram Navmi April 06 Chaitra 16 Sunday
13. Vaisakhi/ Vishu April 13 Chaitra 23 Sunday
14. Meshadi (Tamil New Year’s Day) April 14 Chaitra 24 Monday
15. Vaishakhadi (Bengal)/ Bahag Bihu (Assam) April 15 Chaitra 25 Tuesday
16. Easter Sunday April 20 Chaitra 30 Sunday
17. Guru Rabindranath’s birthday May 09 Vaisakha 19 Friday
18. Rath Yatra June 27 Ashadha 06 Friday
19. Raksha Bandhan August 09 Sravana 18 Saturday
20. Parsi New Year’s day/Nauraj August 15 Sravana 24 Friday
21. Janmashtami (Smarta) August 15 Sravana 24 Friday
22. Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayaka Chaturthi August 27 Bhadra 05 Wednesday
23. Onam or Thiru Onam Day September 05 Bhadra 14 Friday
24. Dussehra (Saptami) September 29 Asvina 07 Monday
25. Dussehra (Mahashtami) September 30 Asvina 08 Tuesday
26. Dussehra (Mahanavmi) October 01 Asvina 09 Wednesday
27. Maharishi Valmiki’s Birthday October 07 Asvina 15 Tuesday
28. Karaka Chaturthi (KarwaChouth) October 10 Asvina 18 Friday
29. Naraka Chaturdasi October 20 Asvina 28 Monday
30. Govardhan Puja October 22 Asvina 30 Wednesday
31. Bhai Duj October 23 Kartika 01 Thursday
32. Pratihar Shashthi or Surya Shashthi (Chhat Puja) October 28 Kartika 06 Tuesday
33. Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day November 24 Agrhayana 03 Monday
34. Christmas Eve December 24 Pausha 03 Wednesday
  • January 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Posh Sud Bij
2 Sud Trij
3 Sud Choth
4 Sud Pancham
5 Sud Chhath
6 Sud Satam
7 Sud Atham
8 Sud Nom, Shri Hari Navmi
9 Sud Dasham
10 Sud Ekadashi, Putrada Ekadashi (Fast)
11 Sud Baras/Teras
12 Sud Chaudas
13 Poshi Purnima, Gunatit Diksha Din
14 Makar Sankranti Jholi Utsav
15 Vad Bij, Posh Vad Bij
16 Vad Trij
17 Vad Choth
18 Vad Pancham, Vruddhi Tithi
19 Vad Pancham
20 Vad Chhath
21 Vad Satam
22 Vad Atham
23 Vad Nom
24 Vad Dasham
25 Vad Ekadashi, Shattila Ekadashi (Fast)
26 Republic Day
27 Vad Teras
28 Vad Chaudas
29 Vad Amas, Darsh Amas
30 Maha Sud Padvo
31 Sud Bij
  • January 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Jan 01
Wednesday
New Year Day
Optional Holiday
Jan 06
Monday
Guru Gobind Singh Birthday
Optional Holiday
Jan 14
Tuesday
Magh Bihu, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Hazarat Ali’s Birthday
Optional Holiday
Jan 26
Sunday
Republic Day
Public Holiday
  • February 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Maha Sud Trij
2 Vasant Panchami, Shastri Maharaj Jayanti
3 Sud Chhath
4 Sud Satam
5 Sud Atham
6 Sud Nom, Shri Hari Navmi
7 Sud Dasham
8 Sud Ekadashi
Jaya Ekadashi
(Fast)
9 Sud Baras
10 Sud Teras
Vishvakarma Jayanti
11 Sud Chaudas
12 Sud Punam
Akshar Purnima
Maghi Purnima
13 Maha Vad Padvo
14 Vad Bij
15 Vad Trij
16 Vad Choth
17 Vad Pancham
18 Vad Chhath
Vruddhi Tithi
19 Vad Chhath
20 Vad Satam
21 Vad Atham
22 Vad Nom
23 Vad Dasham
24 Vad Ekadashi
Vijaya Ekadashi
(Fast)
25 Vad Baras
26 Maha Shivratri
27 Vad Chaudas/Amas
Darsh Amas
28 Fagan Sud Padvo
  • February 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Feb 02
Sunday
Sri Panchami, Basant Panchami
Optional Holiday
Feb 12
Wednesday
Guru Ravi Das’s Birthday
Optional Holiday
Feb 19
Wednesday
Shivaji Jayanti
Optional Holiday
Feb 23
Sunday
Birthday of Swami Dayananda Saraswati
Optional Holiday
Feb 26
Wednesday
Maha Shivaratri
Public Holiday
  • March 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
30 haitra Sud Padvo
Gudee Padvo
Cheti Chand
31 Sud Bij/Trij
1 Fagan Sud Bij
2 Sud Trij
3 Sud Choth
4 Sud Pancham
5 Sud Chhath
6 Sud Satam
Holashtak Prarambh
7 Sud Atham
8 Sud Nom
Shri Hari Navmi
9 Sud Dasham
10 Sud Ekadashi
Amalki Ekadashi
(Fast)
11 Sud Baras
12 Sud Teras
13 Pragji Bhakta Jayanti
Holi
14 Dhuleti
Fuldolotsav
15 Fagan Vad Padvo
16 Vad Bij
17 Vad Trij
18 Vad Choth
19 Vad Pancham
20 Vad Chhath
21 Vad Satam
22 Vad Atham
23 Vad Nom
24 Vad Dasham
25 Vad Ekadashi
Ekadashi
26 Vad Ekadashi
Papmochani Ekadashi
(Fast)
27 Vad Teras
28 Vad Chaudas
29 Vad Amas
Darsh Amas
Surya Grahan
  • March 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Mar 13
Thursday
Holika Dahan
Optional Holiday
Mar 14
Friday
Holi, Dolyatra
Public Holiday
Mar 28
Friday
Jamat-Ul-Vida
Optional Holiday
Mar 30
Sunday
Chaitra Sukladi, Cheti Chand, Gudi Padava, Ugadi
Optional Holiday
Mar 31
Monday
Eid ul Fitr
Public Holiday
  • April 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Chaitra Sud Choth
2 Sud Pancham
3 Sud Chhath
4 Sud Satam
5 Sud Atham
6 Sud Navmi (Swaminarayan Jayanti, Ram Navmi)
7 Sud Dasham
8 Sud Ekadashi (Kamda Ekadashi – Fast)
9 Sud Baras
10 Sud Teras (Mahavir Jayanti)
11 Sud Chaudas
12 Sud Punam (Akshar Purnima, Hanuman Jayanti)
13 Chaitra Vad Padvo, Vruddhi Tithi
14 Chaitra Vad Padvo
15 Vad Bij
16 Vad Trij
17 Vad Choth
18 Vad Pancham
19 Vad Chhath
20 Vad Satam
21 Vad Atham
22 Vad Nom
23 Vad Dasham
24 Vad Ekadashi (Varuthini Ekadashi – Fast)
25 Vad Baras
26 Vad Teras/Chaudas
27 Vad Amas (Darsh Amas)
28 Vaishakh Sud Padvo
29 Sud Bij (Parshuram Jayanti)
30 Sud Trij (Akshaya Tritiya)
  • April 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Apr 06
Sunday
Ram Navmi
Optional Holiday
Apr 10
Thursday
Mahavir Jayanti
Public Holiday
Apr 13
Sunday
Vishu, Vaisakhi
Optional Holiday
Apr 14
Monday
Meshadi
Optional Holiday
Apr 15
Tuesday
Bahag Bihu (Assam), Vaisakhadi (Bengal)
Optional Holiday
Apr 18
Friday
Good Friday
Public Holiday
Apr 20
Sunday
Easter Sunday
Optional Holiday
  • May 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Vaishakh Sud Choth (Gujarat Sthapana Din)
2 Sud Pancham
3 Sud Chhath
4 Sud Satam
5 Sud Atham
6 Sud Nom (Shri Hari Navmi)
7 Sud Dasham
8 Sud Ekadashi (Mohini Ekadashi – Fast)
9 Sud Baras
10 Sud Teras
11 Sud Chaudas (Nrusinh Jayanti)
12 Sud Punam (Akshar Purnima, Buddha Purnima)
13 Vaishakh Vad Padvo
14 Vad Bij
15 Vad Trij
16 Vad Choth
17 Vad Pancham
18 Vad Chhath
19 Vad Chhath/Satam
20 Vad Atham
21 Vad Nom
22 Vad Dasham
23 Vad Ekadashi (Apara Ekadashi – Fast)
24 Yogiji Maharaj Jayanti
25 Vad Teras
26 Vad Chaudas/Amas (Darsh Amas)
27 Vad Amas (Pratipada Kshaytithi)
28 Sud Bij (Jeth Sud Bij)
29 Sud Trij
30 Pramukhvarni Din
31 Sud Pancham
  •  May 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
May 09
Friday
Guru Rabindranath’s Birthday
Optional Holiday
May 12
Monday
Budha Purnima
Public Holiday
  • June 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Jeth Sud Chhath
2 Sud Satam
3 Sud Atham
4 Sud Nom
Shri Hari Navmi
5 Sud Dasham
Shriji Maharaj Dhamgaman
6 Sud Ekadashi
Ekadashi
7 Sud Ekadashi/Baras
Bhim Ekadashi
(Fast)
8 Sud Baras
Vatsavitri Vratarambh
9 Sud Teras
10 Sud Chaudas
Vatsavitri Vrat Purn
11 Sud Punam
Akshar Purnima
12 Jeth Vad Padvo
13 Vad Bij
14 Vad Trij
15 Vad Choth
16 Vad Pancham
17 Vad Chhath
18 Vad Satam
19 Vad Atham
20 Vad Nom
21 Vad Dasham/Ekadashi
Ekadashi Smart
22 Vad Ekadashi/Baras
Yogini Ekadashi
(Fast)
23 Vad Teras
24 Vad Chaudas
25 Vad Amas
26 Ashadh Sud Padvo
27 Rathyatra
28 Sud Trij
29 Sud Choth
30 Sud Pancham
  • June 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
June 07
Saturday
Bakrid
Public Holiday
June 27
Friday
Rath Yatra
Optional Holiday
  • July 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Ashadh Sud Chhath
2 Sud Satam
3 Sud Atham
4 Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi
5 Sud Dasham
6 Sud Ekadashi Devshayani Ekadashi (Nirjala Upvas), Chaturmas – Gaurivrat Prarambh
7 Sud Baras
8 Sud Teras Jayaparvati Vratarambh
9 Sud Chaudas
10 Guru Purnima
11 Ashadh Vad Padvo
12 Vad Bij Hindola Prarambh, Jayaparvati Vrat Jagaran
13 Vad Trij
14 Vad Choth
15 Vad Pancham
16 Vad Chhath
17 Vad Satam
18 Vad Atham
19 Vad Nom
20 Vad Dasham
21 Vad Ekadashi Kamika Ekadashi (Fast)
22 Vad Baras/Teras
23 Vad Chaudas
24 Vad Amas Hariyali Amas Divaso
25 Shravan Sud Padvo Shravan Mas Prarambh
26 Sud Bij
27 Sud Trij
28 Sud Choth
29 Sud Pancham Naag Pancham (Da. Gu.)
30 Sud Chhath Randhan Chhath (Da. Gu.)
31 Sud Satam Shitala Satam (Da. Gu.)
  • July 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
July 06
Sunday
Muharram
Public Holiday
  • August 2025

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Shravan Sud Atham Vruddhi Tithi
2 Sud Atham/Nom Shri Hari Navmi
3 Sud Nom
4 Sud Dasham
5 Sud Ekadashi Pavitra-Putrada Ekadashi (Fast)
6 Sud Baras Pavitra Baras
7 Sud Teras
8 Sud Chaudas Nariyeri Purnima
9 Raksha Bandhan Akshar Purnima
10 Shravan Vad Padvo Hindola Samapt
11 Vad Bij
12 Vad Trij Fulkajali Vrat Bol Choth
13 Vad Choth/Pancham Naag Pancham
14 Vad Chhath Randhan Chhath
15 Independence Day
16 Janmashtami
17 Vad Nom Nand Mahotsav
18 Vad Dasham
19 Vad Ekadashi Aja Ekadashi (Fast)
20 Vad Baras
21 Vad Teras
22 Vad Chaudas/Amas Pithori Amas Darsh Amas
23 Vad Amas
24 Bhadarvo Sud Padvo
25 Sud Bij
26 Sud Trij Samshravani Kevada Trij
27 Ganesh Chaturthi
28 Sud Pancham Rushi Pancham Sama Pancham
29 Sud Chhath
30 Sud Satam
  • August 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Aug 09
Saturday
Raksha Bandhan
Optional Holiday
Aug 15
Friday
Nauraj, Independence Day, Parsi New Year’s Day, Janmashtami (Smarta)
Public Holiday
Aug 16
Saturday
Janmashtami
Public Holiday
Aug 27
Wednesday
Ganesh Chaturthi
Optional Holiday
  • September 2025 

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Bhadravo Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi
2 Sud Dasham
3 Jal Jhilani Ekadashi
4 Sud Baras Vaman Jayanti
5 Sud Teras
6 Sud Chaudas Anant Chaturdashi
7 Sud Punam Akshar Purnima Khagrash Chandragrahan
8 Bhadravo Vad Padvo Pratipada Shraddh
9 Vad Bij Dvitiya Shraddh
10 Vad Trij Trutiya-Chaturthi Shraddh Shastriji Maharajnu Shraddh
11 Vad Choth Panchami Shraddh
12 Vad Pancham Shashthi Shraddh
13 Vad Chhath/Satam Saptami Shraddh
14 Vad Atham Ashtami Shraddh
15 Mahant Swami Maharaj Janma Jayanti
16 Vad Dasham Dashami Shraddh
17 Vad Ekadashi Indira Ekadashi (Fast),
Ekadashi Shraddh,
Yogiji Maharaj Smrutiparva
18 Vad Baras Dvadashi Shraddh
Gunatitanand Swami Smrutiparva
19 Vad Teras Trayodashi
Shraddh Pragji Bhakta Smrutiparva
20 Vad Chaudas Chaturdashi Shraddh
21 Vad Amas Sarvapitri Shraddh Amas-Punamnu Shraddh, Suryagrahan
22 Aso Sud Padvo Navratri Prarambh Matamah Shraddh
23 Sud Bij
24 Sud Trij Vruddhi Tithi
25 Sud Trij
26 Sud Choth
27 Sud Pancham
28 Sud Chhath
29 Sud Satam
30 Sud Atham
  • September 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Sept 05
Friday
Thiruvonam, Milad-Un-Nabi
Public Holiday
Sept 29
Monday
Dussehra
Optional Holiday
Sept 30
Tuesday
Dussehra
Optional Holiday
  • October 2025 

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1 Aso Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi
2 Dushera Vijaya Dashami
3 Sud Ekadashi Pashankusha Ekadashi (Fast)
4 Sud Baras
5 Sud Teras
6 Sharad Purnima Gunatit Pragatyotsav
7 Sud Punam Purnima Aso Vad Padvo
8 Vad Bij Aso Vad Bij Jagaswami Jayanti
9 Vad Trij
10 Vad Choth Kadva Choth
11 Vad Pancham
12 Vad Chhath
13 Vad Satam
14 Vad Atham
15 Vad Nom
16 Vad Dasham
17 Vad Ekadashi Rama Ekadashi (Fast), Vagh Baras, Gauvatsa Dwadashi
18 Vad Baras Dhan Trayodashi
19 Vad Teras Kali Chaudash Hanuman Puja
20 Diwali Sharada Pujan
21 Vad Amas
22 Annakutotsav
23 Sud Bij Kartak Sud Bij Bhai Beej
24 Sud Trij
25 Sud Choth
26 Sud Pancham Laabh Pancham
27 Sud Chhath Vruddhi Tithi
28 Sud Chhath
29 Sud Satam
30 Sud Atham
31 Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi Sardar Patel Jayanti
  • October 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Oct 01
Wednesday
Dussehra (Maha Navami)
Optional Holiday
Oct 02
Thursday
Dussehra, Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday
Public Holiday
Oct 07
Tuesday
Maharishi Valmiki’s Birthday
Optional Holiday
Oct 10
Friday
Karaka Chaturthi
Optional Holiday
Oct 20
Monday
Diwali Naraka Chaturdashi
Public Holiday
Oct 22
Wednesday
Govardhan Puja
Optional Holiday
Oct 23
Thursday
Bhai Dooj
Optional Holiday
Oct 28
Tuesday
Pratihar Sashthi or Surya Sashthi(Chhat Puja)
Optional Holiday
  • November 2025 

Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
2 Sud Ekadashi/Baras Prabodhini
Ekadashi Nirjal Upvas
3 Sud Teras
4 Sud Chaudas
5 Sud Punam, Dev Diwali, Gurunanak Jayanti, Tulsi Vivah Samapt
6 Kartak Vad Padvo
7 Vad Bij
1 Kartak Sud Dasham/Ekadashi Ekadashi
Tulsi Vivah Prarambh
9 Vad Pancham
10 Vad Chhath
11 Vad Satam
12 Vad Atham
13 Vad Nom
14 Vad Dasham
8 Vad Trij-Choth
16 Vad Baras
17 Vad Teras Vruddhi Tithi
18 Vad Teras
19 Vad Chaudas/Amas Darsh Amas
20 Vad Amas
21 Magshar Sud Padvo
15 Vad Ekadashi Uttapti Ekadashi (Fast)
23 Sud Trij
24 Sud Choth
25 Sud Pancham
26 Sud Chhath
27 Sud Satam
28 Sud Atham
22 Sud Bij
30 Sud Dasham
29 Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi
  • November 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Nov 05
Wednesday
Guru Nanak’s Birthday
Public Holiday
Nov 24
Monday
Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day
Optional Holiday
  • December 2025 

Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1 Magshar Sud Ekadashi
Mokshada Ekadashi (Fast),
Gita Jayanti
2 Sud Baras
3 Sud Teras
4 Sud Chaudas/Punam Akshar Purnima
5 Magshar Vad Padvo
6 Vad Bij
7 Vad Trij
8 Vad Choth
9 Vad Pancham
10 Vad Chhath
11 Vad Satam
12 Vad Atham
13 Vad Nom
14 Vad Dasham
15 Vad Ekadashi
Safala Ekadashi (Fast)
16 Vad Baras
Dhanurmas Prarambh
17 Vad Teras
18 Vad Chaudas
19 Vad Amas Darsh Amas
20 Vad Amas
Amas Vruddhithi
21 Posh Sud Padvo
22 Sud Bij
23 Sud Trij
24 Sud Choth
25 Sud Pancham Natal
26 Sud Chhath
27 Sud Satam
28 Sud Atham
29 Sud Nom Shri Hari Navmi
30 Sud Dasham
Ekadashi Ekadashi
31 Sud Ekadashi
Baras Putrada Ekadashi (Fast)
  • December 2025 List of Holidays

Date
Day
Event
Type of Holiday
Dec 24
Wednesday
Christmas Eve
Optional Holiday
Dec 25
Thursday
Christmas
Public Holiday

INDIANCALENDARS

 The word Calendar has its origin from the Roman word Calends or Kalends meaningamethodofdistributingtimeintocertainperiodsadoptedforthe purpose of civil life.

Thus a calendar may be defined as a system of reckoning time over extended intervals by combining various convenient periods of time.

Before we go into the details of various calendars used in India let us first understand basic quantities which are integral part of any calendar.

TheTime

 Itmay beunders to odin one of the following two ways:

  • isthegeneraltermfortheconsciousexperienceof
  • istheintervalbetweentwonon-simultaneousoccurrenceof

In physics time and space are considered fundamental quantities and hence they can not be measured in terms of any other quantities. Thus the only definition possible is an operational one in which time is defined by process ofmeasurement of an interval and the units chosen.

Measurement of Time : It involves establishing a precise system of reference for specifying when any event occurs i.e. specifying an epoch and establishing a standard interval of time.

Astronomy and civil affairs are concerned with both epoch and time interval whereas physics deals almost entirely with time intervals.

Oursensesarenotagoodjudgeofequalintervalsandifanyaccuracyis required then a clock of some sort must be used. A clock, in general sense, may bedefinedasanythingwhichcanbeusedtomeasureanelapsedintervalof time.

In nature there are phenomena that recur at regular intervals and hence can be used as a clock and for defining units of time. Some artificial units of time, which are not connected withany natural phenomenon,arealso used forconvenience in civil use.

Variousunitsoftimebothnaturalandartificialinuseare :

NaturalUnitsofTime:Day,Month,Year

ArtificialUnitsofTime:Hour,Minutes,Seconds,Week,Decade,Centuryetc.

NaturalUnitsofTime

 

The year is defined by a complete revolution of the Sun in the sky along the ecliptic,themonthbyacompleterevolutionoftheMoonaroundtheEarthand the day by a complete rotation of the Earth on its axis.

 

Wecandefinetheyearinthefollowingways.

 

The Sidereal Year : It the time required by the Sun to make a complete circuit of the ecliptic (apparent path of the Sun in the sky) i.e. moving exactly 360o. The length of this year is 365.256363 mean solar days (msd).

 

The Tropical Year : It is the average time interval between two consecutive passagesoftheSunthroughthevernalequinox(theγpoint).Asthispoint moves backwards due to precession the Sun covers slightly less than 360o. The length of tropical year is 365.242190 msd.

 

Therelationshipbetweensiderealandtropicalyearsis:

 

SiderealYear:TropicalYear=360o:(360o–50.”29)

 

For civil purposes it is more convenient to use the tropical year which is closely related to seasons.

 

Liketheyearthemonthisdefinedinthefollowingways.

 

Sidereal Month : It is the interval of two consecutive passages of the Moon from some point on the ecliptic to the same point again.

Itslengthis27.321661msd.

 

Synodic Month : It is the interval from new-moon to next new moon or from onefull moon to next full moon. Its length is 29.530588 msd.

 

Thedayisdefinedbythealterationofdaylightandnight.Thisdurationistaken in one of the following ways for civil and calendar use.

 

  • SunrisetoSun rise :usedinHinducalendars
  • SunsettoSunset :usedinIslamiccalendars
  • midnighttomidnight :usedinGregorianCalendar
  • noontonoon :usedinastronomy

 

The Mean Solar Time : Our civil life greatly depends on the position of the Sun in the sky. But the Sun’s apparent motion in the sky is non-uniform due to its motion in an elliptic orbit (Kepler’s 2nd law) and the obliquity of the ecliptic. Hence thetruesolartimevariesthroughouttheyear,whichisnotconvenientforcivil

 

purposes. Therefore a mean solar time was introduced; it is based on a fictitious Sun which moves along the equator with uniform speed but takes exactly thesametimetomakeonecompleterevolutionasthetruesuntakesinmoving along the ecliptic.

 

The difference between the true solar time and the mean solar times is called the equationoftime.This is the same as the difference between the Sun dial time and the local mean time at any place.

 

During a yearthe equation of time attains the following extreme values. Date :    Feb. 12            May 14                                           Jul. 26        Nov. 4 Equation of time:   -14m.3                       +3m.7                                                  -6m.4             +16m.4

The mean solar day used above is the average time interval between two successive passages of the Sun over the meridian of a place i.e. average time between one noon to the next.

 

Mean solar time is different for each meridian. To simplify things Earth has been dividedintodifferenttimezones.Eachcountryadoptsasuitabletimezonefor the entire country. For example the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time (UT) is the mean solar time for the Greenwich meridian. The IndianStandard Time (IST) is the mean solar time at a meridian 5h 30m east of Greenwich. The time is measured starting with 0h.00 at midnight and ending with 24h at the next midnight.

 

ArtificialUnitsofTime

 

The Week : The most common of all artificial periods of time is the week, which is a period of seven days. Originally it was not an integral part of any calendar. It gradually became established in its present form in the Roman Calendar during 1 or 2 BC. After getting established the cycle of succession of the days of the week has not been altered and no breaks in the sequence have occurred.

 

Order of the week days : Ancients recognized the order of planets by the timethey took to complete a circumference of the heavens. The order was Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Astrologically each of the seven planets was supposed to rule in turn over various hours of the day in successionin the order Saturn to Moon. The day is named after the planet which rules thefirst hour. Thus if Saturn is the ruler of the first hour of the day then Jupiter will be ruler of the second hour and so on. Thus Sun will be the ruler of the 25th hour or the first hour of the next day. In this way Saturday is followed by Sunday and so on.

 

Decade:Itisaperiodof10years.

 

 

Century:Itisa periodof100years.(Juliancentury =36525msd)

 

Otherdivisionare:Hour

Minutes Seconds

=

=

=

1/24ofaday

1 / 60 of an hour1/60ofaminutes

 

HinduCalendarDivisions:Savandin

 

=

 

60Ghati(24Hours)

Pahar = 1/8ofadin(3Hours)
Pal = 1/60ofaghati (24seconds)

 

Kalpa = 4.3×109years
Manvantar = 3.08×108years(1/14ofaKalpa)
MahaYuga = 4.32×106years(1/71ofaManvantar)
KrataYuga = 1.73×106years(4/10ofaMahayuga)
TretaYuga = 1.30x 106years(3/10ofaMahayuga)
DwaparYuga = 8.64×105years(2/10ofaMahayuga)
Kali Yuga = 4.32×105years(1/10ofaMahayuga)

 

 

CategoriesofCalendars

 

Allcalendarsusedthroughoutthewordcanbegroupedintothefollowingthree categories.

 

  • The Solar Calendars : These calendars are based on the yearlymotion of the Sun, which could be either sidereal or tropical. Roman, French, Gregorian calendars are solar calendars where tropical year is used as the year length where asIndian solar calendars followed in Assam, Bengal, Tripura, Haryana, Punjab, Orrisa, Tamil Nadu and Kerla, etc. are having sidereal year as the year length oftheir

 

  • The Lunar Calendars : Lunar calendar is based on the monthly cycleof phases of the Moon i.e. synodic monthand has no relation with the yearly motion of the Sun. Islamic Hejira Calendar is a pure lunar

 

  • The Luni-Solar Calendars : These calendars take into account boththemonthlymotionoftheMoonandtheyearlymotionoftheSun. Jews and Babylonian calendars are luni-solar calendars. Indiacalendars used in Andhra Pradesh, Gujrat, Maharastra, Karnataka, Bihar, Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh etc areluni-solar calendars.

 

TheRequirementofanIdealCalendar

 

  • Thecivilyearandmonthmusthaveanintegralnumberof
  • Thestatingdayoftheyearandofthemonthshouldbesuitably defined. The dates must correspond strictly to seasons.
  • For purpose of continuous dating an Era should be used and it should be properly defined.
  • Thecivildaysshouldbeproperlydefinedforuseinthe
  • Iflunarmonthshavetobekeptthenthereshouldbeconvenient devices for seasonal adjustments (i.e. with solar year)

 

A correct and satisfactory solution to the above requirements has not yet been obtained. The main reason being the non-commensurability of various natural periods. Many attempts to find solutions to these problems have resulted in hundreds of calendars which have been used throughout the word duringhistorical times.

India, being a very ancient civilization with arich history and cultural diversification, developed its own methods of time keeping. These methods vary slightly in different regions and thus many different systems of Indian (Hindu) calendar making emerged.

 

In the following we explain the salient features of the Solar, the Lunar and theLuni-solar calendars.

 

SolarCalendar

 

A solar calendar is designed to approximate the tropical year or sidereal yearusing days. As there are no integral number of days in a actual solar yeartherefore in order to synchronize thecalendar with the actual year length of a solar year days are sometimes added, forming leap years, to increase theaverage length of the calendar year. A solar calendar year can be divided into months but these months ignore the lunar month.

The Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar with a common year having 365 days and a leap year having 366 days. Every fourth year is a leap year unless it is a century year not divisible by 400. The Indian national Calendar is also a solar calendar about which we will discuss later.

 

LunarCalendar

 

A lunar calendar consists of 12 lunar months forming a year with each month covering the period between two successive new moons. Each lunar month hasan average length of about 29.5 days. This amounts to about 12 x 29.5 = 354daysayeari.e.around11daysshorterthanthetropicalyear.Hencealunar

 

calendardoes not remain in tune with the seasons, which depend on the motion of the Sun in a tropical year.

 

The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar. We can see that the muslim festivals always fall about 11 days earlierinthe next Gregorian calendar year.

 

LunisolarCalendar

 

Alunisolarcalendarisdesignedtokeepinphasewiththetropicalyearor sidereal year while using lunar months. As we have seen above that 12 lunar monthsareshortbyabout11dayscomparedtoasolaryear,henceawhole lunar month is occasionally added at every few years interval (about 2.5 years) to help the calendar keep up with the solar year. This additional month is known as the leap month or the intercalary month.

TheIndianluni-solarcalendarsaremadetobeintunewiththesidereal year instead of the tropical year.

 

TheIndianSolarCalendars

 

There are about four solar calendars used in India. They are constructed using similar calendrical rules. As stated above the year is sidereal instead of tropical. The basic structure of the Indian solar calendar is the following.

 

The sidereal year is called the nirayana year andis the actual time required for the Earth to revolve once around the Sun with respect to a starting point on the ecliptic that is taken to be directly opposite the bright star called Chitra. The longitude of the star Chitra from this point is 180o. The Indian solar calendar is made to keep in phase with the nirayana year. The starting point of the nirayana year coincided with the March Equinoxin the year AD 285. Since the stars are fixed with respect to the ecliptic, the starting point remains unchanged, hence the name nirayana.

 

TheSolarMonths

 

Theeclipticisdividedinto12divisionsof30oeachcalledrasis.Thefirstrasi starts from the same point as that of the start the nirayana year. A solar month is determined by the entrance of the Sun into a rasi. The length of a solar month is the time taken for the Sun to travel completely in the rasi, that is, to travel 30o ofits elliptical orbit. Hence a nirayana year has 12 solar months. Since the solar calendar has several local variations, the start of the nirayana year and names of the month may differ. The following table gives the names of the rasis and their corresponding solar months in several solar calendars. The months in bold indicates the start of the nirayana year in that region.

 

Relationshipsbetweenrasisandsolarmonths

Rasi No. Nameof Rasi Name                of

corresponding solar    month    in most solar calendars

Name of corresponding solar month in the Tamil solar calendar Name                 of

corresponding solar

month      in      the Malayali (Kerala) solar calendar

1 Mesha Vaisakha Chittirai Mesha
2 Vrish Jyaistha Vaikasi Vrisha
3 Mithuna Ashadha Ani Mithuna
4 Karkata Sravana Adi Karkata
5 Simha Bhadra Avani Simha
6 Kanya Asvina Purattasi Kanya
7 Tula Kartika Arppissi Tula
8 Vrischika Agrahayana (Margasirsha) Karthigai Vrischika
9 Dhanus Pausha Margali Dhanus
10 Makara Magha Thai Makara
11 Kumbha Phalguna Masi Kumbha
12 Mina Chaitra Panguni Mina

 

As per Kepler’s second law the Sun’s motion around the Earth, is not uniform.This causes the length of each solar month to vary. The mean length of a solar monthisabout30.4369daysbutitsactuallengthcanvaryfrom29.45daysto

31.45 days. The entry of the Sun into a rasi is called a samkranti and therefore there are 12 samkrantis in a nirayana year.

 

Rulesfordecidingthebeginningofa solarmonth

 

Thesamkranticanoccuratanytimeoftheday.Henceitisnotconvenientto start a solar month at the exact time of a concerned samkranti. Instead, the beginning of a solar month is chosen to be from a sunrise that is close to the concerned samkranti. Consequently, the civil day becomes the basic unit of the Indian solar calendar.

From the actual length of a solar month, we see that each solar month can have29 to 32 days. Solar months with their corresponding rasis near the aphelion will most probably have 32 days while solar months that are linked to rasis near the perihelion will likely to have 29 days. In other words, months with corresponding rasis Vrisha, Mithuna and Karkata can have 32 days while months with corresponding rasis Vrischika, Dhanus and Makara can have 29 days.

For determining the starting day of a solar month, there are several rules of samkranti that are followed. Some of the common rules are:

 

  1. TheOrissarule

Solarmonthbeginsonthesamedayasthesamkranti.

 

  1. TheTamilrule

Solarmonthbeginsonthesamedayasthesamkrantiifthesamkrantifalls before the time of sunset on that day. Otherwise the month begins on thefollowing day.

 

  1. TheMalayalirule

Solar month begins on the same day as the samkranti if the samkranti occurs before the time of aparahna on that day. Otherwise the month starts on the following day.

(Aparahna is the time at 3/5th duration of the period from sunrise to sunset. For example if the times of sunrise and sunset are 6am and 6pm respectively. Then the time of the aparahna = [(3/5) x (18 – 6) + 6]am = 1.12pm.)

 

  1. TheBengalrule

When samkranti takes place between the time of sunrise and midnight on thatday, the solar month begins on the following day. If it occurs after midnight, the month begins on the next following day, that is, the third day. This is the general rule. In some special circumstances, there are some deviations from this rule.

 

We shall call the solar calendars following the four stated rules in the order above as the Orissa, Tamil, Malayali and Bengal calendars respectively. There exists other diversification but we will not discuss them here.

 

TheCalendarorCivilYearandtheSolarEras

 

As mentioned in the above table Orissa, Tamil and Bengal calendars begin their civil year with the solar month that corresponds to the Mesha rasi. The Malayali calendar starts the year at the solar month that links with the Simha rasi.

 

The solar eras being used in the solar calendars are the Kali Yuga, the Saka, the Bengali San and the Kollam eras.

 

Regions      in     India     using      the     Indian      solar     and     luni-solar      calendars

 

Itmaybenotedthatthefollowingdifferencesarisein                        Indiansolarcalendars used in different regions.

 

  1. Thestartingday ofthesolarmonthmaydifferbyoneortwodaysindifferent parts of India.

 

  1. Thenumberofdaysofdifferentsolar monthsalsovariesfrom29to

 

  1. The length of the solar month (number of days in that month)is not fixed butchanges from year to year.

 

Likewise there are differences in luni-solar calendars of different regions. The month in some start from new moon while in others it starts from full moon. The beginning of year also differs. It may be from Chaitra, Kartika or Asadha.

 

TheIndianNationalCalendar

 

Noting that there are slight differences in various calendars used in India, The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India,appointed a Calendar Reform Committee in November 1952 under the chairmanship of the renowned scientist Dr. Meghnad Saha. The committee’s objective was to examine all existing calendars used in India and to propose an accurateanduniformall-Indiacalendarforbothcivilandreligioususe.After close examination, the Committee recommended a unified solar calendar for civil use. The Government of India accepted the proposal and introduced it as the Indian national calendar with effect from 22 March 1957. However theGovernment continued to use the Gregorian Calendar for administrative use.

 

The proposedNational Calendar is a modification of the existing Indian solar calendars. The principle unit of the calendar remains the civil day. The solar era chosen is the Saka national era. The following features are different from the traditional Indian solar calendars.

 

The national calendar is made to approximate the tropical or the sayana year and not the traditional sidereal or nirayana year.

 

ThecalendaryearstartsonthedayaftertheMarchEquinoxday.

 

Unlike the traditional solar calendars the solar months have fixed number of days restricted to either 30 or 31 days.

 

This length still depended on the time taken for the Sun to travel the concerned tropical rasi instead of sidereal rasi.The first rasi Mesh begins at the March equinox which is also the starting point of the sayana year. The five months from thesecondtothesixthhavemeanlengthsover30.5daysandsotheirlengths are rounded up to 31 days. The remaining months have 30 days. Names for the solar months are kept the same as those of the Indian solar calendar listed in colunm 3 of the above table. However, the first month is named as Chaitra, followed by Vaisakha and so on.

 

LengthsofdifferentsolarmonthsreckonedfromtheMarchEquinox

Name        of

months       in the traditional solar calendar

Ecliptic    arc covered    by the          Sun measured from the March Equinox point Mean time takenbythe Sunto

cover       the respective 30o      arc

Integral numberof        Days Taken Name     of monthsin the National solar calendar Gregorian Calendar dates           of beginningof National Calendar Months
Vaisakha 0o– 30o 30d11h25m.2 30d31d in a leapyear Chaitra 22March

21March(In

caseofleap year)

Jyaistha 30o–60o 30d23h29m.6 31d Vaisakha 21April
Ashadha 60o–90o 31d    8h10m.1 31d Jyaistha 22May
Sravana 90o–120o 31d10h54m.6 31d Ashadha 22June
Bhadra 120o–150o 31d6h53m.1 31d Sravana 23July
Asvina 150o–180o 30d21h18m.7 31d Bhadra 23August
Kartika 180o–210o 30d    8h58m.2 30d Asvina 23September
Agrahayana 210o–240o 29d21h14m.6 30d Kartika 23October
Pausha 240o–270o 29d13h      8m.7 30d Agrahaya na 22November
Magha 270o–300o 29d10h38m.6 30d Pausha 22December
Phalguna 300o-330o 29d14h18m.5 30d Magha 21January
Chaitra 330o-360o 29d23h18m.9 30d Phalguna 20February

 

The occurrence of leap years in the National Calendar is made to fall in the same leap year as that in the Gregorian Calendar to keep the relation of the dates between these two calendars the same. When leap year occurs, Chaitra would have 31 days instead of 30 days.

 

However, most calendar-makers do not accept the National calendar mainly because the sayana system was adopted instead of the nirayana system. Tothem,thischangewastoodrasticbecausetraditionallysolarcalendarsarekept inlinewiththenirayanayearandthecalendar-makerswouldnotwantto abandon this principle.

Thereforeallthecalendarsbothsolarandluni-solarexistingbeforethe formation of the Calendar Reforms Committee continue to be used.

 

 

 

Dr.G.M.BALLABH

(Retd.ProfessorofAstronomy)

 

Acknowledgement:

 

The Indian Map is adapted from the dissertation on Indian Calendars of Mr. Leow Choon Lian of Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore (2000/ 2001).

 

FurtherReading:

  1. Report of the Calendar Reform Committee, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India (1955).

 

  1. Abhyankar, K. D. & Ballabh G. M., “Kaliyuga Saptarsi, Yudhisthira and Laukika Era”, Indian Journal of History of Science, 31.1 (1996) 13-34

 

  1. Indian Calendric System, Commodore S. K. Chatterjee (Retd.) Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India (1998).

 

  1. Abhyankar, K. D., “Earliest Vedic Calendar”, Indian Journal of History of Science, 40.1 (2005) 1-8.
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