The Hindu calendar used in ancient Vedic 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. Mostly, these are inherited from a system first enunciated in Jyotish Vedanga of Lagadha a late BCE adjuncts to the Vedas, standardized in the Surya Siddhanta (3rd century AD) and subsequently reformed by astronomers such as Aryabhata (499 AD), Varahamihira (6th c. AD), and Bhaskara (12th c. AD). There are differences and regional variations abound in these computations, but the following is a general overview.
The Hindu calendrical day starts with local sunrise. It is allotted five "properties", called anga-s. They are:
the tithi active at sunrise
the vaasara or weekday
the nakshatra in which the moon resides at sunrise
the yoga active at sunrise
the karana active at sunrise.
Together these are called the panchānga-s where pancha means "five" in Sanskrit. An explanation of the terms follows.
Month and year of the solar calendar
Now that the days are defined, we shall speak of how the solar calendar reckons its months and year.
As has been previously noted, the sun is observed to travel along the ecliptic. The ecliptic is now divided into twelve parts called rāshi-s, starting from the point of Meshādi defined above and moving eastwards. The names of the rāshis correspond to those in the West, and may indicate a common Sumerian origin. Greek astronomical interchange, as in the Romaka Siddhanta, also led to a degree of homogenization. This table lists the rāshis along with their zodiac equivalents:
Mesha Vasant
(spring) April/May Aries
Vrushabha May/June Taurus
Mithuna Grishma
(summer) June/July Gemini
Karka July/Aug. Cancer
Simha Varsha
(monsoon) Aug./Sept. Leo
Kanya Sept./Oct. Virgo
Tula Sharad
(autumn) Oct./Nov. Libra
Vrushchika Nov./Dec. Scorpius
Dhanu Hemant
(autumn-winter) Dec./Jan. Sagittarius
Makara Jan./Feb. Capricornus
Kumbha Shishir
(Winter-Spring) Feb./Mar. Aquarius
Meena Mar./Apr. Pisces ..
2007-06-19 20:31:13
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answer #1
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answered by Jayaraman 7
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Month/No. of Days
Chaitra 30
Vaisakha 31
Jyaistha 31
Asadha 31
Sravana 31
Bhadrapada 31
Asvina 30
Karttika 30
Margasirsa 30
Pausa 30
Magha 30
Phalguna 30
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_calendar/
2007-06-18 00:33:59
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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