Humankind
has always been fascinated by all things that spur wonder; none more so than
the concept of time and space. There have been multiple space explorations and
inspired stargazing has always been done to search for patterns, regularities
and the irregularities, periods, and intervals in order to measure time in
congruence with the astronomical phenomena. With the evolution came the desire
to linearize the time-scale in order to calibrate it with the path and duration
of the sun, moon, and stars.
Calculation and computation of time has been deemed as a hallmark for all
ancient civilizations. Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations surely had
interest in chronology and astronomy, but it was in the oldest and the largest
one, the Indus Valley civilization that human surpassed the acumen. The
employment of professional astronomers called ‘nakshatra darshaks,’ that later
got interpreted as ‘stargazers,’ shows how invested the Indian were. The
meticulous observations and records of the phases of the moon in reference to
the fixed constellations led to a method of precise calculation that definitely
distinguishes Indian astronomy from the rest.
Origins
In the present day around the world, the Gregorian calendar has become the
norm. It was proposed by Pope Gregory
XIII in 1582. It’s a modified version of the calendar established by Julius
Caesar who had, in turn, based it on the ancient Egyptian calendar. The
non-Catholic countries were, but of course, reluctant to accept it and it
wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that Russia and Greece
converted to the system. England joined the party even later in 1752.
Christians didn’t warm up to the idea because the New Year’s Day, which had
until then been celebrated on 25th March, had to be moved to 1st
January. Easter Sunday proved to be yet another matter of discontent as the
Christian ecclesiastical or church calendar was originally based on the belief
that Jesus’ resurrection was on a Sunday so Easter should always be on that
day. The Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox was
decreed to be regarded as Easter Sunday. The date still varies because
important factors of lunar period weren’t taken in to consideration.
It is also to be noted that the current Gregorian calendar commences from the
‘year of grace’ which signifies the year in which Jesus was born. This
beginning of the Christian era is denoted by the year followed by the initials
‘A.D.’ that stands for ‘Anno Domini.’ Latin translation of it means ‘in the
year of our Lord.’ But the Bible clearly references to Jesus being born during
the reign of King Herod who died in 4 B.C.! It was much later on that the whole
of Christendom came to accept that he was born between 8-4 B.C.
In contrast to this comparatively ‘modern’ conflict, references from Vedic
literature show that the knowledge of chronology (science of time) and
chronometry (scientific measurement of time) existed as early as the Vedic
times that pre-date the Christian era by thousands of years. During the Vedic
age the knowledge of planetary motions, constellations, eclipses, solstices,
seasons, etc., was already there. A time distribution method was devised to
intimately connect with the regular affairs of the people by dividing it into
various periods such as days, fortnights, months, and years. The fact that the
Hindu calendar, or Panchang, was conceived to serve the day-to-day
affairs and not just allay religious matters, it was allowed to be both lunar
and solar. The Rigveda clearly cites months being lunar and years being
luni-solar.
The limitations of the Gregorian calendar
With its basis on the solar cycle only and no regard for the lunar one, two
main shortcomings come to fore:
1. The determination of the date of a certain day by merely observing at
references in the sky is not quite precise or simple, and
2. The months all have different number of days which adds a lot of
complexities, like if one is paid monthly you end up doing different amounts of
work each month for the same remuneration. Or despite people having made ways
around it, the monthly sales comparisons remain difficult for businesses as the
number of days vary.
How does Panchang work and its advantages
The Hindu calendar is lunisolar which combines lunar and solar calendar
with its months based on the lunar cycle. The Hindu mathematicians divided the
zodiac into 12 equal parts called rashi. Each one is divided into 30
parts. Entry point of the time of sun to any new rashi is called Sankranti.
From one Sankranti to just before the next is one Solar Month. Therefore, the
months are zodiac based and they seem long when the sun is far from earth and
they are short when it is nearer. A complete revolution of moon to earth is the
Lunar Month. This revolution starts from point of the new moon hence implying
that new moon to just before the next is one lunar month. This lunar month
normally starts in one solar month and ends into another meaning from one to
the other is when a Sankranti falls. The sequence thus becomes: Sankranti – New
Moon – Sankranti – New Moon and so on. Within nearly 3 years, a full length of
lunar month falls in a solar month. In that situation the sequence changes to:
Sankranti – New Moon – New moon – Sankranti. This ‘extra’ month is given to the
God and in the period no religious activities are carried out. The reversal
position occurs some times normally repeated in 19 or 141 years as New Moon –
Sankranti – Sankranti – New Moon wherein a solar month collapsed into a lunar
month.
There is another aspect to be looked in to. The moon keeps changing its shape
from new to full and so on. This cycle takes 29.53 days. In the Hindu calendar
a month is equal to this making all of them the same length. Thereby by just
looking at the moon one can figure out what date it is. A new moon is Amavasya
and a full one is Poornima.
All of this means that there was a constant
correlation between the solar year and its monthly lunar divisions. A lunar
month is precisely 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 seconds long. Twelve such
months form a lunar year of 354 days 8 hours 48 minutes and 36 seconds. To make
the lunar months coincide with the solar year, the practice of inserting
intercalary (extra) months was brought about. Simple calculations reveal that
60 solar months are equal to 62 lunar months. Therefore, an extra month, called
the Adhik Maas is
inserted every 30 months or approximately every 2½ years. This practice, once
again, was prevalent even in Vedic times. This intercalary month proves that
the month was added to preserve the correspondence between a whole solar year
and the 12 lunations. Such an adjustment assures that the seasons, festivals,
etc. retain their general position to the solar year. That is why, for example, Diwali always falls between late October and
early November. The well thought out inclusion of intercalary months to the
lunar months makes sure that the festivals don’t fall at different times of the
year, every year. This is exactly what is lacking in the lunar month system as
is followed in the Islamic calendar. The Muslim festivals such as Eid and Ramadan never fall at the same time
every year due to this oversight.
Another benefit for these adjustments on month, days etc., are to maintain
exact seasons in both solar and lunar calendar system.
It is also noteworthy as to how intricate the Hindu calendar is. It offers a
very multi-dimensional method that structures time combining information about
both solar and lunar days, as well as, months with the movements of the sun and
the moon in relation to stellar constellations, and other astronomically
defines time spans. This makes it significantly more complex.
It is also true that there isn’t one, single Hindu calendar. The Indian
National Calendar or Saka calendar, that came about in 1957, is the
official standardized version that represents one of many variations. Each
region uses its own variant of the ancient system predominantly based on the
cultural as well as agricultural harvest season. Taking an example of the start
of a new year, in most regions it does so when the New Moon before the sun
enters the zodiac sign of Aries (Mesh). This happens on or around the days of
the March Equinox which marks the beginning of spring in the Northern
Hemisphere. The grains are harvested and the new season of sowing starts. It
follows the Spring Equinox and generally falls on the 14th of April
of the Gregorian calendar. This date is observed as the traditional new year in
not just Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Tripura, Bihar,
Odisha, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and
Rajasthan in India; but also in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos,
Thailand, and Sri Lanka. There are some common features that are still
maintained across the variants.
The ‘modern’ application
The Hindu calendar i.e., Panchang may have been mainly reduced to only being
used to determine the dates of Hindu festivals and when to observe fasts, the
importance can not be watered down. Even in the modern-day India, people see
astrologers to seek advice or counsel on remedies, match-making, muhurat
(auspicious time) etc., for starting new ventures. The very first thing an
astrologer does is to open the Panchang followed then by mathematical
calculations, and checking malefic and benefic positions of the grahas
(planets). For the benefit of the common people who don’t have the exact
know-how of the system, astrologers devised the Panchang based on their
knowledge of arithmetical calculations.
It is not necessary for a common person to fully understand the Panchang but
for a systematic and smooth running of life, it is at least worth being aware
what the five ‘angas’ or components, called Phalita, are that contribute to its
formation:
1. Tithi: The ‘date’ is considered as the first phase or portion (kala) of the
16 phases of the moon
2. Nakshatra: The 27 groups of stars (constellations) determine these
3. Yoga: These are 27 in number and are based on combinations
4. Karan: These can be movable or fixed and are half of the part of Tithi
5. Vaar: The seven days of a week
These ‘angas’ primarily help in finding days or dates that are auspicious or
inauspicious as starting important work or endeavours at the specified times
can make the difference between successful accomplishment or obstructions
causing hurdles in the achievement as per the tried-n-tested systems. The
planetary positions and the different permutations all come together to make
such decisions.
In summation,the comparison yields that the Gregorian
calendar may be more accurate in terms of representing seasons but the Panchang
covers more ground and is surely more resolved in its composition with respect
to offering a scientific time reference method.
Categories
Hindu calendar: Its complexities & benefits
