Religious holidays are determined by a lunisolar calendar that is based on calculations of the actual postions of the Sun and Moon. Table 5.1.1 gives the sequence of months and their correlation with the months of the Gregorian calendar. In the latter case, the year is not a leap year unless the sum is also a multiple of 400. If this sum is evenly divisible by 4, the year is a leap year, unless the sum is a multiple of 100. To determine leap years, first add 78 to the Saka year. In a leap year, an intercalary day is added to the end of Caitra. Normal years have 365 days leap years have 366. The reformed Indian calendar began with Saka Era 1879, Caitra 1, which corresponds to C.E. Years are counted from the Saka Era 1 Saka is considered to begin with the vernal equinox of C.E. The Gregorian calendar continues in use for administrative purposes, and holidays are still determined according to regional, religious, and ethnic traditions. Tabulations of the religious holidays are prepared by the India Meteorological Department and published annually in The Indian Astronomical Ephemeris.ĭespite the attempt to establish a unified calendar for all of India, many local variations exist. In addition to establishing a civil calendar, the Calendar Reform Committee set guidelines for religious calendars, which require calculations of the motions of the Sun and Moon. Months are named after the traditional Indian months and are offset from the beginning of Gregorian months (see the table below). However, the initial epoch is the Saka Era, a traditional epoch of Indian chronology. A group of women dress colorfully for an Indian festival.Īs a result of a calendar reform in 1957 C.E., the National Calendar of India is a formalized lunisolar calendar in which leap years coincide with those of the Gregorian calendar (Calendar Reform Committee, 1957).

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