Vikram and Vir Samvat (samvat means ‘era’) are two traditional Indian calendars.

In 2016, I decided to shift my personal year-end reckoning to these Indian calendars. Because it has a whole cultural and traditional net around it, making it a very useful tool to make life more meaningful.

And also, I was delving into the ancient Indian timeline, looking at when many impactful events happened in our country and I noticed that the Gregorian calendar is Christian — it revolves around Jesus Christ. Why should I use that one? And so my resolve to move to these Indian calendars became stronger. Towards this, I started getting acquainted with these calendars which revolve around events that are much more relevant and meaningful to me personally.

Vikram Samvat

Vikram Samvat begins with the day Vikramaditya won back Ujjain from the Saka king. Apparently (Wikipedia version alert!), Vikramaditya’s dad was a crazy coot and kidnapped a bhramacharini (female monk). Because of this, eventually, the Saka king deposed him and took over the rule.

Vikramaditya was thus born in a forest… but he was a just, able, and awesome fellow. He then overthrew the Saka kings and the time when he won back Ujjain (known as Avanti back then), he declared it a significant time.

So, western and northern India largely celebrate the new year as per this calendar on the day after Diwali — Kartik Sud Ekam or the first day of the month Kartik. It comes after the Diwali day, which is an amavasya (new moon), so Kartik Sud Ekam is the day when the moon is in its first waxing phase.

Interestingly, it seems that Nepal and Southern India also follow the same calendar, but they celebrate the new year in April–May. So this calendar has different New Years for different communities!

You see, this is why it makes so much sense to shift to the Indian calendar — it becomes so diverse and layered already! 😄

The Really Interesting Bit

Vikramaditya is the same king of the Vikram and Betal stories! 😲 From these stories, I always thought of Vikram as a very just and intelligent king; I now see those stories in a new light. This is the king whose calendar has been traditionally adopted not just in India but also in Nepal.

Aha… so he is not just some storybook character anymore, but comes to life every time we check the Indian calendar on the wall.

Moreover, not only is this calendar diverse and culturally rich, but it also has connections with supernatural phenomena — ghouls, ghosts, and long stories! 😄

I will now try and find some Vikram & Betal stories to go through. Wonder if I can get something a little more detailed than Amar Chitra Katha versions.

Update: I did get a much more interesting version! In fact, I met Betal — in the Bhaktapur Bhairava temple! Know all about it in the video below:

Vir Samvat

This is a Jain calendar that commemorates Mahavir Swami’s (the most recent Jain Tirthankar) Nirvana Day.

His enlightenment day comes earlier on Vaishakh Sud 10. After that, he retained his body — one of the few enlightened beings who retain their body after enlightenment. He then re-established Jainism (which already existed but was dwindling) and added immense value to the world and fellow beings.

He then left his body on Diwali day — Ashwin or Aaso Vad Amavasya. So for Jains, the main significance of Diwali is Mahavir Swami’s Nirvana Day. The next day is the New Year as per the Vir Samvat calendar too.

This New Year day is also the enlightenment day of Gautam Swami, one of the most prominent disciples of Mahavir Swami.

The Story of Gautam Swami’s Enlightenment

He was one of Mahavir Swami’s foremost disciples. Under him, all who took diksha (initiation) got enlightened quickly — and yet he did not.

He asked his Guru, Mahavir Swami, about this. The Guru told him that in the immense love Gautam Swami had for his Guru, there was a strand of attachment. And because of this attachment, he was held back.

Then one day, Mahavir Swami sent him off to the next village… and the next day, he got the news — Mahavir Swami had taken Nirvana. A tempest rose within him, because his most beloved Guru had sent him away just before leaving the body!

And in this tempest, he finally understood that all this attachment was only from his end — the Guru was free of all of it, free to leave whenever. And in that realization, the strand of attachment broke — and he attained enlightenment.

I find these stories of the final enlightenment of great yogis very insightful.

Also, it is considered that the Nirvana day of any Guru is a very significant, maybe the most significant, day for his disciples. A large number of them tend to attain enlightenment and leave then too.

So, both these calendars give me a more meaningful connection to my culture and ancestral history. 😊

In Tune with the Sun and Moon

One of the things I really like about these traditional Indian calendars is that they put significance on the Moon and Sun — their positions, phases, and cycles. This has a lot of value:

• It helps people remain aware of these natural forces which literally cause life on this planet.
• With increased technology — especially electric lights — the significance of these life sources has greatly diminished for us psychologically. Imagine a time when there were no man-made lights — you couldn’t ignore these life sources. Now, we can live in complete ignorance of them and nothing may seem amiss. That’s a loss, because we’re getting cut off from a our actual life source. And that’s terrible as per my sense about life.
• These sources still impact us — the ocean tides are influenced by the Moon, so is the water in our bodies. Our digestion system is tuned with the Sun’s cycle. Plants and animals all thrive on this light and heat from the Sun.

So, the Indian calendar again acts as an aid to keep us in tune with the Sun and Moon. I appreciate it.

It’s also sad that while our parents are better versed with the Indian calendar and tithis, they hardly properly acknowledge the Sun and Moon.

Now that you have read my blog this far, we can do better. 🌞🌕

Oldest Calendars in the World

It would be interesting to look at the oldest calendars in the world. These two Indian calendars are not the oldest — there’s clear evidence that India had much older systems. Obviously, our history dates back far beyond Mahavir Swami and Vikramaditya.

So what were those older Indian calendars? And what were the calendars used around the world long before Christ? When we think about this, we realize that Christ is such a recent phenomenon in the world, isn’t it?

If You Want to Research More

I haven’t yet researched much about the other calendars followed in different Indian regions. I’m also not entirely clear about what a “sidereal solar year” is — I’ve seen it mentioned in some places.

Also, the South Indian calendar is somewhat different — it doesn’t put full emphasis on the moon’s phase but rather on the day’s star (nakshatra). So that’s interesting to explore too.

It could also be fascinating to dig up various stories that took place on the same days across completely different eras.

For example, for Diwali:

• Ramji’s return to Ayodhya
• Mahavir Swami’s Nirvana Day
• Krishna killing Narkasura
• Kali Puja in Kolkata (what’s the story there?)

It’s amazing how across cultures and traditions, some particular days have high value. These are powerful and significant days in the year — another reason to base our lives and years around them. ✨

Happy Diwali & a Wonderful New Year!