Hindu New Year- a great tribute to a civilization and her people

With the dawn on 18th march, the world will see Hindus celebrating their New year with pumas, archakas, worshiping rivers, and chanting the holy names of Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, praying for the well being and peace for every creation of the gods- humans, animals, mammals and nature.

It is an unbelievable feat for those followers of Abrahamic religions, who follow one book and one prophet, to see that here is still a great number of people who have kept pre-Islamic and pre-Christian traditions, language and rituals alive in their homes without any change, without any government help, in fact inspite of a government apathy and unwillingness to help them.

In fact a large part of humanity, from Indian states like Andhra, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Gujarat- begin their new year under different names but on the same date and period- and also in Nepal ( Vikram samovar is their official calendar), Indonesia, Cambodia and specially Ballenes Hindus celebrate their new year as Baisakh, Vesak, Baisakhi, on same dates. Inspire of the best of the efforts by the British colonizers, who were the most brutal and barbaric forces who wanted to delete the memories of their subjects, people kept their calendar saved and practiced since millenniums.

Take for example the Indian Hindus. They use, for all practical purposes Gregorian calendar- which is a Christian Era time division. Till recently the western Christians had hardly any knowledge of the calendar system- and they practiced a ten month year system, completely forgetting the three months of the winter. It goes to the credit of the Hindu scientists, who often are mocked by the illiterate or semi literate English educated elite- who gave the most scientific time division in 3 BC ( Aetereya upanishad, Shatpath Brahmin and Rg Veda).

So deep are the roots of the Hindu calendar in the psyche of the common Hindu, even today, that inspire of the Gregorian calendar system being practiced in the offices, every festival, birth ritual, death rites, marriages, new home warming time and date, children’s ‘shaving the head’ ( Mundan) ceremony , Ganga snan-(holy bath), Kumbh ( world’s biggest congregation of the Hindus-involving more than twenty million people gathering ), take place only and one according to the Hindu calendar system- called Panchanga.

Salutes to the tenacity, perseverance, flexible nature and deep rooted belief in their ancient arithmetic, geometry, numeric system, cosmology and astronomy, that the greatest scientist, and a highest ranking chief of a multi national conglomerate would practice in his personal life only the Hindu calendar system.

The new Hindu year – Vikram samvat-began 57 years before the Christian Era- established by the great king of Ujjain, who defeated the enemies of the country- and wore the title of Vikramaditya. It is to be remembered that no great Hindu kIng or the gods were ever remembered or respected for their passiveness. They all were essentially warriors who defeated and annihilated the wrong doers. Pardoning an unrepentant wicked was never a part of the Hindu psyche.

When the western Christian world was busy in declaring women as witches and having no soul, and a Galileo was hanged for declaring scientific facts, Hindu scaintists were giving the world the gifts of science and mathematics- they gave zero, Hindu numerals- which were lated called as Indian numerals, measured the circumference of the earth, gave astronomy, named galaxy, stars, months, and orbits, when there were no telescopes. Arybhatta refined the Hindu calendar as early as 5th Century.

A noted scientist and a student of Hindu calendar system R.K. Chopra, (B.Tech. Mining Engg) writes-

“When full moon month cycle was followed, the 12 lunar months made a year of about 355 days. So, after every two and half years a lunar month (of 29.53 days) was added. Thus an average year contained 366 days( i.e. one day extra). This anomaly was rectified by dropping a month after every 30th year (30 solar years @ 365.24219 days = 10957 days; 371 lunar months @ 29.53059 days = 10956 days). The concept of dropping a month was there around 3000 BC and was carried to later period. Even then a small error of 5 lunar dates (tithes) was estimated in 90 years. Therefore a special 5 year period was added with one extra date each year after 90 years.

“Above is the basis of the 95-year Agnichayana vidhi as described in the 6th Kanda of Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajurved, 1000-1400 BC). The 95-year cycle containing 5 Metonic cycles of 19 years was discovered by the Babylonians around 300 BC. Present Indian calendars do calculations by actual positions of the sun and the moon and drop-month may occur after interval of 19 to 141 years.

“The names of the 12 months are taken from the 12 Nakshatras around whom the moon is placed on full moon day. The month can be identified by observing the first Naksatra on the eastern horizon at sunset. To synchronize it with the solar calendar, about once every 2½ years an extra month is added within a year (that means one particular month is repeated twice within that year). This way the festivals are observed by lunar dates but are contained within the same season (± 15days).”

Hindu calendar is divided in twelve months named after rashis- this is more logical, based on scientific research and connects people with the season and climate as well as the constellation of the stars and the position of earth, sun and the moon. and never forgot these most accurate calculations were done y Hindus thousands of years before the western scientist could arrive at the same conclusions.

The Hindu names of twelve months-

1.  Vaisakha
2 . Jyestha
3 . Asadha
4 . Sravana
5 . Bhadrapada
6 . Asvina
7 . Kartika
8 . Margasirsa
9 . Pausa
10 . Magha
11  .Phalgura
12 . Chaitra

No doubt that the western scientists and doctors gave the greatest gifts to mankind like electricity, aerodynamics, modern medical science and printing press. Still to look down with contempt and make fun of the Hindu ancient scientific advancement will be self defeating and shameful. Every country and society thrives on the glory of her people and ancestors and that must not be forgotten by the new, modern, secular intellectual India.

Prof. Bhaktiputra Rohitam of the Benaras Hindu University has given a detailed explanation on the scientific aspects of the Hindu calendar which must be a matter of deep research in the other universities. The Hindu Vikram new year beginning on 18th March would be 2076. May the new year bring happiness, joy and prosperity to all. A very Happy New Year- the year of the Indians be auspicious and blissful to every one on this Earth.