Bengali calendars
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The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar (
The Bengali era is called Bengali Sambat (BS)[3] or the Bengali year (বাংলা সন Bangla Sôn, বাংলা সাল Bangla sal, or Bangabda)[4] has a zero year that starts in 593/594 CE. It is 594 less than the AD or CE year in the Gregorian calendar if it is before Pôhela Bôishakh, or 593 less if after Pôhela Bôishakh.
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History
The
Buddhist/Hindu influence
Some historians attribute the Bengali calendar to the 7th century Bengali king Shashanka, whose reign covered the Bengali era of 594 CE.[10][11][4] The term Bangabda (Bangla year) is found too in two Shiva temples many centuries older than Akbar era, suggesting that a Bengali calendar existed long before Akbar's time.[4]
Hindus developed a calendar system in ancient times.[12] Jyotisha, one of the six ancient Vedangas,[13][14] was the Vedic era field of tracking and predicting the movements of astronomical bodies in order to keep time.[13][14][15] The ancient Indian culture developed a sophisticated time keeping methodology and calendars for Vedic rituals.[12]
The Hindu Vikrami calendar is named after king Vikramaditya and starts in 57 BC.[16] In rural Bengali communities of India, the Bengali calendar is credited to "Bikromaditto", like many other parts of India and Nepal. However, unlike these regions where it starts in 57 BC, the Bengali calendar starts from 593 suggesting that the starting reference year was adjusted at some point.[8][9]
Various dynasties whose territories extended into
Hindu scholars attempted to keep time by observing and calculating the cycles of the Sun (Surya), Moon, and the planets. These calculations about the Sun appear in various Sanskrit astronomical texts in Sanskrit, such as the 5th century Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata, the 6th century Romaka by Latadeva and Panca Siddhantika by Varahamihira, the 7th century Khandakhadyaka by Brahmagupta and the 8th century Sisyadhivrddida by Lalla.[19] These texts present Surya and various planets and estimate the characteristics of the respective planetary motion.[19] Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta dated to have been complete sometime between the 5th century and 10th century.[19]
The current Bengali calendar in use by Bengali people in the Indian states such as
Influence of Islamic Calendar
Another theory is that the calendar was first developed by Alauddin Husain Shah (reign 1494–1519), a Hussain Shahi sultan of Bengal by combining the lunar Islamic calendar (Hijri) with the solar calendar, prevalent in Bengal.[4] Yet another theory states that the Sasanka calendar was adopted by Alauddin Husain Shah when he witnessed the difficulty with collecting land revenue by the Hijri calendar.[4]
During the
It is unclear whether it was adopted by Hussain Shah or Akbar. The tradition to use the Bengali calendar may have been started by Hussain Shah before Akbar.
Bengali calendar
The Bengali calendar used in Bangladesh is a solar calendar[1][27] and the one used in India is a lunisolar calendar.
Months
Month name (Bengali) |
Romanization
|
Days (Bangladesh, 1966/1987–2018) |
Days (Bangladesh, 2019–) |
Start date (Bangladesh, 2019–) | Days (India) (Exact Period in Days) [citation needed] |
Traditional Season in Bengal |
Month name (Gregorian calendar) |
Month name (Hindu Vikrami solar) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
বৈশাখ | Boishakh | 31 | 31 | April 14 | 30/31 (30.950) | গ্রীষ্ম (Grishshô) Summer |
April–May | Mesha |
জ্যৈষ্ঠ | Jyoishţho | 31 | 31 | May 15 | 31/32 (31.429) | May–June | Vrshaba | |
আষাঢ় | Ashaŗh | 31 | 31 | June 15 | 31/32 (31.638) | বর্ষা (Bôrsha) Wet season/Monsoon |
June–July | Mithuna |
শ্রাবণ | Shrabon | 31 | 31 | July 16 | 31/32 (31.463) | July–August | Karkataka | |
ভাদ্র | Bhadro | 31 | 31 | August 16 | 31/32 (31.012) | শরৎ (Shôrôd) Autumn |
August–September | Simha |
আশ্বিন | Ashshin
|
30 | 31 | September 16 | 30/31 (30.428) | September–October | Kanya | |
কার্তিক | Kartik
|
30 | 30 | October 17 | 29/30 (29.879) | হেমন্ত (Hemonto) Dry season |
October–November | Tula |
অগ্রহায়ণ | Ôgrohayon | 30 | 30 | November 16 | 29/30[28][29] (29.475) | November–December | Vrschika | |
পৌষ | Poush | 30 | 30 | December 16 | 29/30 (29.310) | শীত (Sheet) Winter |
December–January | Dhanu |
মাঘ | Magh | 30 | 30 | January 16 | 29/30 (29.457) | January–February | Makara | |
ফাল্গুন | Falgun | 30 / 31 (leap year) | 29 / 30 (leap year) | February 14 | 29/30 (29.841) | বসন্ত (Bôsôntô) Spring |
February–March | Kumbha |
চৈত্র | Choitro | 30 | 30 | March 15 | 30/31 (30.377) | March–April | Meena |
2018 Revision of Bangladesh
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
In Bangladesh, the government planned to modify the old Bengali calendar again after 2018.[30] The new changes to match national days with West. As a result of the modification (see table), Kartik will start on Thursday (17-10-2019) and the season of Hemanta is delayed by a day as the revised calendar went into effect from Wednesday (16-10-2019).[31]
The year 1430 is under way in line with the Bengali calendar.
The Language Martyrs' Day of 21 February, Independence Day of 26 March and Victory Day of 16 December will fall on Falgun 8, Chaitra 12, and Poush 1, respectively of the Bengali calendar for next 100 years now as they did in the Gregorian calendar years 1952 and 1971, according to new rules. In the old Bengali calendar, 21 February fell on Falgun 9 earlier this year. After the change 16 December will fall on Poush 1, not on the second day of the month.
Bengali New Year will also fall on 14 April, Rabindra Joyanti of Baishakh 25 on 8 May and Nazrul Joyanti of Jaishthha 11 on 25 May.
The Bengali calendar had been revised twice earlier (see below). Astrophysicist Meghnad Saha led the first revision in the 1950s (Indian national calendar) and Muhammad Shahidullah in 1963.
Days
The Bengali Calendar incorporates the seven-day week as used by many other calendars. The names of the days of the week in the Bengali Calendar are based on the Navagraha (Bengali: নবগ্রহ nôbôgrôhô). The day begins and ends at sunrise in the Bengali calendar, unlike in the Gregorian calendar, where the day starts at midnight.
According to some scholars, in the calendar originally introduced by
Day name (Bengali) | Romanization
|
Divine figure/celestial body | Day name (English) | Day name (Sylheti) | Day name (Rohingya) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
রবিবার | Rôbibar | Robi/Sun | Sunday | Roibbár | Rooibar |
সোমবার | Sombar | Som/Moon
|
Monday | Shombár | Cómbar |
মঙ্গলবার | Mônggôlbar | Mongol/Mars | Tuesday | Mongolbár | Mongolbar |
বুধবার | Budhbar | Budh/Mercury | Wednesday | Budbár | Buidbar |
বৃহস্পতিবার | Brihôspôtibar | Brihospoti/Jupiter | Thursday | Bishudbár | Bicíbbar |
শুক্রবার | Shukrôbar | Shukro/Venus | Friday | Shukkurbár | Cúkkurbar |
শনিবার | Shônibar | Shoni/Saturn | Saturday | Shonibár | Cónibar |
Traditional and revised versions
Differences
The current Bengali calendar in the Indian states is based on the Sanskrit text Surya Siddhanta. It retains the historic Sanskrit names of the months, with the first month as Baishakh.[10] Their calendar remains tied to the Hindu calendar system and is used to set the various Bengali Hindu festivals.[10]
In Bangladesh, however, the old Bengali calendar was modified in 1966 by a committee headed by Muhammad Shahidullah, making the first five months 31 days long, the rest 30 days each, with the month of Falgun adjusted to 31 days in every leap year.[10] This was officially adopted by Bangladesh in 1987.[10][27]
Festivals
The following lists major festivals on the Bangladeshi calendar.
Pohela Boishakh
The first day of the month of Boishakh ushers the Bengali New Year and is known as Pohela Boishakh. The festival is similar to New Year's Day, Nowruz and Songkran. The cultural organization Chayanat hosts a notable concert in Ramna Park, starting at dawn on 14 April in Dhaka. The Mangal Shobhajatra parades are brought out in many Bangladeshi cities during the festival and is regarded by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.
The Bengali New Year's Day on 14 April is a national holiday in Bangladesh.
Haal Khata
Traders start a new Haal Khata book on Pohela Boishakh to keep financial records and settle debts.[32]
Boishakhi Mela
The Boishakhi Mela are fairs organized on Pohela Boishakh.[32]
Pahela Falgun
Pahela Falgun (Bengali: পহেলা ফাল্গুন romanised: Pohela Falgun), meaning the first of Falgun, is the first day of spring in the Bangladeshi calendar.
Boli Khela
In the Chittagong region, the
Cattle racing
Cattle races are a popular activity in Manikganj and Munshiganj districts during Boishakh.[32]
See also
- Hindu calendar
- Islamic calendar
- Malla calendar
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-8024-5.
- ^ Raidah, Nazifa (14 April 2024). "The mystery of Pahela Baishakh and the Bengali calendar". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ Ratan Kumar Das (1996). IASLIC Bulletin. Indian Association of Special Libraries & Information Centres. p. 76.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
- ISBN 978-0-19-509984-3.
- ISBN 978-81-208-1166-9.
- ISBN 978-0-19-874557-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7618-0420-8. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-8028-006-1. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-8024-5. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9780822353188.
- ^ a b Kim Plofker 2009, pp. 10, 35–36, 67.
- ^ a b Monier Monier-Williams (1923). A Sanskrit–English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 353. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, pages 326–327
- ^ Friedrich Max Müller (1860). A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature. Williams and Norgate. pp. 210–215.
- ISBN 978-0-19-874557-0. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-81-208-1166-9. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-19-509984-3. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-208-0612-2. Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ "Pahela Baishakh". Banglapedia. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ "Google Doodle Celebrates Pohela Boishakh in Bangladesh". Time. Archived from the original on 16 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-374-10583-9.
- ^ "Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh".
- ISBN 978-0-374-10583-9.
- ISBN 978-0-521-58813-3.
- ^ Syed Ashraf Ali, Bangabda Archived 5 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine, National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
- ^ a b c d e Syed Ashraf Ali (2012). "Bangabda". In Sirajul Islam; Ahmed A. Jamal (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (2nd ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "পঞ্জিকা ১১৩৬ বঙ্গাব্দ". usingha.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "পঞ্জিকা ১১৩৭ বঙ্গাব্দ". usingha.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ Nandi, Deepak (14 April 2019). "থমকে আছে বাংলা বর্ষপঞ্জি পরিবর্তন প্রক্রিয়া". Samakal (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ "বাংলা দিনপঞ্জি বদল, আজ পয়লা কার্তিক". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d Shamsuzzaman Khan (14 April 2014). "Emergence of Bengali New Year and Calendar". The Daily Star. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
Bibliography
- Kim Plofker (2009). ISBN 978-0-691-12067-6.
External links
- Official Bengali Calendar
- Official Bengali Calendar
- বাংলা ক্যালেন্ডার ১৪৩০ পিডিএফ ডাউনলোড করুন with Coochbehar News
- বাংলা ক্যালেন্ডার ১৪৩০,pdf ডাউনলোড করুন with Bangala caption
- Bengali calendar or বাংলা ক্যালেন্ডার with daily Ponjika
- Bengali calendar or বাংলা ক্যালেন্ডার with daily Ponjika
- Bangla Calendar: The Origin of Bangla new year and celebrating Pahela Baishakh
- Bangla Panjikas according to Surya Siddhanta
- Bangla Date Converter
- Official Bangla Calendar of Bangladesh for 1425