Shaka era

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about historical calendar era. For "Śaka calendar" of 1957, see Indian national calendar.
Western Satrap ruler Damasena. The minting date, here 153 (100-50-3 in Brahmi script numerals
) of the Saka era, therefore 231 CE, clearly appears behind the head of the king.

The Shaka era (

Julian year
78.

The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian subcontinent as well as in Southeast Asia. According to the Government of India, it is referred as the Shalivahana Era (IAST: Śālivāhana).

History

Vikrami calendar linked to Vikramaditya.[4]

The beginning of the Shaka era is now widely equated to the ascension of

Kushana ruler.[8] Other historical candidates have included rulers such as Vima Kadphises, Vonones, and Nahapana.[8]

According to historian

Vikrama era might have led the southern scholars to fabricate a similar legend.[9] Another similar account claims that the emperor Shalivahana,[10][11] grandson of legendary emperor Vikramaditya defeated the Shakas in 78 CE, and the Shaka era marks the day of this conquest. This legend has been mentioned in the writings of Brahmagupta (7th century CE), Al-Biruni (973–1048 CE), and others. However, it is an obvious fabrication.[3] Over time, the word "Shaka" became generic, and came to be mean "an era"; the era thus came to be known as "Shalivahana Shaka".[12]

Usage

The earliest known users of the era are the Western Satraps, the Shaka (Indo-Scythian) rulers of Ujjain. From the reign of Rudrasimha I (178–197), they recorded the date of minting of their coins in the Shaka era, usually written on the obverse behind the king's head in Brahmi numerals.[13]

The use of the calendar era survived into the

Gupta period and became part of Hindu tradition following the decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent. It was in widespread use by the 6th to 7th centuries, e.g. in the works of Varāhamihira and Brahmagupta, and by the 7th century also appears in epigraphy in Hindu Southeast Asia
.

The calendar era remained in use in India and Southeast Asia throughout the medieval period, the main alternative era in traditional Hindu timekeeping being the

Anno Javanico, a hybrid Javanese-Islamic system.[14] It was adopted as the era of the Indian national calendar
(also known as "Śaka calendar") in 1957.

The Shaka epoch is the vernal equinox of the year AD 78. The year of the official Shaka Calendar is tied to the Gregorian date of 22 March every year, except in Gregorian leap years when it starts on 21 March. The Lunisolar Shalivaahana Saka continues to be used widely in Southern and Western India for many religious and some secular purposes such as sowing and agriculture.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Government of India (1955), "The Saka Era", Report of the Calendar Reform Committee, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, pp. 255–256
  2. ^ Like most Indian eras, the Śaka era uses expired, elapsed, or complete years, where a year must have elapsed before it can be counted. This is similar to the Western method of determining a person's age, whose first year must have been completed before that person reaches one year old. The uncounted first year of the era is numbered as year zero. This differs from Western eras which use current years.[1]
  3. ^ a b c Richard Salomon 1998, p. 182–184.
  4. ^ Richard Salomon 1998, p. 181–183.
  5. ISBN 9780199775071
    .
  6. ISBN 9788120829442
    .
  7. ISBN 9788024620459
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 9788172110284
    .
  9. ISBN 9788120811669
    .
  10. ISBN 978-81-207-5212-2
    .
  11. ISBN 9788188322404
    .
  12. ISBN 978-81-206-0151-2
    .
  13. ^ Rapson, "A Catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. Andhras etc." p. CCVIII
  14. ISBN 9780804721950
    .

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shaka_era&oldid=1186597999"