Vikram Samvat (विक्रम संवत्)

Vikram Samvat  is the calendar established by Indian emperor Vikramaditya. It is a popularly used calendar in India and the official calendar of Nepal.

The Vikrama Samvat was founded by the emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain following his victory over the Sakas in 56 BCE, although it is popularly (and incorrectly) associated with the subsequent king Chandragupta Vikramaditya. It is a lunar calendar based on ancient Hindu tradition. The Vikram Samvat calendar is 56.7 years ahead (in count) of the solar Gregorian calendar. For example, the year 2056 BS began in CE 1999 and ended in CE 2000. In Northern India the calendar starts with the first day after the new moon in the month Chaitra, which usually falls in March/April in the Gregorian calendar. Again in Western India the same era begins with the first day after the new moon in the month of Kartika which usually falls in October and November in the Gregorian calendar. In Nepal, it begins in mid-April and marks the start of the solar new year.

In India, Saka Calendar is officially used but interestingly in the Hindi version of Preamble of The Constitution of India, the date of adoption of constitution 26 Nov 1950 is presented in Vikram Samvat (Margsheersh Shukla Saptami Samvat 2006 ).

This calendar derives its name from the original king Vikramaditya of Ujjain. After the rise of the Rana oligarchs in Nepal, Vikram Sambat came into unofficial use along with the official Shaka Sambat for quite some time. They discontinued Shaka Sambat in its 1823rd year and replaced it with Vikram Samwat for official use since then to date. Vikram Sambat came into official use in its 1958th year. The calendar is widely in use in western India, where it is known as the Vikram Samvat.

The date is supposed to mark the victory of king Vikramaditya over the Sakas, who had invaded Ujjain. To the new era was established to commemorate this event. Alternatively, it is thought to correspond to the Azes era, of the Indo-Scythian king Azes I.

The story is described in "Kalakacharya Kathanaka", a much later work by a Jain sage called Mahesara Suri (Probably circa 12th century CE). The Kathanaka (meaning, "an account") tells the story of a famed Jain monk Kalakacharya. It mentions thatGardabhilla, the then powerful king of Ujjain, abducted a nun called Sarasvati who was the sister of the monk. The enraged monk sought help of the Saka ruler, a "Sahi", in Sakasthana. Despite heavy odds (but aided by miracles) the Saka king defeated Gardabhilla and made him a captive. Sarasvati was repatriated. Gardabhilla himself was forgiven though. The defeated king retired to the forest where he was killed by a tiger. His son, Vikramaditya, being brought up in the forest, had to rule from Pratishthana(in modern Maharashtra). Later on Vikramaditya invaded Ujjain and drove away the Sakas. To commemorate this event he started a new era called the Vikrama era. This story seems to be a jumbled one, as the original Vikramaditya began his rule from Ujjain and not from Pratishthana. The Ujjain calendar started around 56 BCE to 58 BCE, and the subsequent Shalivahan Saka calendar was started in 78 A.D. at Pratishthan.

MONTHS

1	Vaishakh	वैशाख or बैसाख	30 / 31
2	Jyeshtha	ज्येष्ठ or जेठ	31 / 32
3	Aashadh	आषाढ़	31 / 32
4	Shraawan	श्रावण or सावन	31 / 32
5	Bhadrapad	भाद्रपद or भादो	31 / 32
6	Ashvin	आश्विन	30 / 31
7	Kartik	कार्तिक	29 / 30
8	Aghrahaayan	अग्रहायण or अगहन	29 / 30
9	Paush	पौष or पुष/पूस	29 / 30
10	Margsheersh	मार्गशीर्ष or माघ	29 / 30
11	Phalgun	फाल्गुन or फागुन	29 / 30
12	Chaitra	चैत्र or चैत	30 / 31