A way of reading TIME

What is a Calendar?

It is not very surprising to recall the names of January, February, March, April and so on, when asked about the different months in a year. For most of the world population a Calendar represents the natural units of timekeeping. For our convenience and universal understanding, a standard form of time measurement had been historically evolved by our ancestors by using the reference points of the Sun and the Moon. The earliest form of dated history of written calendar goes back to the bronze age, successively evolving into different forms through various civilizational knowledge like that of the Sumerian, the Egyptian, the Assyrian & the Elamites.

The most popular English Calendar that we all follow today, dates back its history to the Roman Calendar reformed by Julius Caesar in the 45BC. Under his guidance and scientific calculation, leap years were introduced along with two extra months of January (Januarius) and February (Februarius) to the already existing ten months Calendar which made it more accurate and well aligned with the Earth’s Solar Year. Today the version of Calendar that we follow is the refined form of the prior by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, (towards the end to the Dark era), hence gaining its name of the Gregorian Calendar.

What is the Hindu way of reading time?

Interestingly, People in Indian subcontinent also had their own ways of calculating time, through “Samvat” or “Krta”. The most famous Hindu Calendar that is used in the Indian Subcontinent and Nepal is based on the “Vikram Samvat” which began around 58-56BCE in Ujjain, India. It was attributed to the Gupta King Vikramaditya and his keen knowledge on Astrology. It is popularly believed that “Vikram Samvat” is a solar Calendar that uses twelve to thirteen lunar months in each solar year. The year count is usually 57 years ahead of the Gregorian Calendar except during January to April when it is ahead by 56  years.

In Odisha, people follow the Odia Calendar also known as “Panji”. It seeks its origin in the Utkaliya era from 592CE during the Bhadra Sukla Dvadasi (the twelfth day of the full moon fortnight in the Bhadraba month), which is considered as the birthday of the legendary king Indra Dyumna. He is believed to have established the iconic Neela Madhava (Lord Jagannath) deity at Puri. Incidentally, all the festivals and temple rituals in Odisha or the eastern part of India is based on the Anka Year System, which differs from the actual duration of the year during era of the Somavamsis and the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. Till this day the Odia Panji denotes the titular regnal year of the King of Puri, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb.

What is Sankranti?

 In astrology, time is calculated by the observation of the Solar and the Lunar Cycle. On one hand, where lunar cycle denotes a month to be a time between two Purnimas (full moon), on the other hand, solar cycle divide year into months based on the time duration when the Sun is positioned over each “Rashi” (planets). The day the Sun leaves its position over one Rashi and transcends to another, is the beginning of a new month and it is celebrated as a “Sankranti”. The odia word of “Sankranti” comes from the Sanskrit word of “Sankranman” (which means revolution).

Based on the Sun’s position over the Tropics and the Equator, four prominent Sankrantis’ are celebrated throughout the year. These denotes the difference in the duration of the diurnal cycle and different associated seasons. Each of these Sankranti’s are celebrated in peculiar ways to adjust the mind and the mood according to the changing nature of the Sun’s intensity of heat that directly affects the strength of our body in relation to its internal thermodynamics. Interestingly, each Sankranti is celebrated with a unique set of cuisine specifically curated based on the Ayurvedic knowledge of Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These ancient observations of the relation between the Solar cycle and our bodily functions act as a great source of knowledge to understand the inherent rhythm between the Nature and its beings.

What are the four major Sankranti’s of the year?

In the basic geography classes, everyone must have come across the concept of Latitudes and Longitudes. These play a very important role in determining the different climatic conditions and time zones respectively. Among the numerous latitudes, five of them play a determinative role in deciding the climatic conditions and its associated impact on different ecosystems on the earth. These are the – the Equator (it divides the earth into two hemispheres), the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle (in the Northern Hemisphere) , and the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle (in the Southern Hemisphere).

When the Sun is directly above the Equator, it is known as Equinox and when it is above either of the Tropics, it is known as Solstice. Annually, we have two Equinox and two Solstice which determines the four prominent seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring in the tropical region. These four Solar phenomena are known as Sankranti in Odia. To understand it better, we can dive deep into the concept of each Sankranti in our subsequent chapters.