Calendar

A Popular Dictionary of Hinduism

had never quite been unified throughout India before the adoption of the European system. The basis of the Hindu year is a lunar month (which begins with the full moon in the North and with the new moon in the South), divided into the bright half , starting with the new moon, and the dark half , starting with the full moon. There are twelve lunar months divided into six seasons :

A thirteenth month is added every two or three years to make up for the difference between the lunar and the solar year. In some parts of India the year starts with Kārttika or even some other month. The Western solar calendar had been known since Gupta times and was sometimes used alongside the lunar one for accuracy. Since colonial times the Hindu calendar has been used only for religious purposes and in astrology.