^ kTHEINDIAN CALENDARTHEINDIAN CALENDARCONVERSIONWITH TABLES FOR THE OF HINDU ANDMUHAMMADAN INTO A.D. DATES, AND VICE VERSAROBERT SEWELLLate Her Majesty's Indian Civil Service,ofSANKARA BALKRISHNA DIKSHITTraitiing College, Poona.INDIAWITH TABLES OF ECLIPSES VISIBLE INBYDr. ROBERT SCHRAMVienna.OfLONDONLtd.SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & Co.,SquarePaternoster^ENTlt.'XPrinted al the Motley J^ess, Amsterdam.;PREFACE.for the use, only of those engagedThis Volume is designed not in the decyphermentof Indian inscriptions the compilation of Indian history, but also ofand Judicial Courts andGovernment Ofifices in India. Documents bearing dates prior to those given in any existingalmanack are often produced before Courts of Justice as evidence of title ; and since forgeries,many of them of great antiquity, abound, it is necessary to have at hand means for testingand verifying the authenticity of these exhibits. Within the last ten years much light has beenthrown on the subject of the Indian methods of time-reckoning by the pubHcations of ProfessorDr. Schram, Professor Kielhorn, Dr. Fleet, Pandit SahkaraJacobi, Balkrishna Dikshit, and othersbut these, having only in scientific periodicals, are not readily accessible officialsappeared to inIndia. The Government of Madras, therefore, desiring to have a summary of the subject withTables for ready reference, requested me to undertake the work. In process of time the schemewas widened, and in its present shape ...
^ kTHE
INDIAN CALENDARTHE
INDIAN CALENDAR
CONVERSIONWITH TABLES FOR THE OF HINDU AND
MUHAMMADAN INTO A.D. DATES, AND VICE VERSA
ROBERT SEWELL
Late Her Majesty's Indian Civil Service,of
SANKARA BALKRISHNA DIKSHIT
Traitiing College, Poona.
INDIAWITH TABLES OF ECLIPSES VISIBLE IN
BY
Dr. ROBERT SCHRAM
Vienna.Of
LONDON
Ltd.SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & Co.,
SquarePaternoster^ENTlt.'X
Printed al the Motley J^ess, Amsterdam.;
PREFACE.
for the use, only of those engagedThis Volume is designed not in the decypherment
of Indian inscriptions the compilation of Indian history, but also ofand Judicial Courts and
Government Ofifices in India. Documents bearing dates prior to those given in any existing
almanack are often produced before Courts of Justice as evidence of title ; and since forgeries,
many of them of great antiquity, abound, it is necessary to have at hand means for testing
and verifying the authenticity of these exhibits. Within the last ten years much light has been
thrown on the subject of the Indian methods of time-reckoning by the pubHcations of Professor
Dr. Schram, Professor Kielhorn, Dr. Fleet, Pandit SahkaraJacobi, Balkrishna Dikshit, and others
but these, having only in scientific periodicals, are not readily accessible officialsappeared to in
India. The Government of Madras, therefore, desiring to have a summary of the subject with
Tables for ready reference, requested me to undertake the work. In process of time the scheme
was widened, and in its present shape it embraces the whole of British India, receiving in that
capacity the recognition of the Secretary of State for India. Besides containing a full explanation
of the Indian chronological system, with the necessary tables, the volume is enriched by a set
of Tables of Eclipses most kindly sent to me by Dr. Robert Schram of Vienna.
In the earher stages of my labours I had the advantage of receiving much support and
assistance from Dr. Burgess (late Director-General of the Arch.-eological Survey of India) to
J.
whom I desire to express my sincere thanks. After completing a large part of the calculations
necessary for determining the elements of Table I., and drawing up the draft of an introductory
treatise, I entered into correspondence with Mr. Sankara Balkrishna Dikshit, with the result that,
after^a short interval, we agreed to complete the work as joint authors. The introductory treatise
is mainly his, but I have added to it several explanatory paragraphs, amongst others those
relating to astronomical phenomena.
Tables XIV. and Madras.XV. were prepared by Mr. T. Lakshmiah Naidu of
It is impossible over-estimate value Dr. Schram, which rendersto the of the work done by
it now for the first time easy for anyone to ascertain the incidence, in time and place, of every
solar eclipse occurring in India during the past 1600 years, but while thus briefly noting his services
in the cause of science, I cannot neglect this opportunity ofexpressing to him my gratitude for his
kindness to myself.
S38499I must also tender my warm thanks for much invaluable help Mr.to 11. 11. Turner, Savilian
Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, to Professor Kiclhorn, CLE., of Gottingen, and to Professor
Jacobi.
The Tables have been tested and re-tested, and we believe that they may be safely relied
on for accuracy. No pains have been spared to secure this object.
R. SEWELL.
II.
was onlyIt in September, 1893, that I became acquainted with Mr. R. Sewell, after he
alreadyhad made much progress in the calculations necessary for the principal articles of
Table I. of this work, and had almost finished a large portion of them.
The idea then occurred to me that by inserting the a, h, c figures (cols. and23, 24, 25
of Table I.) which Mr. Sewell had already worked out for the initial days ofthe luni-solar years,
but had not proposed to print in full, and by adding some of ProfessorJacobi's Tables published
in the Indian Antiquary, not only could the exact moment of the beginning and end of all luni-
solar tithis be calculated, but also the beginning and ending moments of the nakshatra, yoga,
and karana for any day of any year; and again, that by giving the exact moment of the Mesha
sankranti for each solar year the exact European equivalent for every solar date could also be
determined. I therefore proceeded to work out the details for the Mesha sankrantis, and then
framed rules and examples for the exact calculation of the required dates, for this purpose
extending and modifying Professor Jacobi's Tables to suit my methods. Full explanation of the
mode of calculation is given in the Text. The general scheme was originally propounded by
M. Largeteau, but we have to thank Professor Jacobi for his publications which have formed
the foundation on which we have built.
My calculation for the moments of Mesha sankrantis, of mean intercalations of months
(Mr. Sewell worked out the true intercalations), and of the samvatsaras of the cycle of Jupiter
were carried out by simple methods of my own. Mr. Sewell had prepared the rough draft of
a treatise giving an account of the Hindu and Muhammadan systems of reckoning, and collecting
much of the information now embodied in the Text. But I found it necessary to re-write this,
and to add a quantity of new matter.
I am responsible for all information given in this work which is either new to European
scholars, or which differs from that generally received by them. All points regarding which
any difference of opinion seems possible are printed in footnotes, and not in the Text. They
are not, of course, fully discussed as this is not a controversial work.
Every precaution has been taken to avoid error, but all corrections of mistakes which
may have crept in, as well as all suggestions for improvement in the future, will be gladly and
thankfully received.
BALKRISHNA DIKSHIT.S.