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Showing posts from March 13, 2008


Are Hindu Calendars Faulty?

Based on Hindu calendars Makara Sankranti is celebrated in January 14 or 15 now. But the day the sun shines overhead on the Tropic of Capricorn (Makara) is on December 22 (the winter solstice). Biman Nath, an astronomer and writer, in an article in the Frontline titled ‘the story of India ’s faulty calendars’ asserts that the Indian regional calendars are faulty and they are actually 24 days ahead of the correct Indian National Calendar or Saka calendar. To be frank I am always confused with the regional calendars in India . Indian states in the north and the east use a solar calendar in which months are either 30 or 31 days long. Kerala and Tamil Nadu also use a solar calendar. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat use lunar calendars in which months are 29.5 days long. But I don’t know whether they are faulty simply because the explanations that we get on Indian calendars are confusing. It is hard for a common man to understand Indian regional calendars. The