Vikram Samvat and Shaka Year Converter
Vikram Samvat and Shaka Samvat are the two year counts used most often in Hindu calendars. Enter a date and place to see both years, along with the lunar month and paksha for that day.
Two eras, one calendar
Vikram Samvat runs about 57 years ahead of the Gregorian count and is widely used in North and West India for festivals and family records. Shaka Samvat runs about 78 years behind the Gregorian count and is the base of the national calendar of India. The two eras are a fixed 135 years apart, so once one is known the other follows.
Neither year changes on 1 January. In the Chaitradi reckoning used here, the new year begins at Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first lunar day after the new moon that opens the month of Chaitra. This usually falls in March or April. A date in January therefore still belongs to the previous Hindu year, and the year number steps up only once the new Chaitra has begun.
What the result shows
The page gives the Shaka year, the Vikram year, the lunar month in both the Amanta and Purnimanta systems, the tithi and the paksha. Shukla paksha is the waxing half of the month and Krishna paksha is the waning half. The result also lists the new moons just before and just after the date, which mark the edges of the Amanta month.
If the month is marked Adhika, it is an extra month inserted so the lunar year keeps pace with the solar year. During an Adhika month the year number does not change. Read the year, month and paksha together, the same way a printed panchang heading would read.
Gujarat and some nearby regions start the Vikram year in Kartika, around Diwali, instead of in Chaitra. That Kartikadi count is not shown. For dates between Chaitra and Kartika it gives a Vikram year one lower than the figure on this page.
Calculation settings
The calendar is read at local sunrise for the place you enter, or at local noon on days when the Sun does not rise. The new moons around the date are found from the angle between the Moon and the Sun, searched day by day and then narrowed to about a minute. Each Amanta month is named by the sidereal sign of the Sun at its opening new moon, using the Lahiri ayanamsa. The work is done in our own engine.
Dates close to a new moon or to the Chaitra boundary are the most sensitive. A different place can put sunrise on the other side of a change, so the same civil date may read differently in two cities.
Frequently asked questions
How far apart are Vikram Samvat and Shaka Samvat?
Exactly 135 years. The Vikram year is the Shaka year plus 135.
When does the Vikram Samvat year change?
In the Chaitradi system used here, at Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, which usually falls in March or April.
Why does my Gujarati calendar show a different Vikram year?
Gujarat often starts the year in Kartika, around Diwali. This page uses the Chaitra start, so the two can differ by one for part of the year.
Which ayanamsa is used to name the month?
The Lahiri ayanamsa. The month name comes from the Sun's sidereal sign at the opening new moon.
What does Adhika mean next to a month?
It marks an extra lunar month added so the lunar calendar stays in step with the solar year.
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