Tamil Calendar
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The Tamil Calendar is used in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry in India, and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. It is used today for cultural, religious and agricultural events, with the Gregorian calendar having largely supplanted it for official use both within and outside India.

There are several festivals based on the Tamil Hindu calendar. The Tamil New Year follows the nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls on April 13 or 14th of the Gregorian year. April 13 or 14th marks the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar and this remains a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Tropical vernal equinox fall around 22 March, and adding 23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it, we get the Hindu sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into nirayana Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins with the same date which is observed by most traditional calendars of the rest of India - Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Orissa, Manipur, Nepal, Punjab etc. The 60-year cycle is also very ancient and is observed by most traditional calendars of India and China, and is related to 5 revolutions of Jupiter according to popular belief, or to 60-year orbit of Nakshatras (stars) as mentioned in Surya Siddhanta.

The traditional Tamil year is (From April 13, 2008), Kaliyuga 5110. Vikrama and Shalivahana Saka eras are also used.

The current DMK-led Government of Tamil Nadu abolished the traditional Tamil calendar in February 2008 citing a so-called but disputed proclamation in 1920s by a group of so-called Atheists under leadership of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy who assembled in Madurai and adopted first day of Thai Month as first day of the Tamil Calendar. The Tamil Nadu Government has ordered the Tiruvalluvar Era as official Tamil Calendar for the state and abolished the Tamil years used for several millennia. The new year has been changed to begin with Pongal day during month of Thai^[1]. This controversial move however has no public support ^[2] and the traditional calendar that begins in April remains very much in use ^[3]. The opposition AIADMK has vowed to restore the traditional Tamil calendar when it assumes power. The present state government's move has also been challenged in court ^[4].

Week

The days of the Tamil Calendar relate to the celestial bodies in the solar system: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, in that order. The week starts with Sunday.

The following list compiles the days of the week in Tamil Calendar:

Months

The number of days in a month varies between 29 and 32.

The following list compiles the months of the Tamil Calendar.

Note: The sanskrit months above would start one month ahead of Tamil months since the Tamil calendar is a solar calendar while the Sanskrit calendar is a lunisolar calendar

Seasons

The year is divided into six seasons, each of which lasts two months:

Sixty-year cycle

Main article: Samvatsara

The 60-year cycle of the Tamil Calendar is also found in many North Indian traditional calendars, with the same name and sequence of years. Its earliest reference is to be found in Surya Siddhanta, which Varahamihirar (550 CE) believed to be the most accurate of the then current theories of astronomy. However, in the Surya Siddhantic list, the first year was Vijaya and not Prabhava as currently used. This 60-year cycle is also used in the Chinese calendar.

After the completion of sixty years, the calendar starts anew with the first year. This corresponds to the Hindu "century." The Vakya or Tirukannitha Panchangam (the traditional Tamil almanac) outlines this sequence.

The following list presents the current 60-year cycle of the Tamil calendar:

Celebrations

The months of the Tamil Calendar gains more significance and are deeply rooted to the faith of the Tamil Hindus. Some months are considered very auspicious while a few are considered inauspicious as well.

Some of the celebrations of each month are listed below. Dates in parentheses are not exact and usually vary by a day or two. Underneath (or beside) the months of the Hindu calendar are their Gregorian counterparts.

Significance

• The Hindus had developed a system of calendrics that encapsulates vast periods of time. For computing the age of the earth and various geological and other epochs, as well as the age of mankind, they still employ a Tamil calendar derived from ancient astronomical data, known as the Tirukkanida Panchanga (cf. The Secret Doctrine, 2:49-51).

• This calendar contains a calculation of something over three hundred million years for the age of the present earth since sedimentation occurred, and a period of somewhat more than eighteen million years since the first appearance of our mankind.

• The 10th Tamil month, called Thai, falls in the mid-January every year. It is celebrated with much enthusiasm among the Tamil Community all over the world. It is marked by gifting new dresses for the family members and giving prayers to God wishing for prosperity among the people for the coming year. The month of Thai and the fifth month Aavani are considered very auspicious and most marriages usually happen during those months than the other months of the year.

• The fourth month Aadi is considered inauspicious, so usually weddings do not happen in the month. Aadi is also the month of preparation for next crop cycle by farmers. Hence, farming communities avoid major events like weddings in this month. On the contrary (or as advantage) the communities that don't actively contribute/participate in farming take the advantage of having important functions like wedding in this month. For example, the business community prefers this month for wedding. It is usually the worst month for thriving businesses and recently this situation has changed a lot, as the businesses started providing discount shopping during that month. Each Friday of this month is set aside for prayer and worship.

• And another important point to note that for the newly married couple is also an inauspicious month to sleep together. The reason being if the girl who is conceived in this month will deliver the baby in the month of May, the hottest month in Tamil Nadu (Agni natchathiram [pinezu] last 7 days of Chitharai and [munezu] first 7 days of Vaigasi) and it will be tough period for baby delivery.

• The sixth month Purattaasi is auspicious to the effect that, most of the non-vegetarian Tamil people do not eat meat during the month. This faith can be considered much similar to the fasting by Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Each Saturday of this month is set apart to venerate the planet Saturn.

• The full moon days and the new moon days have considerable importance among the Tamil people. One of the famous festivals, the Deepavali, is celebrated on the new moon day, in the seventh month Aipassi. The month of Aipassi is usually characterised by the North-East Monsoon in Tamil Nadu, which has given birth to a phrase, Aipassi Adai Mazhai meaning the "Non-stop Downpour".

• The ninth month Maargazhi is characterised by winter in Tamil Nadu, and considered auspicious for maiden women to find their groom. The Shaivite fast of Tiru-vembaavai and the Vaishnava fast of Tiru-paavai are observed in this month.

• The total number of days in a Tamil Calendar is an average 365 days and day's name are also similar to the western calendar. In temples, and for day to day purposes, Vakiya Panchangam is used. For astrological calculations Trikanitha Panchangam is used.

Festivals

The Tamil Calendar gains so much significance in the life of the Tamil-speaking people that most of the Festivals of Tamil Nadu are based on it. Some of Festivals include Tamil New Year or Puthandu in mid-April, Thai Pongal, Deepavali, Panguni Uthiram, Thirukaarthigai, Aadiperukku, Navaratri etc.

See also

• Puthandu or Tamil New Year

References

Look up calendar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

External links

• Tamil Calendar
• Tamil Monthly Calendar