About The Vaisnava Calendar CalendarVaisnava calendar .info's calculations are made with the ISKCON-approved
Gcal 6 software written by the GBC Calendar Comittee. Below is some information about the Vedic Calendar taken
from the documentation that comes along with the VCAL distribution. IntroductionVCAL calculates Vedic lunar calendars. There are different ways to make calendars according to the Vedic lunar system, all very similar. This program makes the calendar according to the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, an important branch of the Vaisnava tradition. The word "Vaisnava" denotes a worshiper of Visnu. VCAL has been developed for ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which follows the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. But the calendars VCAL produces should be useful for most people who follow a Vedic lunar calendar. VCAL was written by Syamasundara Dasa. He and Markandeya Rsi Dasa developed it further. To develop the program, in June 1989 Markandeya went to India for extensive research and consultation with persons knowledgeable about calendar making, astronomy, and Vaisnava observances. The learning and expertise of those consulted have contributed greatly to the reliability of this program. Some basic astronomy
a. The movements of the moon and sun The extent of this relative movement comes to roughly 13 degrees per day. Thus the moon will complete a full rotation through the belt of stars, called the zodiac, in about one month. A similar situation is true for the sun. Because the stars are too weak to be seen during the day, we cannot see the sun and the stars simultaneously. But if we could, we would see the sun moving gradually against the background of the stars. The sun, however, moves more slowly than the moon -- only about 1 degree each day. So we would have to wait longer to observe the difference. For the sun to come back to the same group of stars on the zodiac takes one year.
b. The definitions of solar and lunar months and years
i. The solar month and year
ii. The lunar month and year In the Vaisnava calendar a month starts the day after one full moon and continues through the next full moon. This takes about 29.5 days. Just as 12 solar months make one solar year, 12 lunar months make one lunar year. Since one lunar month takes 29.5 days, 12 such months will take about 12 times that long -- that is, 354 days. This lunar year is 11 days shorter than the 365-day solar year, so although the month synchronizes with the lunar phases, the year does not synchronize with the seasons. Counting by the solar calendar, every solar year the lunar year will begin 11 days earlier. So, to synchronize the lunar year with the seasons, the Vedic calendar adds an extra month about every third year, according to certain rules. In this way the lunar and solar years stay in synch. The Pancanga, or the Vedic calendarThe Vedic calendar is called Pancanga. The word Pancanga indicates that the calendar consists of five parts, or tells about five elements. These elements are vara (the day of the week), tithi (the lunar day, or phase of the moon), karana (half a tithi), naksatra (the position of the moon in the zodiac), and yoga (a measurement derived from the positions of the sun and moon). For normal use of the calendar, one need not understand all these elements. But some of them are described as follows.
a. Tithi Now the second tithi starts, and it continues until the angle between the sun and moon has increased 12 degrees more. Slightly more of the bright side of the moon now has its back to us, and so the moon is even less full. When 15 such tithis have passed, the angle between the sun and the moon has increased by 180 degrees. This time the bright side of the moon cannot be seen at all, and so we have a new moon. Then 15 more tithis gradually pass, and the moon again becomes full. When 30 tithis have thus passed, the month ends. The period when the moon wanes, or decreases in size, is called krsna paksa ("the dark fortnight"), and the period when it waxes, or increases, is called sukla paksa or gaura paksa ("the bright fortnight"). The words Krsna and Gaura used here are specific to the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition. Some lunar calendars start the month from the 0-degree position -- that is, directly after the new moon. Such calendars are called mukhya candra. Other calendars, such as the one used by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, start directly after the full moon, with the Krsna paksa. Such calendars are called gauna candra. Except for the new moon and the full moon, the names of the tithis are simply counting words: pratipat, dvitiya, trtiya (first, second, third), etc. These names are the same for the tithis occurring during Krsna paksa (the dark period of the moon) and the gaura paksa (the bright period). The new moon is called amavasya, and the full moon purnima.
There are certain tithis on which the followers of the Vedic culture follow various observances or celebrations. On what day is such a tithi to be observed? The general rule is that one will celebrate a tithi on that day whose sunrise falls within the tithi, though sometimes other rules come into effect. The Ekadasi tithi is especially important, and special rules determine when to observe Ekadasi. Special rules also sometimes apply for festivals such as Sri Krsna Janmastami.
b. Naksatra While moving over the zodiac, the moon continuously passes through these naksatras one by one. In the Vedic calendar, naksatra simply refers to the naksatra within which the moon is present at sunrise on any particular day.
c. Yoga Reasons to follow a lunar calendarIn the Vaisnava calendar the times for various celebrations are determined by the tithi, sometimes with naksatra and other elements of the calendar taken into account. Most scholars who have analyzed the old Indian calendar systems, both lunar and solar, have concluded that the lunar system is the more ancient. The lunar phases are known to influence agriculture, and according to scriptures like Manu-samhita (The Law of Manu) they also influence more subtle aspects of human life. Traditional and modern methods of calculationTraditionally the astronomical calculations needed to make a Pancanga were done according to one of the astronomical texts such as Surya Siddhanta. The methods described in Surya Siddhanta are basically quite similar to modern astronomical methods for ascertaining the positions of the planets. The main difference is that Surya Siddhanta has a simpler model. Such a model is needed if the calculations are to be done by hand in a practical way. The methods of Surya Siddhanta could be used by a skillful person at any time, without the need for modern equipment. All that was needed were some observatory instruments that could be built without high technology. These instruments were used regularly to check that the calculations tallied with observable reality. When a difference appeared after some time, corrections were made to the astronomical constants in the formulas. With this system, fairly good results were obtainable even though the astronomical model was simple. Its accuracy cannot be compared to that obtained by modern methods, but for the purpose of astrology and creation of calendars it sufficed. This computer program uses formulas that give an accuracy of 1 minute of arc for the longitude of the sun and 2 minutes of arc for the longitude of the moon. When determining ending times of tithis these errors can result in a maximum error of 5 minutes of time. The average error is about 3 minutes. Such an error will report an Ekadasi (the eleventh tithi) on the wrong date roughly once every 20 years. Some comments on interpreting the Vaisnava calendar
a. Names of years and months
"You should recommend the avoidance of mixed [viddha] Ekadasi and the performance of pure Ekadasi. You should also describe the fault in not observing this. One should be very careful as far as these items are concerned. If one is not careful, one will be negligent in executing devotional service." As described in the book Hari Bhakti Vilasa, viddha (mixed) Ekadasi takes place when the eleventh tithi starts before sunrise but the tenth tithi still presides at the beginning of brahma muhurta (the auspicious period that starts an hour and a half before sunrise). On Ekadasi it is traditional to fast. But under certain conditions, called mahadvadasi, one fasts not on the Ekadasi but on the next day, the dvadasi, even though the Ekadasi is suddha, or pure, and not viddha, or mixed. There are eight mahadvadasis. The calendars produced by this program make it easy to see when to observe Ekadasi. The Ekadasi fast should be observed on the day called suddha (pure) Ekadasi, or alternatively on Mahadvadasi, even if the previous day is called Ekadasi. All this is clarified by the asterisk (*), which indicates a fast, at the right margin of the calendar.
c. "Break fast 05:18 - 09:34" and "Daylight-savings not considered" During the summer, many locations do not follow standard time, but instead move their clocks an hour ahead (or sometimes more) to make more use of the hours of daylight. So, for example, 5 o'clock in the morning becomes 6 o'clock instead. The Vedic Calendar program does not take such daylight-saving time into account. So for days when your location uses daylight-saving time, you must adjust the times given by the calendar. Generally, this means that when daylight-saving time is in effect you should add an hour to the times given.
d. Double or no tithi A person's birthday is determined by the tithi prevailing at the moment the person was born. Every year thereafter, the day to celebrate as the birthday should be the day whose sunrise occurs during that same tithi. If the tithi prevails on two consecutive sunrises, the sunrise that has the same naksatra as at birth will be the proper day for celebration. If neither sunrise occurs with that naksatra, then the latter of the two days should be chosen. If there is no day whose sunrise occurs during that particular tithi, then the day within which the tithi falls should be chosen as the day of celebration. Suppose, for example, that a person's appearance day should be celebrated on dvitiya tithi in the month of Kesava and that for the month of Kesava the calendar lists two dvitiya tithis, one after another. And suppose that the naksatra that prevailed at birth is not present. Then the second dvitiya should be chosen as the day of celebration. If the calendar shows no dvitiya at all, then the appearance day should be celebrated on the day listed as pratipat, because the dvitiya phase of the moon will occur during that day.
e. Sankranti
f. Names for the signs of the zodiac
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