Samvat Eras and the Six Ritusसंवत् और ऋतु

The eras

• Vikram Samvat — begins 57 BCE, traditionally from King Vikramaditya; the year begins on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in the North (Kartik in Gujarat). Vikram Samvat 2083 began in March 2026.
• Shaka Samvat — begins 78 CE; the basis of the Indian National Calendar adopted in 1957. Shaka 1948 runs through 2026–27.
• Kali Yuga era — counted from 3102 BCE, the traditional start of the Kali age.

The six ritus

• Vasanta (spring) — Chaitra, Vaishakha
• Grishma (summer) — Jyeshtha, Ashadha
• Varsha (rains) — Shravana, Bhadrapada
• Sharad (autumn) — Ashvin, Kartika
• Hemanta (pre-winter) — Margashirsha, Pausha
• Shishira (winter) — Magha, Phalguna

The ritus follow the solar year more closely; their exact correspondence with lunar months varies in different texts and regions.

Uttarayana and Dakshinayana

The year is also divided into two halves: Uttarayana, when the Sun moves north (from Makar Sankranti in the traditional reckoning), the "day of the gods" and an auspicious time; and Dakshinayana, when it moves south, beginning around Karka Sankranti in July. Bhishma, in the Mahabharata, waited for Uttarayana before leaving his body.

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