National Symbols: National Calendar

2017·2.2 MB·English

by  Centre for Cultural Resources and Training

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National Calendar
NATIONAL SYMBOLS
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
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https://archive.org/details/nationalcalendarOOunse_O
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NATIONAL CALENDAR
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Foreword
For the celebration of the 50th year of India's independence, the Centre for Cultural
Resources and Training has produced eight small booklets on the National Symbols of India-
the Emblem, Flag, Anthem, Song, Calendar, Animal, Bird and Flower. These bring out the
beauty and sensitivity represented in India's ancient philosophy and culture.
National Symbols provide an identity and the choice of symbols often reflect the values of a
particular nation. The National Symbols of India are the manifestations of Man's yearning
for spiritual and emotional well being, harmony with nature and are the expressions of his
artistic creativity through the ages.
An attempt has been made in these booklets to give a brief historical background of the
National Symbols of free India. For example, the National Flag, Anthem and Song tell us the
story of India's Freedom Movement, where great literateurs, musicians, social reformers and
thinkers came together to free India from the colonial rule in a manner unique to the history
of mankind. Or, for instance, in the booklets of the National Symbols on the Tiger, Peacock
or Lotus, one can see how nature - the flora and fauna have inspired the creative genius of the
visual artist, poet, musician or dancer. The culmination of the stylised representation of the
Lotus can be seen in the architecture of the Bahai temple in Delhi and the rich heritage of the
Mughal miniature painting of the Peacock of circa 1610 C.E. The booklet on the Calendar
traces the history of the ancient knowledge of calculating time which has resulted in a variety
of calendars in use today and Ashoka's philosophy and the great tradition of artistic
expressions of his times have given India its National Emblem.
The CCRT has used information provided in the records available with government agencies
and other authentic sources to make this publication as informative as possible. Numerous
people have helped in the production of the publication and the Centre would like to express
gratitude to all of them.
The CCRT dedicates this publication to the unknown and unsung soldiers of the Freedom
Movement and also to the young generation who are, the hope of the future and will carry
forward the cultural traditions, ideals and values of our great scientists, philosophers, artists,
freedom fighters into the next millennium. This publication endeavours in creating self¬
esteem and national pride in acknowledging the fact of being an Indian and hopes to inspire
the youth to take India forward as a leader among nations ; where tolerance, love, respect for
man and nature and the diversity of cultures will instil universal values of truth, beauty and
goodness. Each booklet provides suggested activities to enlarge the scope of knowledge of
the reader.
Surendra Kaul
Director General
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4
CALENDAR
We judge the cultural standards of the ancient people by the calendar they used. In the
appearance and development of the calendar, we find evidence of a mass of astronomical
observations and mathematical solution, of an organised society, with its comprehensive
administrative and military state machinery, commodity production, international trade, a
higher intelligentsia and higher spiritual interests. So the development of the calendar not
only reflects the history of ancient astronomy but also ancient civilization in general.
The basic unit in measuring time is the day. It is the period of a full revolution of the earth
round its axis. In ancient times, the determination of the duration of one day was particularly
difficult. The solar day, or the interval of time between two consecutive moments in each of
which the shadow of a vertical rod shrinks to its minimum length, is slightly longer than the
period of time in which the Earth actually makes a full revolution round its axis. In other
words, the solar day is slightly longer than the actual or sidereal day. We can understand how
this discrepancy could, in the course of years, affect the calendar unless it was detected and
computed, the calendar would gain time and the time of year in the calendar would lag
behind its initial seasonal and climatic characteristics.
Time was measured in many ways by people in the history of mankind. The thinkers in
ancient India had evolved a cyclic concept of time made up of yugas. manvantaras and
kalpas. The universe is without beginning and without end going on recurrent phase of
manifestation and dissolution. There are four yugas or ages for measuring time. The first
yuga called Krnita is followed by Treta, Dvapara and Kali respectively. Each Yuga or age
represents a progressive decline in virtue, morality, happiness and longevity. The Kraita is
the golden, the Treta the silver, the Dvapara the copper and the Kali the iron age. The four
yugas constitute the Mahayuga of millions of earthly years. Each thousand Mahayugas
making a Kalpa' which is said to be equivalent to one day of Brahma's existence. Within
each 'Kalpa', there are fourteen (14) 'manvantaras' ox secondary cycles. At the end of each
manvantaras the world is recreated. We are aware that the flux of time is cyclic in several
natural phenomena, for instance,
(i) by the ever-recurring alternation of day and night
(ii) by the recurrence of different phases of the moon
(iii) by the recurrence of various seasons
These recurring phenomenons record the measuring of'time'.
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The measuring of time also has been a very fascinating and interesting subject in the history
of mankind. Some of the first inventions or devices for measurement of time were gnomon,
the sundial, the 'water clocks' or clepsydrae (an instrument used for measuring time by the
flow of water) used in ancient Egypt, China or the Roman Empire followed by 'The Sinking
Bowls'. Bhaskaracharya, the celebrated mathematician and astronomer wrote a book on
arithmatic, entitled 'Lilavati'. The narration also refers to a time - measuring device that was
in vogue but even now, there are isolated cases of its employment for determining the time of
certain rituals.
The beginning of organised social life and agricultural practices depending on seasonal
weather conditions, gave birth to religious festivals. People wanted to know in advance when
to expect the new moon or full moon. A calendar is a means of grouping days for regulating
civic life, religious observances, historical and scientific purpose. The word "calendar" is
derived from the Latin calendarium meaning interesting register or account book, itself a
derivation from calendae (or kalendae), the first day of Roman month, the day on which
future market days, feasts and other occasions were proclaimed.
Let us consider how the best known ancient calendar, the Egyptian one, came to be the basis
of our modem calendar, now in use in most countries of our planet. The first practical
calendar to evolve from these requirements was the Egyptian. According to American
archaeologist, James Henry Breasted (1865-1935), it was a practically convenient calendar
adopted in 4236 B.C.E, the earliest dated record in the intellectual history of mankind. The
Romans then developed it into the Julian Calendar which was used in western Europe for
more then 1,500 years. The Gregorian Calendar, known for the contribution and reforms by
Pope Gregory XIII in the later part of the sixteenth century (1582 C.E.), was a further
improvement and is now almost universally adopted. Such a calendar system is complex,
since the periods of the Moon's phases and the Sun's motion are incompatible, but by
adopting cycles of days and comparatively simple mles for their application, the calendar
provides an year with an error of less than half a minute. However in many parts of the world
and in India, the calendar based on a lunar system is widely accepted as it gives an accurate
account of the days and months.
India’s National Calendar - Saka Era
It is commonly believed that Saka Era began in 78 C.E. with the coronation of Kanishka.
Prof. M.N. Saha suggests that the year of King Kanishka is year 201 of the old Saka. If this
suggestion be correct, since the old Saka era is taken to have started in 123 B.C.E instead of
129 B.C.E, as also postulated by L.de Leeun, Kanishka started reigning in 201 minus 123,
that is, in 78 C.E.
7
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