The Nepali calendar

What kind of calendar it is

Nepal's official calendar is Bikram Sambat (BS), the Nepali form of the Vikram era. In Nepal it is used as a solar calendar: each month begins when the Sun enters a new zodiac sign, and the year begins on the first of Baisakh, in mid April. Festivals, however, follow the lunar tithi, as they do in India. Nepali almanacs, called patro, show both.

This differs from the Vikram Samvat in much of North India, where the months are lunar. The era is the same, and so is the zero point, but the months are counted in a different way.

Era and year number

The Vikram era counts from 57 BCE. In Nepal the year number is the Gregorian year plus 56 from January 1 until Baisakh 1, and the Gregorian year plus 57 from Baisakh 1 until the end of the Gregorian year. The year therefore changes in April, as in the Indian solar calendars, and not at the Gregorian New Year.

Nepal also has other eras in use among particular communities. The best known is Nepal Sambat, a lunisolar era used by the Newar people, counted from 879 CE. It is a separate system and not covered in detail here.

The twelve months

Spellings differ widely in English (Jestha or Jeth, Asar or Ashad, Ashoj or Ashwin, Mangsir or Margashirsha). The names follow the Sanskrit month names, with Nepali pronunciation.

Month lengths in Nepal are not fixed. Each month has between 29 and 32 days, and the lengths change from year to year according to the Sun's actual motion. The official calendar for the year is published ahead of time by the Nepali government. Because of this, there is no simple rule such as "Baisakh always has 31 days".

The New Year

Nepali New Year falls on Baisakh 1, between April 13 and 15 in the Gregorian calendar. It is a public holiday in Nepal. It is marked with family visits, temple trips, new clothes, and local festivals. Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur, with its chariot procession, takes place around this time, and similar jatras (processions) are held in other Newar towns.

Festivals that differ from the North Indian calendar

The big festivals of Nepal are lunar and the dates are the same as the Indian lunar days, but they are named and kept in a distinctive Nepali way.

• Dashain in Ashwin, the longest and most important festival, lasting about fifteen days. Elders give tika (a mark of rice, yoghurt and red colour) and blessings to younger relatives on the tenth day, Bijaya Dashami.
• Tihar, the festival of lights, lasting five days, with offerings to crows, dogs, cows and oxen, then Laxmi Puja, and Bhai Tika for brothers and sisters.
• Teej, a festival for women in Bhadra, observed with fasting, red clothing and songs.
• Janai Purnima on the full moon of Shrawan, when many Hindu men change their sacred thread, and others tie a protective cord on the wrist.
• Maghe Sankranti on Magh 1, marked with sesame, ghee and sweet potatoes.

How the day is reckoned

A day runs from sunrise to sunrise. The solar date is printed in the patro with the lunar tithi next to it. The tithi at sunrise names the day, as in India, with special rules for festivals. Nepal's time zone is 15 minutes ahead of India's, which can matter when you compare printed times, but the site computes times for your city.

How it differs from the site's main Panchang

The site's main pages use Vikram Samvat in the Chaitradi Purnimanta style. Compared with that, the Nepali calendar differs as follows.

1. Its months are solar, so Baisakh begins at the Sun's entry into Mesha rather than at a new or full moon.
2. Its New Year is in mid April, close to Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in some years but not tied to it.
3. Month lengths vary by year and come from the official Nepali table.

The year number is the same as the Vikram Samvat year number for most of the year. The two can differ for a few weeks in spring, between Chaitra Shukla Pratipada and Baisakh 1. Lunar festivals such as Dashain and Tihar can be read from the site's main pages.