The Odia calendar

What kind of calendar it is

The Odia calendar, used in Odisha and by Odia families around the world, combines two cycles. The year and its months are solar: each month begins when the Sun enters a new zodiac sign. Religious dates, however, are set by the Moon, using tithis and lunar months. The yearly Odia almanac, called a panjika, lists both.

The Jagannath Temple in Puri has a long almanac tradition of its own, and many festival dates in Odisha are fixed with the temple's calendar in mind. For lunar months, most descriptions of the Odia system call it Purnimanta, where the month ends on the full moon, though sources differ on this. Follow the panjika your family or temple uses.

Era and year number

Odisha has its own era. The sources say the Utkaliya era (also called the Amli or Odia era) is counted from 592 CE, so the number is about 592 less than the Gregorian year. Several sources say the era began on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadrapada, the day called Sunia, and that the year number changes then, in September, and not at the solar New Year in April. Sources differ on this, so use the year printed in your panjika.

A separate count, called the Anka year, is a regnal year used for the reign of the Gajapati king of Puri. It also changes at Sunia. Most families never need it, but it appears at Jagannath Temple events.

The twelve months

Spellings vary in English (Baisakh, Shravana, Bhadrapada). These are common transliterations.

The New Year

The Odia New Year is Maha Vishuva Sankranti, also called Pana Sankranti, on Baisakha 1, around April 13 or 14. It marks the Sun's entry into Mesha. The name Pana comes from a sweet cooling drink offered to the deities and shared with visitors. Temples are busy, and the day begins the new solar year of months in the panjika. The era number itself may change at Sunia, as explained above.

Festivals that differ from the North Indian calendar

Odisha shares most festivals with the rest of India, but several have a very local identity.

• Rath Yatra at Puri, on Ashadha Shukla Dwitiya, the best-known festival of the state.
• Raja Parba, a three-day festival (some count a fourth day, Basumati Snana) around the Sun's entry into Mithuna, in mid June, honouring the earth and womanhood, with rice cakes (pitha) and, in many places, swings.
• Nuakhai in western Odisha, on Bhadrapada Shukla Panchami, when the first new rice of the season is offered to the deity and shared.
• Kartika Purnima, with Boita Bandana, when people float small boats of paper and leaves to remember the ancient sea voyages of Odia traders.
• Kumar Purnima on the full moon of Ashwina, a festival of the Moon kept especially by girls and young people.
• Makara Sankranti, with a special mix of foods offered at the temple.

How the day is reckoned

The day runs from sunrise to sunrise. The tithi at sunrise usually names the day. For solar dates, a rule decides on which civil day the Sun's entry counts, so the start of a month may differ by a day between panjikas. Odia temples, especially at Puri, sometimes announce their own date; follow it for temple festivals.

How it differs from the site's main Panchang

The site's main pages use Vikram Samvat in the Chaitradi Purnimanta style.

1. The Odia year begins at the Sun's entry into Mesha, not at Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. The first Odia month is Baisakha, and the last is Chaitra.
2. The months are solar, so they begin on a solar date, though festivals follow the lunar tithi in the same way as on the main pages.
3. The era is the Utkaliya count of about 592 less than the Gregorian year, not the Vikram count of 56 or 57 more.

Lunar festivals, such as Rath Yatra, Kartika Purnima and Diwali, fall on the same tithi as on the main pages, so the site's usual dates apply.