The Tamil calendar
How the Tamil solar calendar works, with its twelve months from Chithirai to Panguni, the Tamil New Year, and how it differs from Vikram Samvat.
What kind of calendar it is
The Tamil calendar, used in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and by Tamil communities abroad, is mainly a solar calendar. Each month begins when the Sun enters a new zodiac sign, so a Tamil month always sits in nearly the same place in the Gregorian year. Chithirai, for example, starts around April 14 and Thai starts around January 14.
Moon-based dates still matter. A Tamil panchangam (almanac) lists tithis (lunar days) and nakshatras (stars) for every day, and many temple festivals and vrats follow them. You can think of it as a solar frame with lunar observances inside it. Some sources call the whole system lunisolar for this reason, and the wording differs from book to book.
Years and eras
Tamil panchangams traditionally name each year from a cycle of sixty names, which begins with Prabhava, Vibhava and Shukla and then repeats after sixty years. This is the same Prabhavadi cycle that Telugu, Kannada and Marathi almanacs use.
Tamil Nadu also has an official era called the Thiruvalluvar year, which is the Gregorian year plus 31. It was based on a traditional date for the poet Thiruvalluvar, author of the Tirukkural, and the state government accepted it in 1971. Almanacs also quote the Vikram and Shaka eras, so you may see more than one year number on a Tamil calendar.
The year number changes at the Tamil New Year, not on January 1.
The twelve months
| No. | Tamil month | Sun enters | Roughly begins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chithirai | Mesha (Aries) | Mid April |
| 2 | Vaikasi | Vrishabha (Taurus) | Mid May |
| 3 | Aani | Mithuna (Gemini) | Mid June |
| 4 | Aadi | Karka (Cancer) | Mid July |
| 5 | Avani | Simha (Leo) | Mid August |
| 6 | Purattasi | Kanya (Virgo) | Mid September |
| 7 | Aippasi | Tula (Libra) | Mid October |
| 8 | Karthigai | Vrischika (Scorpio) | Mid November |
| 9 | Margazhi | Dhanu (Sagittarius) | Mid December |
| 10 | Thai | Makara (Capricorn) | Mid January |
| 11 | Maasi | Kumbha (Aquarius) | Mid February |
| 12 | Panguni | Meena (Pisces) | Mid March |
Spellings vary in English (Avani is also written Aavani, and Margazhi is also written Margali). The names follow the Tamil pronunciation of the old Sanskrit sign names.
The New Year
Puthandu, the Tamil New Year, falls on Chithirai 1, around April 14. Families set out an auspicious first sight called the kani, enjoy a dish called mango pachadi, and visit the temple. See the Puthandu page for the customs.
There has been public discussion about whether the Tamil New Year should be Chithirai 1 or Thai 1, the day of Pongal. The state government moved it to Thai 1 in 2008 and returned it to Chithirai 1 in 2011. Many Tamils celebrate both Puthandu and Pongal as festive days in any case.
Festivals that differ from the North Indian calendar
Because the month is solar, many Tamil observances are fixed to a day of a Tamil month or a star in that month. Some well-known examples:
- Pongal in Thai, the harvest festival of the Sun.
- Karthigai Deepam in Karthigai, the festival of lamps on the day the Krittika star meets the full moon.
- Thai Poosam in Thai, when the Pushya star (Poosam) is honoured, closely linked with Lord Murugan.
- Aadi Perukku on the 18th day of Aadi, a river and water festival.
- Panguni Uthiram in Panguni, linked with several divine weddings.
- Margazhi is a month of early-morning prayer, with the recitation of Tiruppavai and Tiruvempavai.
Diwali, Navaratri and Maha Shivaratri are kept by Tamil households as well, on the usual lunar days. Karthigai Deepam is a good example of the mixing: the month is solar, but the day is chosen by the Moon and a star.
How the day is reckoned
A Tamil day runs from sunrise to the next sunrise. A subtle point is the first day of each month. When the Sun enters a new sign close to sunset or in the night, panchangams follow a stated rule to decide whether the month starts that day or the next. For this reason, two printed Tamil calendars can differ by one day, and a temple may announce its own date. Follow the almanac your family or temple uses.
How it differs from the site's main Panchang
The main pages of this site follow Vikram Samvat in the Chaitradi, Purnimanta way, where months run from full moon to full moon and the year starts in Chaitra. The Tamil calendar is different in three ways.
- Its months are solar and begin at the Sun's entry into a sign, rather than at a new or full moon.
- Its new year follows the Sun's entry into Mesha, not Chaitra Shukla Pratipada.
- Month names such as Chithirai and Aani are different words from Chaitra and Jyeshtha, and they do not line up with them. Chithirai and Chaitra overlap, but they are not the same period.
For lunar festivals such as Diwali or Maha Shivaratri, the Tamil panchangam and this site's main Panchang agree on the day, because both use the same tithi. The differences show up in month-based festivals and in the New Year.