Hindu calendar?

[DavidC]

How about an article or mentioning a link or book on the Hindu calendar? I have looked up Krishna Janmastami but would like to look up several others and really all the main gods. I have heard there are millions of gods--such as in many local areas--but is there some reason to have a day for some of them? I suppose the main ones are known throughout India.

[Eastern Mind]

David: Did you try searching on the word 'panchangam'? Many festivals are more than a day. Navarathri is 9 or 10, depends where you are. Skandha Shasti is 6 days, last day is today. Its a more inner celebration than an outer one.

You would have to search a panchangam or calendar each year as the western calendar dates always change from year to year. Many Hindu temple websites also publish calendars as a service to their own community. Several are put on line, too. Hope this helps a bit.

Aum Namasivaya

[Eastern Mind]

I did some browsing on the topic. Some sites had many festival days listed. But once again I encountered the North/South divide if you will. On sites originating out of the north, there was often little or no mention of the Tamil festivals, for example. One had Tamil New Year off by 3 months. (I'm sure the opposite is true. On my temple's calendar, there is no mention of Ram Navami or Krishna Janmashtami, for example. Yet there is the 21 day Vinayaka Vitrayam, and the 10 day Thiruvempavai, both in December)

Individual sects, individuals themselves, languages, states, geographic locations, etc. all factor in. Often each temple also has its own annual festival going on for any number of days. That can certainly be an individual's favorite festival. (It is for me.) Also here in the west some people don't take time zone changes, latitude, into effect. A temple or individual will order a panchang from Delhi, and just use those times, even for daily Rasu time. One year here, because of the use of 2 separate panchangs, two temples celebrated Vinayaka (Ganesha) Chaturthi a month apart.

I know this doesn't clarify anything other than pointing out the standard 'there is much diversity' theme.

Aum Namasivaya

[DavidC]

Thanks; you explained a lot that I had not known. I am copying the terms into my to-do list and will have to take much/all of a day eventually to see what else I might be interested in.

[saidevo]

I understand that Himalayan Academy has an International Hindu Panchangam for different locales in the world and deliver the computations as a pdf document at a minimal charge. The link is: http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/panchangam/#2008-2009

A monthly panchAnggam in the typical format is published here:
http://www.astrojyoti.com/panchang.htm

Wikipedia has a well written article about the Hindu calendar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_calendar

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Bumping this old thread. I was manager at our temple this morning, and a person came to buy an archana but didn't know their nakshatra. I know there are naksharta calculators on line. Our temple doesn't have a handy dandy computer there. So I was wondering if anyone knew of a written resource that would publish this historical data in print. I know it would be complicated because of latitude, time zones, and all that, but I think it would be kind of nice if the temple had one. This is not the first time I've had this problem. A lot of people don't know what a nakshatra is let alone what its purpose or use might be.

Aum Namasivaya

[zenvicky]

Namaste,

"Lala Ranswaroop Ramnarayan Panchang" is most widely used and very detailed Hindi Panchang in India. I have one at my home and seen them at most of my relatives house since my childhood. They have a paid online version here...

http://lalaramswaroopindia.com

http://www.calantar.com/

I have seen only hard copied Hindi version. I am not sure of English one. Please check before you pay.

Aum Namah Shivaya

[Water]

.... what is the purpose and use of the nakshatra?

I thought it was only really related to possible birth names and Jyotish, to be honest....

[Eastern Mind]

.... what is the purpose and use of the nakshatra?

I thought it was only really related to possible birth names and Jyotish, to be honest....

Vannakkam Water: Nakshatra is the moon sign. Most Hindus consider it more important than any other aspect. At least that is true in my tradition. When you purchase a personal puja called an archana at a temple, the priest asks for gotra, nakshatra, and name. It tells the deity a bit about you so the deity can focus more specifically on you.

Aum Namasivaya

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste,

"Lala Ranswaroop Ramnarayan Panchang" is most widely used and very detailed Hindi Panchang in India. I have one at my home and seen them at most of my relatives house since my childhood. They have a paid online version here...

http://lalaramswaroopindia.com

http://www.calantar.com/

I have seen only hard copied Hindi version. I am not sure of English one. Please check before you pay.

Aum Namah Shivaya


Vannakkam: There are several free on line panchangs that give all the information for current years. Many are done to a local place. Those often don't factor in longitude (time zones), and latitude. So dawn in Coimbatore is different than dawn in New York City. So would all other timings be different.

I'm looking for one that shows history for say 60 years, but just nakshatra, nothing else. Probably doesn't exist.

There are also many sites on line that will calculate nakshatras for you, just by you giving it the information. But I've experimented with several of these, feeding them identical information. Sometimes the nakshatra will vary by one, depending on the calculator you use. I'm assuming that this occurs far more often if one was born right near the cusp (not sure of the correct term) of a nakshatra change.

Aum Namasivaya

[Harinama]

I follow the Vaishnava calendar, where every month is a name of Lord Vishnu, and holy days and Ekadashi are marked. :D

[shastriji]

Pranam

Past nakshatras upto 100 years (1900 to 2006) are at http://www.mypanchang.com/100yearspanchangam.php

from 2007 to 2012:
http://www.mypanchang.com/panchangam2012.php

You can select the year in the drop down menu and place.


Sevak


Vannakkam: There are several free on line panchangs that give all the information for current years. Many are done to a local place. Those often don't factor in longitude (time zones), and latitude. So dawn in Coimbatore is different than dawn in New York City. So would all other timings be different.

I'm looking for one that shows history for say 60 years, but just nakshatra, nothing else. Probably doesn't exist.

There are also many sites on line that will calculate nakshatras for you, just by you giving it the information. But I've experimented with several of these, feeding them identical information. Sometimes the nakshatra will vary by one, depending on the calculator you use. I'm assuming that this occurs far more often if one was born right near the cusp (not sure of the correct term) of a nakshatra change.

Aum Namasivaya

[Amala]

Namaste,

Can anyone talk about the appearances and disappearances on the calendar? I have no idea what that means. I saw mention of it on one site as being specific to ISKON, but I only glanced at the page and perhaps misread or misinterpreted it.

Thanks!

[Believer]

Namaste,

Can anyone talk about the appearances and disappearances on the calendar? I have no idea what that means.
The Acharayas, Gurus and Sages are considered to appear and disappear in this material world instead of being born and dying. Their birth and death anniversaries are observed as appearance and disappearance days.

Pranam.

[Amala]

Namaste,

Very interesting! How are they observed? Is it a universal observance, or usually concentrated in certain sects?


Namaste,

The Acharayas, Gurus and Sages are considered to appear and disappear in this material world instead of being born and dying. Their birth and death anniversaries are observed as appearance and disappearance days.

Pranam.