EPOCH. 



75 



legists have computed this era from the 15th of July, 

 but Cantemir has given examples, proving that, in 

 most ancient times, the 16th was the first day of the 

 era ; and now there can be no question, that such is 

 the practice of Mohammedans. The year is purely 

 lunar, consisting of 12 months, each month com- 

 mencing with the appearance of the new moon, 

 without any intercalation to bring the commence- 

 ment of the year to the same season. It is obvious, 

 that, by such an arrangement, every year will begin 

 much earlier in the season than the preceding, being- 

 no w in summer, and, in the course of 16 years, in 

 winter. Such a mode of reckoning, so much at 

 variance with the order of nature, could scarcely have 

 been in use beyond the pastoral and semi-barbarous 

 nation by whom it was adopted, without the power- 

 ful aid of fanaticism ; and even that lias not been 

 able to prevent the use of other methods by learned 

 men in their computations, and by governments in 

 the collection of revenue. It will also be remarked, 

 that, as the Mohammedans begin each month with 

 the appearance of the new moon, a few cloudy days 

 might retard the commencement of a month, mak- 

 ing the preceding month longer than usual. This, 

 iii fact, is the case, and two parts of the same coun- 

 try will sometimes differ a day in consequence ; 

 although the clear skies of those countries where 

 Islamism prevails rarely occasion much inconveni- 

 ence on this head. But in chronology and history, 

 as well as in all documents, they use months of 30 

 and 29 days, alternately, making the year thus to 

 consist of 354 days : eleven times in 30 years, one 

 day is added to the last month, making 355 days in 

 that year. Consequently the average length of a year 

 is taken at 354ii days, the 12th of which is 29iji, 

 differing from the true lunation very little more than 3 

 seconds, which will not amount to a day in less than 

 2260 years a degree of exactness which could not 

 have been attained without long continued observa- 

 tions. The intercalary year of 355 days occurs on 

 the 2d, 5th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 18th, 21st, 24th, 

 26th, and 29th years of every 30 years. Any year 

 being given, to know whether it be intercalary or not, 

 divide by 30, and if either of the above numbers re- 

 main, the year will be one of 355 days. To reduce 

 the year of the Hegira to that of the Christian, the 

 following mode, though not strictly accurate, is suffi- 

 ciently so for most purposes. The Mohammedan 

 year being a lunar year of 354 days, 33 such years 

 will make 32 of ours. We have only, then, to de- 

 duct one year for each 33 in any given number of 

 Mohammedan years, and add 622 (the year of our era, 

 from which their computation commences), and we 

 obtain the corresponding year of the Christian era. 



Indian Chronology. The natives of India use a 

 great variety of epochs, some of which are but little 

 understood, even by themselves, and almost all are 

 deficient in universality and uniformity, so that the 

 same epoch, nominally, will be found to vary many 

 days, or even a year, in different provinces. The solar, 

 or, more properly, the sidereal year, is that which is 

 most in use for public business, particularly since the 

 introduction of European power into India. This year 

 is calculated by the Indian astronomers at 365 days, 

 6 hours, 12 minutes, 30 seconds, or, according to 

 others, 36 seconds. Therefore, in 60 Indian years, 

 there will be a day more than in 60 Gregorian years. 

 The difference arises from not taking into considera- 

 tion the precession of the equinoxes, which is equal, 

 in reality, to something more than 20 minutes, 

 though by them calculated at 23 minutes. The 

 luni-solar computation is not at present so common 

 as it formerly was, although still much used in some 

 parts of India, and common everywhere in the regu- 

 lation of festivals, and in domestic arrangements. 



Both the solar and luni-solar forms may be used wi'.h 

 most of the Indian eras, though some more particu- 

 larly affect one form and some the other. The luni- 

 solar mode varies in different provinces, some be- 

 ginning the month at full moon, others at new 

 moon. We shall describe that beginning by the full 

 moon which is used in Bengal ; the other method 

 will be easily understood when this is known. 

 Each year begins on the day of full moon pre- 

 ceding the beginning of the solar year of the sume 

 date. The months are divided into halves, the first 

 of which is entitled badi, or dark, being from the 

 full moon to the new ; and the last, sudi, or bright, 

 from new to full moon. These divisions are some- 

 times of 14 and sometimes of 15 days, and are num- 

 bered generally from 1 to 15, though the last day of 

 the badi half is called 15, and that of sudi is called 

 30. By a complicated arrangement, a day is some- 

 times omitted, and again a day is intercalated, so 

 that, instead of going on regularly in numerical 

 order, these days may be reckoned 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 

 7, 8, 10. The subject is enveloped in some obscurity ; 

 and it will be, perhaps, sufficient to observe, that the 

 time of a lunation is divided into 30 parts, called 

 tiths, and, when two tiths occur in the same solar day, 

 that day is omitted hi the lunar reckoning, and 

 restored by intercalation at some other period. When 

 two full moons occur in one solar month, the month 

 also is named twice, making a year of thirteen months. 

 In the case, also, of a short solar month, in which 

 there should be no full moon, the month would be 

 altogether omitted. All these circumstances render 

 the luni-solar computation a matter of much difficulty; 

 and to reduce it exactly to our era, would require a 

 perfect knowledge of Hindoo astronomy. But as the 

 solar reckoning is by far the most general, we shall 

 only observe, that the lunar month precedes the solar 

 month by a lunation at most ; and consequently a 

 lunar date may be nearly known from the solar time, 

 which is of easy calculation. The eras which are 

 generally known are the following : 



The Caliyug. This era is the most ancient of India, 

 and dates from a period 3101 years before Christ. 

 It begins with the entrance of the sun into the Hindoo 

 sign Aswin, which is now on the llth of April, N. S. 

 In the year 1600, the year began on the 7th of April, 

 N.S., from which it has now advanced four days, 

 and, from the precession of the equinoxes, is still 

 advancing at the rate of a day in sixty years. The 

 number produced by subtracting 3102 from any given 

 year of the Caliyug will be the Christian year iu 

 which the given year begins. 



The Era of Salivahana may be joined here to that 

 of the Caliyug, being identical with it as to names of 

 months, divisions, and commencement, and differing 

 only in the date of the year, which is 3179 years more 

 recent than that, and therefore 77 years since our era. 

 It is much used in the southern and western provinces 

 of India, and papers are frequently dated in both 

 eras. The years of this era are called Saca. The 

 number 77 must be added to find the equivalent year 

 of the Christian era. Both these eras are most com- 

 monly used with solar time. 



The Era of ficramaditya, which has its name from 

 a sovereign of Malwa, may also be placed here, as it 

 uses the same months as the two above mentioned ; 

 but it is more generally used with lunar time. This 

 era is much employed in the north of India, and its 

 years are called Samvat. It began 57 years before 

 Christ ; and that number must be deducted to bring 

 it to our era. In Guzerat, this era is used, but it 

 begins there about the autumnal equinox. The months 

 all begin on the days of the entrance of the sun into 

 a sign of the Hindoo zodiac, and they vary from 29 

 to 32 days in length, though making up 365 days in 



