384 Mr. Cavendish on the Civil Tear 
Coromandel. The language of all three of them is a corrupt 
Sanskreet ; but the last is written in the common Bengal 
character. 
It appears from these almanacs that the civil year is regu- 
lated very differently in different parts of India ; but before I 
speak of this year, it will be proper to mention a few words of 
the astronomical, which in all parts serves to regulate the 
civil year. 
The astronomical year begins at the instant when the sun 
comes to the first point of the Hindoo zodiac. In the present 
year, 1792, it began, according to the principles delivered in the 
Surya Siddhanta ,* on April 9, at 22 h 14' after midnight of 
their first meridian, which is about 4,1' of time west of Cal- 
cutta ; but according to Mr. Gentil’s account of the Indian 
astronomy, it began g h 24' earlier. As this year, however, is 
longer than ours, its commencement falls continually later in 
respect of the Julian year by 50' 2 6" in four years. 
This year is divided into 12 months, each of which corre- 
sponds to the time of the sun’s stay in some sign, so that they 
are of different lengths, and seldom begin at the beginning of 
a day. 
The civil day, in all parts of India, begins at sun-rise, and 
is divided into 60 parts, called dandas, which are again di- 
vided into bo palas. 
The only parts of the Benares patras which are of any ma- 
terial use for my purpose, are the names of the months which 
are set down at the top of each page, and the three first co- 
lumns, the first of which contains the day of the month, ac- 
cording to the civil account, the next the day of the week, 
* See an account of this in the 2d volume of the Asiatic Researches. 
