Shaka Samvat is the second great era of Indian calendars. Alongside the Vikram count of the north and west, it dates the panchangs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and it is the era that the Government of India chose for its national calendar. The year turns in spring, at Chaitra, and the number is about 78 behind the common era. This page explains the era, the national calendar built on it and the way to convert a date.
What the era counts
The Shaka era begins in 78 CE, and it is counted as years completed or running from that point. Who began it is a matter of scholarly discussion. The tradition most often repeated connects the name with the Shakas, the Scythian rulers of western India, and various historians have linked the starting point to the Kushan king Kanishka or to the western Kshatrapa ruler Chashtana, with the debate unsettled. The era was in use in inscriptions, astronomical works and temple records across the Deccan and in Southeast Asia for many centuries. Its use in astronomy is old: many Sanskrit astronomical texts give their dates in Shaka years.
The word samvat is the usual Indian word for a year or an era, and so Shaka Samvat means the Shaka era.
Converting Shaka years to the common era
After Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in the spring, subtract 78 from the common-era year to get the Shaka year. For dates from January until the end of Phalguna, subtract 79, since the Shaka year has not yet turned. A date in October 2026 is Shaka 1948, and a date in February 2027 is also 1948, until Chaitra of 2027 brings Shaka 1949.
The computed table on the Chaitra page shows the new moons that open the year. The Chaitra of 2026 began at the new moon of 19 March 2026, 06:53 AM, and the bright half that followed opened Shaka 1948. The Chaitra of 2027 begins at 07 April 2027, 05:21 AM, and opens Shaka 1949. The two gaps are the lunar year in a nutshell: 2026 had thirteen months and so its Chaitra to Chaitra span is longer.
India’s national calendar
In 1957 the Government of India adopted a national civil calendar based on the Shaka era. The decision followed the report of the Calendar Reform Committee, a body set up after independence under the physicist Meghnad Saha to bring order to the many calendars in use. The committee wanted a single civil calendar tied to the seasons and the Sun, and it chose the Shaka era for its year count, so that the national calendar would have an Indian foundation.
The national calendar is solar. It has twelve months named after the traditional lunar months, with Chaitra first, and it keeps their order. Chaitra has 30 days, or 31 in a leap year, the next five months have 31 days and the remaining six have 30, so that the new year begins on a fixed day in March, the 22nd or in a leap year the 21st, close to the equinox. The Gazette of India and All India Radio carry its date alongside the Gregorian date. In practice it is little used in daily life, and most people consult a traditional panchang, but it remains the official Indian calendar for government notices.
It is important to separate this civil calendar from the religious one. The national calendar is solar and fixed, while the festivals are fixed by lunar days, as described in the Hindu calendar hub. Diwali does not follow the national calendar. It follows the new moon.
Where the Shaka era is used
Beyond the Deccan panchangs and the national calendar, the Shaka era is used in Bali, where the Balinese Hindu calendar counts Saka years and marks the new year with Nyepi, the Day of Silence, on the day after the new moon of a spring month. In Java and in parts of Southeast Asia the era was carried by trade and temple building, and some traces survive in old inscriptions. Within India, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka and Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra mark the first day of a new Shaka year, and the Chaitra page describes them.
Shaka and Vikram together
For the same date in Chaitra to December, the Vikram year minus the Shaka year is always 135. Samvat 2083 and Shaka 1948 describe the same year from the spring of 2026. Gujarat starts its Vikram year later, so a Gujarati and a Deccan calendar can differ in the number in the months before Diwali. The era of the north and west is covered on the Vikram Samvat page, and the way months themselves are counted is on the page about amanta and purnimanta.
Frequently asked questions
↳ Which Shaka year is it now?
In October 2026 it is Shaka 1948, which began with Chaitra in March 2026. It becomes 1949 at Chaitra Shukla Pratipada in 2027.
↳ How do I convert a Shaka year to the common era?
Add 78 to the Shaka year for dates from Chaitra to December, and add 79 for dates from January to the end of Phalguna. So Shaka 1948 is 2026 from Chaitra to December and 2027 from January to Phalguna.
↳ Is the Indian national calendar the same as the Hindu calendar?
No. The national calendar of 1957 is a solar civil calendar with fixed month lengths and a Shaka year count. The Hindu religious calendar is lunisolar and fixes festivals by lunar days.
↳ Who founded the Shaka era?
It is not settled. Some link it to the Kushan king Kanishka and others to the western Kshatrapa ruler Chashtana, and the name points to the Shakas. Historians continue to debate it.
↳ Which regions use Shaka Samvat for their panchang?
It is used in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in the national calendar of India, and in the Balinese Hindu calendar of Indonesia. The north and west more often use Vikram Samvat.