Why do Nepali have a different new year?

Celebration of New year in Nepal. Source: Routine of Nepal Banda

Nepal is known for its rich cultural heritage, religion, and diverse traditions. One of the distinctive aspects of Nepali culture is the use of the Bikram Sambat (or Vikram Samvat) calendar, which makes its new year different from most of the other countries'.

History:

The calendar system 'Vikram Samvat' is said to have been developed by King Vikramaditya of India after the expiry of the Kali Samvat of 3000 years. However, the term 'Vikram Samvat' was not found in any ancient writings until the 9th century AD. But the same calendar system was found being used as other names, such as Krita or Malava, in different writings. This makes the history of the origin of Vikram Samvat quite confusing.

Most historians believe that Vikramaditya was an 'Upadhi', not a person, which was given to a number of kings. In different times, four kings were adorned with the title: Vikramaditya of Ujjain, Chandraguptaditya (aka Chandragupta II), Kumargupta I, and Harsha Vikramaditya of Kashmir. But it is unclear who among these four initiated the Bikram Sambat calendar. Also, according to the experts, finding facts like the sun’s speed or the speed of solar soundwaves led to the start of the count of BS. It is 56.7 years ahead of the Georgian calendar.

In Nepal, the calendar was previously used informally due to religious and cultural regions. It was later formalized for governmental purposes by former Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher in 1958 B.S. as the use of previous calendars was impractical for governmental purposes. This is the reason for Vikram Samvat (or Bikram Sambat) calendar system being used in Nepal and the Nepalis having a different new year.

Calendar System:

It is quite interesting that the lunar calendar has years of 354 days, not 365. However, to make it synchronized with the solar year, whose length is approximately 365 days, adjustments are made on the lunar-based calendar every 2.5 years. This makes the Vikram Samvat a lunisolar calendar system.

The new year in this calendar falls on Baisakh 1 (Baisakh being the first month), which lies around 13–15 April of the Georgian calendar. There are 12 months, namely Baisakh, Jestha, Ashadh, Shrawan, Bhadra, Ashwin, Kartik, Mangsir, Poush, Magh, Falgun, and Chaitra.

Do only Nepali use the Vikram Samvat calendar?

No, the Vikram Samvat calendar system is also used in a few other countries except Nepal. It is also used by some Buddhist communities in India. The use of Vikram Samvat was also found in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan before the Muslim calendar was introduced. In fact, a call has been made for the Vikram Samvat to replace the Saka calendar as India's official calendar.


Written by:
Aayushma Paudel, Nishchit Bhandari
Content Creators,
reCulture.np


Location: Kathmandu 44600, Nepal

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