Bengali calendars facts for kids

The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar (Bengali: বঙ্গাব্দ, lit. 'Baṅgābda') is a special solar calendar. This means it follows the sun's movements. It's used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. A newer version of this calendar is the official one in Bangladesh. An older version is still used in parts of India, like West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam. The New Year in the Bengali calendar is called Pôhela Boishakh.

The Bengali calendar started a long time ago, around 593 or 594 CE. This means if you want to find the Bengali year, you subtract 594 from the current year if it's before Pôhela Boishakh. If it's after Pôhela Boishakh, you subtract 593. For example, if it's 2024 CE after Pôhela Boishakh, it would be 2024 - 593 = 1431 in the Bengali calendar.

Bangladesh officially adopted a revised Bengali calendar in 1987. But in India, Bengali communities still use the older, traditional version. This older version helps them set the dates for Hindu festivals.

The Story of the Bengali Calendar

Ancient Roots of the Calendar

Some historians believe the Bengali calendar was created by King Shashanka in the 7th century. He was a powerful ruler in Bengal. The word Bangabda, which means "Bangla year," was found in old temples. This suggests a Bengali calendar existed long before later rulers.

Ancient Indian scholars, called Hindus, had their own ways of tracking time. They studied the sun, moon, and planets. This helped them create calendars for important religious events. The Hindu Vikrami calendar, for example, started in 57 BC. In some parts of India and Nepal, people connect the Bengali calendar to a king named "Bikromaditto." However, the Bengali calendar starts much later, in 593 CE. This shows its starting point was changed at some time.

Before the 13th century, different kingdoms in Bengal used the Vikrami calendar. Old texts from the Pala Empire mention "Vikrama" and months like Ashvin. This shows they used a system similar to other ancient Indian calendars.

Hindu scholars used math and observations to understand the sun and planets. Their ideas are written in old Sanskrit books. These books describe how the sun and planets move. The Bengali calendar used today in Indian states like West Bengal is based on one of these Sanskrit books, Surya Siddhanta. It also includes changes made during King Shashanka's time. The calendar keeps the old Sanskrit names for the months, with Baishakh as the first month. This calendar is still used to decide the dates for Bengali Hindu festivals.

Changes from Islamic Rule

Another idea about the calendar's origin involves Alauddin Husain Shah. He was a sultan of Bengal from 1494 to 1519. Some think he combined the lunar Islamic calendar (Hijri) with the solar calendar already used in Bengal. Another theory says he adopted the calendar because it was hard to collect land taxes using only the Hijri calendar. The Hijri calendar is based on the moon, so its new year didn't match the farming seasons.

During the Mughal Empire rule, land taxes were collected using the Islamic Hijri calendar. But this caused problems because the tax year didn't line up with the harvest. Mughal Emperor Akbar is often credited with changing this. He wanted to make it easier to collect taxes after the harvest. So, he asked his astronomer, Fathullah Shirazi, to create a new calendar. This new calendar combined parts of the Islamic and Hindu calendars. It was called Fasholi shan, meaning "harvest calendar." This is how some historians believe the Bengali calendar began.

It's not completely clear if it was Hussain Shah or Akbar who first adopted the Bengali calendar. But the calendar helped collect land taxes after the spring harvest. This was much better than using the Islamic Hijri calendar, which didn't match the farming year. The traditional name for the calendar is Bangabda.

How the Bengali Calendar Works

The Bengali calendar used in Bangladesh is a solar calendar. This means it follows the sun. The one used in India is a lunisolar calendar. This means it follows both the sun and the moon.

Months of the Year

The Bengali calendar has 12 months. Each month has a special name and is linked to a season.

Changes in Bangladesh in 2018

In Bangladesh, the government decided to update the Bengali calendar again after 2018. This was done to make sure national holidays matched up better with the Gregorian calendar. For example, important days like Language Martyrs' Day (February 21) and Independence Day (March 26) now fall on the same Bengali calendar dates for many years.

The Bengali calendar has been updated twice before. Famous scientists like Dr. Meghnad Saha and Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah helped with these changes.

Days of the Week

The Bengali Calendar uses a seven-day week, just like many other calendars. The names of the days come from the Navagraha, which are nine celestial bodies or gods in Hindu tradition. In the Bengali calendar, a new day starts when the sun rises, not at midnight like in the Gregorian calendar.

When Emperor Akbar first introduced his calendar in 1584, each day of the month had a different name. But this was too complicated. So, his grandson Shah Jahan changed it to a simpler seven-day week. This week also started on a Sunday, similar to the Gregorian calendar.

Different Versions of the Calendar

Two versions of the Bengali calendar. The "Traditional version" is used in West Bengal, and the "Revised version" is used in Bangladesh.

Main Differences

The Bengali calendar used in Indian states like West Bengal is based on an old Sanskrit text called Surya Siddhanta. It keeps the original Sanskrit names for the months, with Baishakh as the first month. This calendar is connected to the Hindu calendar system and helps decide the dates for many Bengali Hindu festivals.

In Bangladesh, however, the Bengali calendar was changed in 1966. A group led by Muhammad Shahidullah made the first five months 31 days long. The rest of the months became 30 days long. The month of Falgun was made 31 days in every leap year. Bangladesh officially adopted these changes in 1987.

See also

In Spanish: Calendario bengalí para niños

• Hindu calendar
• Islamic calendar
• Malla calendar