________________
354
THE CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS OF GUJARAT
At the accession of the second Caliph Omar (63444 A.C.), Abu Musa Ashāri, governor of Yaman, made a representation that he could not follow the definite date of his despatches dated the month of Shabana. Hence the Caliph summoned the learned, he was advised to use the era of the Jews or the era of the Persians. But as there were intercalations in both and their skill in calculation was slight, he did not accept either, but adopted the era of the Hijra80. This event probably took place in the Hijrī year 1781.
The days in Arabia are counted from the sunset of one day to that of the next one, and the months are reckoned from the sight of one new crescent moon after sunset to that of the next one. As the mean length of a lunar month of the synodical type is 29 d. 12 h. 44 m. and 2 s.,82 some of the months consist of 30 days and some others 29 days. For the sake of conveniece the lengths of the months are, however, fixed by a rule rather than observation and the months are accordingly taken to be of 29 and 30 days alternately. But as the mean synodical month is about 44 minutes longer than 29 days, I day is added to the last month each in 11 out of every 30 years. If after dividing the Hijri year by 30, the remainder is 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26 or 29, then it is a leap year i e. a year in which the last month has one day more83.
80. Ain-i-Akbari Of Abul Fazl trans. by Colonel H.S. Jarrett, Vol. II, p. 27
81. D. C. Sircar, IE., p. 306
82. Report of the Calendar Reform Committee, p. 182
83. Ibid., p. 180
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
