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MAY, 1891.]
THE SAPTARSHI ERA.
149
A NOTE ON THE SAPTARSHI ERA.
BY PROFESSOR F, KIELHORN, C.I.E.; GÖTTINGEN. TN the Chambers Collection of MSS. of the Berlin Libraryl is a worm-eaten roll of paper, 1 about 9 3" long by 64 broad, which contains & calendar for the time from Wednesday, the 13th March, A. D. 1793, to Monday, the 31st March, A. D. 1794; or, to use the terms of the original, from Chaitra-sutis pra. Vu., i.e., Budhavára, the first of the bright half of Chaitra, to Chaitra-vati am. Chan, i.e., Chandravara, the new-moon day of the dark half of Chaitra, - of a year which will be described below. The characters employed in this MS. calendar are the peculiar Nagari of some of the MSS. purchased by Professor Bühler on his Kasmír tour, and shew therefore that the calendar was written in the very north of India, if not actually in Kabmir.
From the last day of the year, the new-moon day in the dark half of the month Chaitra, it will be seen that the year of this calendar is a so-called northern year, with the purnimanta scheme of the months. As in ordinary Pañchângas, the year is divided into lunar fortnights which here follow each other from the top to the bottom of the roll. And since, in the specified period, Vaisakha was an intercalary month, we have here altogether 26 lunar fortnights, headed -
Chaitra-suti, i. e., Chaitra-sukla-paksha) ; Vai vati, 1. e., Vaisakha-ksisbņa-pakshah ; Dvi! Vai suti, i. e., dvitiya-Vaisakha-sukla-pakshah ; Dvi Vai vati, i, e., dvitîya-Vaisakha-kțishņa-pakshaḥ; Vai suti, i. e., Vaišákba-sukla-pakshah;
Jyê vati; Jyê suti; Åsbadha-vati; Åshadha-buti; Srâ vati; 'Srâ suti; Bhavati; Bhâ suti; and so on up to -
Chaitra-vati, 1. e., Chaitra-ksishņa-pakshah. Under each lunar fortnight, we have from the left to the right four principal columns. The first column gives the name of the weekday (A., Cham., Bhau., etc.) and the nakshatra (A., Bha., Kri., Rô., etc.): the second the number of the day in the lunar half (pra., dvi., tři., cha., etc., up to either pů, or am.); the third the yôga (Vi., Pri., A., Sau., etc.); and the last contains remarks about festivals, etc. But, besides, the calendar also gives, before the first column of the lunar fortnight, the number of each day according to the Muhammadan calendar, sometimes preceded by the name of the Muhammadan month. Thus, in a line with Vai. suti Å. dvi. (i. e., Sunday, the 2nd of the bright half of Vaisakha, corresponding to the 12th May, A. D. 1793) we have Samvál 1; before Åshadha-suti Vu. dvi.(i. e., Wednesday, the 2nd of the bright half of Ash Adha, corresponding to the 10th July, A. D. 1793), Jyél hijya 1; before Sra. suti Su tri. i. e., Friday, the 3rd of the bright half of Sråvaņa, corresponding to the 9th August,
1 See Professor Weber's Catalogue, Vol. I. No. 846.
- From the above it will be seen that in this calendar the sakla-paksha or bright fortnight and the krishna-paksha or dark fortnight of a month are throughout denoted by the terms Suti and vati. On this usage, which is quite common in Sarada MSS., Bee ante, Vol. XIX., p. 217.
8 It will be observed that of the intercalary month Vaisakha the first and last of the four fortnights are called simply Vaisakha, while the second and third fortnights are described as dvitlya-Vaisakha, the second Vaisakha.' In a MS. calendar of the Berlin Library for the expired northern Vikrama year 1838, in which Bhadrapada was intercalary, and in another MS. calendar of the same Library for the expired northern Vikrama year 1855, in which Srävana was intercalary, the first and last fortnights of the intercalary months are likewise called simply Bhadrapada and Srovana, but the second and third fortnights are described as adhika-Bhadrapada and adhik-Sravana. And in a MS. calendar of the same Library, for the expired northern Vikrama year 1852 in which Bh&drapada was intercalary, the first and last fortnights are called Suddha-Bhadra, and the second and third adhika-Bhadra.
* It may be of some interest to state here that the results (as regards tithia, nakshatras, and yogas), obtained from Professor Jacobi's Tables in Vol XVIL of this Journal, for the large number of days for which I have made the Decemary calculations, entirely agree with the actual statements of this oalendar.
