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DECEMBER, 1891.]
THE VIKRAMA ERA.
399
it is impossible to say from general considerations, whether their years should be regarded as northern or southern expired years.
Since current years are quoted only exceptionally, it may be questioned whether we should, in every case, at once accept as correct the result of the calculation of a date, where such calculation would lead us to regard the year of the date as a current year. As to the dates treated of under A. 1, a and 2, , and B. 1, a, no choice is left to us. But the case may well seem to be different with the dates No. 108 and No. 109, under B. 2, a. By the strict results of our calculations these dates would indeed be purnimánta dates of northern carrent years. But in regard to both, good reasons, - partly connected with the Simha era on which we expect Mr. Fleet to enlighten us, and partly based on a consideration of the exact ending-time of the tithi, - might probably be adduced for rejecting the seemingly correct results and taking the two dates as amánta dates of northern expired years.
Northern and Southern Years. In accordance with preceding remarks, and disregarding as exceptional the dates in current years, we may count as dates in northern (expired) years the dates under A. 2, 6 (with the exception of No. 47 which professes to belong to an Ashadhádi year), and those under B. 2, b; i.e., altogether 41 dates; and as dates in southern (expired) years the dates under A. 2, c, and B. 2, c, the date under A. 2, d, and the two dates under B. 2, d; i.e., altogether 44 dates.
For reasons given above, and because the two dates No. 113 and No. 117 under B. 2, b. might equally well be considered as dates in southern years, this classification perhaps hardly dous full justice to the southern year; but taking it to be approximately correct, I find that the numbers of dates of either kind were :
up to V. 1200 : 6 in northern years; 9 in southern years;
, V. 1300: 17 „ V. 1400: 22
. : 31 „ V. 1500: 26
» ; 34 , V. 1600: 30
» ; 40 „ V. 1877: 41 Accordingly, the total number of dates in southern years for all times slightly exceeds the total number of dates in northern years. In the earliest centuries of which we possess dates which admit of verification, the dates in southern years are decidedly more numerous than those in northern years'; but in later times the northern year has been gaining considerably on the southern year. In fact, it may be said that, while even down to V. 1400 the proportion of northern to southern years remained about 2:3, this proportion has just been inverted afterwards. The general conclusion to which these figures would seem to point, is, that the reckoning by southern (Karttikadi) years was from the beginning intimately connected with the Vikrama era, just as the reckoning by northern (Chaitrádi) years has always been characteristic of the Saka era; and it may fairly be assumed that the change, which has gradually taken place towards a more general employment of the northern year in connection with the Vikrama era, is owing to the influence of the Saka era.
»
; 26
1 The year of one of the five datos (No. 149) is shown to be a southern expirod year by the Jupiter year which is quoted along with it.
2 A week after the proof of this paper was returned by me to Mr. Fleet, I was informed by Dr. Klatt, that the reading of my date No. 1, as taken from Professor Peterson's Report, must be wrong, because, according to the Anchalapaffivali, Udayasagara was Sári from V. 1797 to V. 1826; and that the correct reading therefore would probably Le abdhi-kh-ah-indu=1804, not 1304. And calculating for V. 1804, oxpired, 1 find that the corresponding European dato, as required, is Monday, the 4th January, A. D. 1749, when the full-moon tithi ended 15 h. after moan sunrise. Accordingly, of the 26 dates treated of under A. 1, the year of only a single date was really 4 current year.
It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that the following remarks on northern and southern years are Decessarily confined to dates in the months Chaitra to Advina.
