Samvatsari Tithi Article V4 20120905

Author(s): Pravin K Shah
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 2

The Jewish (Hebrew), Hindu lunar, Buddhist, and Tibetan calendars are all lunisolar, and
so were the Japanese calendars until 1873 and the Chinese calendars until 1912. • The Islamic calendar is a pure Lunar Calendar because its date (Tithi) indicates the moon
phase but its months are not in phase with the time of the solar year or the season. It does not adjust its calendar to coincide with the SUN or the season. Hence no extra month is added every three years. The Gregorian calendar (English CE) is a pure Solar Calendar and its date indicates the
time of the solar season but not the moon phase. Tithi (Day or Date) In a Lunisolar calendar the day or date is recognized as Tithi. The angular distance (measured anticlockwise) between the Sun and Moon as measured from the Earth can vary between 0° and 360°. This is divided into 30 parts (normally 30 days in a month). Each part ends at 12°, 24° and so on. The circle ends at 360o. The time spent by the Moon in each of these parts (.e. the time taken for the angular distance to change by 12°) is called one Tithi (This is a very simple explanation. In reality the calculation is quite complex because the Earth and the Sun have moved their position during this time and the value changes to close to 13 degree). Each Lunisolar month has two Paksha-s or fortnights (15 Tithis or days in a fortnight). The first 15 Tithi-s constitute the bright fortnight or Shukla or Sud Paksha and the next 15 Tithi-s constitute the dark fortnight or Krishna or Vad Paksha. The Tithi-s are indicated by their Paksha and ordinal number within the Paksha. The days are not labeled separately from number one to thirty as in the solar calendar, but the Tithi is their only label and each Tithi has a unique name. The 15th Tithi of the bright fortnight or Sud (Full Moon Day) is called Purnimä and the 15th Tithi of the dark fortnight or Vad (Dark Moon or New Moon Day) is called Amavasyä. The duration of a day (between the two consecutive Sunrises) is approximately 24 hours. However the duration of each Tithi varies between 22 hours and 26 hours because the Moon rotates around the Earth in a slightly tilted position and hence the angular velocity is not constant with respect to the particular location of the Earth (This is also a very complex calculation). Structure of Jain Calendar as per Agam Literature The Jain Ägam literature (ref - Chandra Prajnapti and Surya Prajnapti) defines a five year cycle of a Jain calendar. This is known as one Yuga. In the Jain Agamic calendar (1) One "Tithi" is eliminated after every 61 days (2) An additional month is added after every 30 months. (3) During a five year cycle, the month of Posha (the 3rd month of the current Jain calendar) is
added after 30 months and the month of Ashädh (the 9th month) is added after 60 months. This description indicates that none of the current Jain calendars published by various Jain sects are based on Jain Agam literature. Also there is a strong indication in the Ägamic calendar, that the Jain calendar year ended on Ashadha Sud 15 and the New Year begins on Shravan Vad 1 as per Rajasthani calendar naming convention or Ashadha Vad 1 as per Gujarati calendar naming convention (see-the following note). Note - Differences in Naming Convention between Rajasthani and Gujarati Calendar In the Rajasthani calendar, the duration of the Month is the time between the two Full Moons (Purnimä). When a Full Moon occurs before sunrise, then the day that begins at Sunrise is said to be the first day of the Lunisolar month. Hence the month starts with Vad "Tithi" - declining moon phase - and ends with Sud "Tithi" - Rising Moon phase. This convention is followed not only in Rajasthan but also in a major part of India.