The Bengali Era or Bangabda is used in
Bangladesh, West Bengal and Tripura. It is also used in Assam where it is called
the Bhaskar (Sun) Era, The era is an adaptation of the solar calendar that was
introduced by Emperor Akbar in 1584 AD. Netters will recall that the Hijri era
is based on the lunar calendar where the month of harvest keeps shifting from
year to year. This had made it awkward to assign a fixed date for
collecting taxes which became due after harvest. Akbar's calendar was the
Emperor's solution to the problem.
Persians, unlike the Arabs, follow a solar calendar where the year begins on the
day of vernal equinox (21st March). Akbar's calendar was based on the Persian
model. Though introduced in 1584 AD, Akbar had the calendar backdated to
start on 21st of March of 1556 AD which was the year he had ascended the
throne. This was the year 963 in the Hijri era.
Bengal adopted Akbar's calendar with certain modifications. In 1556 AD, the
Bengali calendar was assigned the year 963 to coincide with the year in
Hijri era which today reads 1418. It is 1406 in the Bengali year.If we recall
that a solar year is about 11 days longer than the lunar year, it
is not difficult to figure out why the Hijri era has marched ahead by: [11
X (1998 - 1556)] days = 13 years in the 442 years since 1556 AD.
There is one other significant difference with Akbar's calendar which, like the
Persian calendar and the Christian calendar, had months of fixed number of days.
The Bengali month, on the other hand, is based on the ancient Sanskrit treatise,
"Surya Siddhanta" where the months are assigned by the zodiac sign.
The sun's stay under a zodiac sign varies from year to year. That is why any
Bengali month can vary in length anywhere from 29 to 32 days. The sun enters the
Mesh Rashi (Aries) on 15th of April, give or take a day.This marks the beginning
of the Bengali year and is celebrated as the first of Baishakh.
The Bengali calendar is a prime example of the eclectic spirit that had
prevailed during the rule of Emperor Akbar. It was a synthesis of features from
ancient Indian calendars based on "Surya Siddhanta" with those of the
Hijri calendar and the Persina calendar.