About the Nepali Calendar (Bikram Sambat)
The Official Civil and Cultural Timekeeper of Nepal
The Nepali calendar, officially known as **Bikram Sambat (B.S.)**, is a solar-luni calendar system officially utilized in Nepal for civil, administrative, and cultural purposes. Established in 57 BC by Emperor Vikramaditya of India, the Bikram Sambat era runs approximately **56.7 years ahead** of the Gregorian (A.D.) calendar.
Solar and Lunar Calculation Systems
While the Gregorian calendar is purely solar-based, the Bikram Sambat calendar is complexly solar-luni based. It tracks the sidereal solar year and the lunar phases (tithis). Because of this:
- Months correspond to the sun's transit (Sankranti) across different zodiac signs (Rashis).
- Nepali month lengths are not fixed. They are calculated dynamically by astronomers each year and can range from 29 to 32 days.
- Major religious festivals (such as Dashain, Tihar, and Maha Shivaratri) are observed on specific lunar tithis, causing their Gregorian dates to shift annually.
Official Calendar of Nepal
In 1901 AD (1958 BS), Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Rana recognized Bikram Sambat as the official civil calendar of the Kingdom of Nepal. It has since served as the administrative calendar for legal documents, national gazettes, holidays, and bank transactions across the nation.