Malayalam calendar

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Malayalam calendar, also known as Kollavarsham (Malayalam: കൊല്ലവര്‍ഷം), is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Kerala, India. The origin of the calendar has been dated as 825 CE (Pothu Varsham) at Kollam.

History

There are multiple conflicting accounts regarding the origins of the Malayalam calendar, some of which are mentioned below:

• The origin of Kollam Era has been dated to 825 AD, when the great convention in Kollam was held at the behest of King Kulashekhara. Kollam was an important town in that period, and the Malayalam Era is called 'Kollavarsham', possibly as a result of the Tharisapalli plates. It also signifies the independence of Malabar from the Cheraman Perumals. King Kulashekhara granted the copper plate grants in 849 AD to Mar Sabor whom he invited to Kollam from Persia.
• According to Herman Gundert, Kollavarsham started as part of erecting a new Shiva Temple in Kollam and because of the strictly local and religious background, the other regions did not follow this system at first. Once Kollam port emerged as an important trade center, however, the other countries also started to follow the new system of calendar. This theory backs the remarks of Ibn Battuta as well.
• It is believed that the era was started by the East Syrian saints Mar Sabor and Mar Proth who settled in Korukeni, Kollam, near to the present Kollam.

Months

The Malayalam months are named after the Signs of the Zodiac. Thus Cingam (from Simham or Lion) is named after the constellation Leo and so on. The following are the months of the astronomical Malayalam calendar:

Comparative table showing corresponding months of other calendars

Months in Malayalam Era	In Malayalam	Gregorian Calendar	Tulu calendar	Tamil calendar	Saka era	Sign of Zodiac
Chingam	ചിങ്ങം	August–September	Sona	Aavani	Sravana–Bhadrapada	Leo
Kanni	കന്നി	September–October	Nirnaala	Purattasi	Bhadrapada–Asvina	Virgo
Thulam	തുലാം	October–November	Bonthyel	Aippasi	Asvina–Kartika	Libra
Vrishchikam	വൃശ്ചികം	November–December	Jaarde	Karthigai	Kartika–Agrahayana	Scorpio
Dhanu	ധനു	December–January	Peraarde	Margazhi	Agrahayana–Pausa	Sagittarius
Makaram	മകരം	January–February	Ponny	Thai	Pausa–Magha	Capricon
Kumbham	കുംഭം	February–March	Maayi	Maasi	Magha–Phalguna	Aquarius
Meenam	മീനം	March–April	Suggy	Panguni	Phalguna–Chaitra	Pisces
Medam	മേടം	April–May	Paggu	Chithirai	Chaitra– Vaisakha	Aries
Edavam	ഇടവം	May–June	Besa	Vaikasi	Vaisakha–Jyaistha	Taurus
Midhunam	മിഥുനം	June–July	Kaarthel	Aani	Jyaistha–Asada	Gemini
Karkidakam	കര്ക്കടകം	July–August	Aaty	Aadi	Asada–Shravana	Cancer

Days

The days of the week in the Malayalam calendar are suffixed with Aazhcha (ആഴ്ച - week).

Comparative table showing corresponding weekdays

Malayalam	മലയാളം	English	Kannada	Tamil	Hindi	Hijri(Arabic)
Njayar	ഞായർ	Sunday	Bhanuvara	Nyaayiru	Ravivar	al-aḥad
Thinkal	തിങ്കൾ	Monday	Somavara	Thinkal	Somvar	al-ithnayn
Chowva	ചൊവ്വ	Tuesday	Mangalavara	Chevvai	Mangalvar	al-thalāthāʾ
Budhan	ബുധൻ	Wednesday	Budhavara	Budhan	Budhvar	al-arbaʿāʾ
Vyazham	വ്യാഴം	Thursday	Guruvara	Vyazhan	Guruvar	al-khamīs
Velli	വെള്ളി	Friday	Shukravara	Velli	Sukravar	al-jumuʿah
Shani	ശനി	Saturday	Shanivara	Sani	Shanivar	al-sabt

Like the months above, there are twenty seven stars starting from Aswati (Ashvinī in Sanskrit) and ending in Revatī. The 365 days of the year are divided into groups of fourteen days called Ñattuvela (ഞാറ്റുവേല), each one bearing the name of a star.

Significant dates

Vishu വിഷുcelebrated on the 1st of Metam, and Onam (ഓണം), celebrated on the star Thiruvonam [t̪iruʋoːɳəm] in the month of Chingam, are two of the major festivals, the greatest of them being Onam (ഓണം). Chingan (ചിങ്ങം) 1st is celebrated as the Kerala New Year replacing Vishu വിഷു, which was till then considered the beginning of an year..

The Makaravilakku festival is celebrated in the Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala on the 1st day of month Makaram. This marks the grand finale of the two-month period to the Sabarimala pilgrimage. The 1st of Makaram marks the Winter Solstice (Uttarayanam) and the 1st of Karkadakam marks the summer solstice (Dakshinayanam) according to the Malayalam calendar. (According to the astronomical calendar the summer solstice is on June 21, and the winter solstice on December 21)

Formerly the New Year in the Malabar region was on the 1st of Kanni and that in the Travancore region was on the 1st of Chingam. When the Government of Kerala adopted Kolla Varsham as the regional calendar the 1st of Chingam was accepted as the Malayalam New Year. Metam is the first month according to the astronomical calendar; it is identical with Chaitram of the Saka Varsha. The first of these months are supposed to mark the vernal equinox. Astronomically the calendars need to be corrected to coincide with actual vernal equinox which falls on the 21st of March. (Chaitram 1 usually falls on March 20, and Metam 1 falls on April 14.)

Derived names

Many events in Kerala are related to the dates in the Malayalam calendar.

The agricultural activities of Kerala are centred on the seasons. The southwest monsoon which starts around June 1 is known as Etavappathi, meaning mid-Etavam. The northeast monsoon which starts during mid October is called thulavarsham (rain in the month of thulam). The two harvests of paddy are called Kannikkoythu and Makarakkoythu (harvests in the months kanni and makaram) respectively.

See also

• Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad
• Hindu calendar
• Bengali calendar
• Tamil calendar

External links

• Hindu Panchangam Calendar in Malayalam
• Malayalam Panchang Calendars with Tithi, Nakshtra etc
• Open Source software libraries for Malayalam Calendar