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Calendar Used in Kerala

Malayalam Calendar or Kollam Era is a solar and sidereal calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE.^[1] ^[2] ^[3]

There are many theories regarding the origin of the era, but according to recent scholarship, it commemorated the foundation of Kollam after the liberation of the south Chaera kingdom (known as Venadu) from the Chozha dynasty rule by or with the assistance of the Chera emperor at Kodungallur.^[4]

The origin of Kollam Era has been dated to 825 CE, at the end of the three year long great convention in Kollam held at the behest of the Vaenaadu King Kulasekharan.

Scholars from west and east were present in the convention, and the Thamizh Kanakku (Calendar) was formed.

Makaram month (middle of January) was the starting of the Kollam Aandu (year). Chaera kingdom had two harvests, one was in the Makara and the other was in Kanni. Later in 20th Century, after Vaenaadu (Travancore Kingdom) joined with the Indian Union, the Calendar was aligned with that of Sanskrit Calendar to have the Year Starting in Medam (April middle)

Kollam was the capital of Vaenaadu and an important port town of Chaera Kingdom in that period. Kollam Aandu was adapted in the entire Chaera Kingdom spreaded in the current day states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala where majority part is now in Kerala State. In Malayalam speaking Kerala now it is called as the Malayalam Era or called 'Kollavarsham' (Kollam Thontri Aandu) The earliest available record mentioning Kollam Era is a royal order by Sri Vallavan Goda, the King of Vaenaadu , dated to c. 973 CE (Kollam Era 149). In the inscription the phrase "Kollam Thontri Aandu" is employed.^[5]

Another era referred to as "Kollam Azhintha Aadu", counting from 1097 CE, was reckoned by the Chozhas for some time. It is tentatively calculated that the Chola overlords, captured the port of Kollam in 1097 CE.^[5]

History [edit]

The origin of Kollam Era has been dated to 825 CE, 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.

There are multiple conflicting accounts regarding the origins of the Malayalam calendar,[5] some of which are mentioned below:

It is believed that the era was started by the Syrian Christian saints Mar Sabor and Mar Proth who settled in Korukeni, Kollam, near to the present Kollam. The Tharisapalli copper plates were issued to them.^[6] ^[7] ^[8]
The Kollam era is attributed to the legend of the hero Paraśurāma, an avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. It is sometimes divided into cycles of 1,000 years reckoned from 1176 BCE. Thus, 825 CE would have been the first year of the era's third millennium.^[9]
The news of the physical disappearance of Sri Adi Shankaracharya in 820 CE at Kedarnath reached Kerala only a few years later. It is believed that Kerala began the Malayalam era, also called the Kollam era, in 825 CE in his memory.^[10] ^[11] ^[12]
According to Hermann 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.^[6] ^[13]
It is also believed that the era started as part of erection of Thirupalkadal Sreekrishnaswamy Temple, family temple of Venad located at Keezhperoor or Kil-perur. Keezhperoor is place located near Kilimanoor which is used as prefix along with name of Venad and Travancore monarchs and is believed to be the maternal home of Kulasekhara Alvar.

Months [edit]

Makaram month (middle of January) was the starting of the Kollam Aandu (year). It was similar to the other calendars followed in Paandiya and Chozha Kingdoms. Chaera kingdom had two harvests, one was in the Makaram and the other was in Kanni. So the year was starting in Makaram, the harvesting month. Later in 20th Century, after Vaenaadu (Travancore Kingdom) joined with the Indian Union, the Calendar was aligned with that of Sanskrit Calendar to have the Year Starting in Medam (April middle).

The Malayalam months and the Sanskritic Sauramāsa (solar month) are almost the same, raising many doubts that which came first. If you see Chingam is a month in Kollam Era. Sanskrit also has the solar month, the Simham, and so on.

This is unlike the case in Tulu calendar which follow the names of lunar months. The following are the months of the astronomical Malayalam calendar:

Comparative table showing corresponding months of other calendars
No.	Months in Malayalam Era	In Malayalam	Tamil calendar	Sanskrit solar month	Saka era	Tulu calendar	Sign of zodiac	Gregorian Calendar
1.	Chingam	ചിങ്ങം	Aavani	Siṃha	Śravana–Bhādrapada	Sona	Leo	August–September
2.	Kanni	കന്നി	Purattasi	Kanyā	Bhādrapada–Aśvina	Nirnaala	Virgo	September–October
3.	Thulam	തുലാം	Aippasi	Tulā	Aśvina–Kārtika	Bonthyel	Libra	October–November
4.	Vrishchikam	വൃശ്ചികം	Karthigai	Vṛścikam	Kārtika–Mārgaśīrṣa	Jaarde	Scorpio	November–December
5.	Dhanu	ധനു	Margazhi	Dhanu	Mārgaśīrṣa–Pauṣa	Peraarde	Sagittarius	December–January
6.	Makaram	മകരം	Thai	Makara	Pauṣa/Taiṣya-Māgha	Ponny	Capricorn	January–February
7.	Kumbham	കുംഭം	Maasi	Kumbha	Māgha–Phālguna	Maayi	Aquarius	February–March
8.	Meenam	മീനം	Panguni	Mīna	Phālguna–Chaitra	Suggy	Pisces	March–April
9.	Meddam	മേടം	Chithirai	Meṣa	Chaitra– Vaiśākha	Paggu	Aries	April–May
10.	Edavam	ഇടവം	Vaikasi	Vṛṣabha	Vaiśākha–Jyaiṣṭha	Besa	Taurus	May–June
11.	Mithunam	മിഥുനം	Aani	Mithuna	Jyaiṣṭha–Āṣāḍha	Kaarthel	Gemini	June–July
12.	Karkadakam	കർക്കടകം	Aadi	Karkaṭaka	Āṣāḍha–Śrāvaṇa	Aaty	Cancer	July–August

Days [edit]

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

Comparative table showing corresponding weekdays
No.	Malayalam	മലയാളം	Sanskrit	English	Kannada	Tamil	Hindi	Arabic	Punjabi
1.	Njayar	ഞായർ	Bhānu vāsara	Sunday	Bhanuvara	Nyaayiru (ஞாயிறு)	Ravivaar/Itvaar (रविवार/इतवार)	al-aḥad	Ravivaar/Aitvaar (ਰਵਿਵਾਰ/ਐਤਵਾਰ)
2.	Thinkal	തിങ്കൾ	Soma vāsara	Monday	Somavara	Thingal (திங்கள்)	Somvaar (सोमवार)	al-ithnayn	Somvaar (ਸੋਮਵਾਰ)
3.	Chowva	ചൊവ്വ	Maṅgala vāsara	Tuesday	Mangalavara	Chevvai (செவ்வாய்)	Mangalvaar (मङ्गलवार)	al-thalāthāʾ	Mangalvaar (ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ)
4.	Budhan	ബുധൻ	Budha vāsara	Wednesday	Budhavara	Budhan (புதன்)	Budhvaar (बुधवार)	al-arbaʿā	Budhvaar (ਬੁਧਵਾਰ)
5.	Vyazham	വ്യാഴം	Guru vāsara	Thursday	Guruvara	Vyazhan (வியாழன்)	Guruvaar/Brihaspativaar (गुरूवार/बृहस्पतिवार)	al-khamīs	Guruvaar/Veervaar (ਗੁਰੂਵਾਰ/ਵੀਰਵਾਰ)
6.	Velli	വെള്ളി	Śukra vāsara	Friday	Shukravara	Velli (வெள்ளி)	Shukravaar (शुक्रवार)	al-jumuʿah	Shukarvaar (ਸ਼ੁਕਰਵਾਰ)
7.	Shani	ശനി	Śani vāsara	Saturday	Shanivara	Shani (சனி)	Shanivaar (शनिवार)	al-sabt	Shanivaar (ਸ਼ਨੀਵਾਰ)

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 [edit]

Vishu (വിഷു), celebrated 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 first day of Chingam is celebrated as the Kerala New Year replacing Vishu (വിഷു), which was till then^{[ when? ]} considered the beginning of a year. Vishu is celebrated as the traditional new year particularly in erstwhile malabar and south canara areas, as it is astronomically significant 'Medam' being the first among the twelve Rashis (corresponding to months of a 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 Karkaṭakam 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.)

Chaitram 1 (usually coinciding with March 20) or Metam 1 (mostly coinciding with April 14, for 2019 it was on April 15th), both in the proximity of the date of the vernal equinox (March 21), mark the beginning of the new year in many traditional Indian calendars such as the Indian National calendar and the Tamil calendar. When the Government of Kerala adopted Kolla Varsham as the regional calendar, the 1st of Chingam, the month of the festival of Onam, was accepted as the Malayalam New Year instead.^{[ citation needed ]}

Derived names [edit]

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 1 June is known as Etavappathi, meaning mid of month 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.

References [edit]

^ "Kollam Era" (PDF). Indian Journal History of Science. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
^ Broughton Richmond (1956), Time measurement and calendar construction, p. 218
^ R. Leela Devi (1986). History of Kerala. Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot. p. 408.
^ Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2014. 89.
^ ^a ^b Narayanan, M. G. S. Perumāḷs of Kerala. Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 74-76, 143.
^ ^a ^b A. Sreedhara Menon (2007) [1967]. "CHAPTER VIII - THE KOLLAM ERA". A Survey Of Kerala History. DC Books, Kottayam. pp. 104–110. ISBN978-81-264-1578-6 . Retrieved 7 August 2013.
^ Kerala government website Archived 2007-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
^ In the Travancore State Manual, Ch:XIII, pages 49-50, by Sri. T.K. Velu Pillai according to keralainfoservice
^ "Chronology".
^ Kalady: The Triumph of Faith Over Time. Dir. Rajesh Krishnan, K. Anand, and S. Thyagarajan. Sri Shankara Advaita Research Center, Sringeri, May 31, 2010. DVD.
^ sharadapeetham (25 April 2012). "Kalady: The Triumph of Faith Over Time (Rediscovery of Sri Adi Shankaracharya's Birth Place)" – via YouTube.
^ K. V. Sarma, Kollam Era, Indian Journal of History of Science, 31(1), 1996, pp. 93-100
^ "Kollam - Short History". Statistical Data. kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original (Short History) on 21 November 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2014.