The Malayalam Calendar is a sidereal solar calendar used in Kerala. The origin of the calendar has been dated to 825 CE, the beginning of the Kollam Era. [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 southern Chera kingdom (known as Venadu) from the Chola dynasty's rule by or with the assistance of the Chera emperor at Kodungallur. [4] The origin of the 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 Venadu King Kulasekharan. Scholars from west and east were present in the convention, and the Tamil Kanakku (Calendar) was adopted.
Kollam was the capital of Venadu and an important port town of the Chera Kingdom in that period. Kollam Aandu was adapted in the entire Chera Kingdom (the contemporary states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala), the majority of which is now in Kerala. In Malayalam-speaking Kerala, it is now called the Malayalam Era or 'Kollavarsham’ (Kollam Thontri Aandu). The earliest available record mentioning the Kollam Era is a royal decree by Sri Vallavan Goda, the King of Venadu, 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 Aḻintha Aandu", counting from 1097 CE, was reckoned by the Cholas for some time. It is tentatively calculated that the Chola overlords captured the port of Kollam in 1097 CE. [5]
The origin of the Kollam Era has been dated to 825 CE, when the great convention in Kollam was held at the behest of King Kulashekharan. Kollam was an important town in that period, and the Malayalam Era is called 'Kollavarsham'.
There are multiple conflicting accounts regarding the origins of the Malayalam calendar, some of which are mentioned below:
Makaram month (middle of January) was the starting of the Kollam Aandu (year). It was similar to the other calendars followed in the Pandya and Chola Kingdoms. The Chera kingdom had two harvests, one in Makaram and the other in Kanni, so the year started in Makaram, the harvesting month. Later, in the 20th century, after Venadu (the Travancore Kingdom) joined the Indian Union, the Calendar was aligned with that of the 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:
No. | Months in Malayalam Era | In Malayalam | Tamil calendar | Sanskrit solar month | Saka era | Tulu calendar | Sign of zodiac | Gregorian Calendar |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | ciṅṅam | ചിങ്ങം | ஆவணி (ആവണി) | Siṃha | Śravana–Bhādrapada | Sona | Leo | August–September |
2. | kaṉṉi | കന്നി | புரட்டாசி (പുരട്ടാശി) | Kanyā | Bhādrapada–Aśvina | Nirnaala | Virgo | September–October |
3. | tulām | തുലാം | ஐப்பசி (ഐപ്പശി) | Tulā | Aśvina–Kārtika | Bonthyel | Libra | October–November |
4. | vr̥ścikam | വൃശ്ചികം | கார்த்திகை (കാർത്തിക) | Vṛścikam | Kārtika–Mārgaśīrṣa | Jaarde | Scorpio | November–December |
5. | dhaṉu | ധനു | மார்கழி (മാർകഴി) | Dhanu | Mārgaśīrṣa–Pauṣa | Peraarde | Sagittarius | December–January |
6. | makaram | മകരം | தை (തൈ) | Makara | Pauṣa/Taiṣya-Māgha | Ponny | Capricorn | January–February |
7. | kumbham | കുംഭം | மாசி (മാശി) | Kumbha | Māgha–Phālguna | Maayi | Aquarius | February–March |
8. | mīṉam | മീനം | பங்குனி (പൽഗുനി) | Mīna | Phālguna–Chaitra | Suggy | Pisces | March–April |
9. | mēṭam | മേടം | சித்திரை (ചിത്തിര) | Meṣa | Chaitra– Vaiśākha | Paggu | Aries | April–May |
10. | iṭavam | ഇടവം | வைகாசி (വൈകാശി) | Vṛṣabha | Vaiśākha–Jyaiṣṭha | Besa | Taurus | May–June |
11. | mithuṉam | മിഥുനം | ஆனி (ആനി) | Mithuna | Jyaiṣṭha–Āṣāḍha | Kaarthel | Gemini | June–July |
12. | kaṟkkaṭakam | കർക്കടകം | ஆடி (ആടി) | Karkaṭaka | Āṣāḍha–Śrāvaṇa | Aaty | Cancer | July–August |
The days of the week in the Malayalam calendar are suffixed with Aazhcha (ആഴ്ച), meaning week.
No. | Malayalam | മലയാളം | Tamil | Sanskrit | English | Kannada | Hindi | Arabic | Punjabi |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | ñāyaṟ | ഞായർ | ஞாயிறு (ñāyiṟu) | Bhānu vāsara | Sunday | Bhānu vāra | Ravivaar/Itvaar (रविवार/इतवार) | al-aḥad | Ravivaar/Aitvaar (ਰਵਿਵਾਰ/ਐਤਵਾਰ) |
2. | tiṅkaḷ | തിങ്കൾ | திங்கள் (tiṅkaḷ) | Sōma vāsara | Monday | Sōma vāra | Somvaar (सोमवार) | al-ithnayn | Somvaar (ਸੋਮਵਾਰ) |
3. | covva | ചൊവ്വ | செவ்வாய் (cevvāy) | Maṅgal̥a vāsara | Tuesday | Maṅgal̥a vāra | Mangalvaar (मङ्गलवार) | al-thalāthāʾ | Mangalvaar (ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ) |
4. | budhaṉ | ബുധൻ | புதன் (putaṉ) | Budha vāsara | Wednesday | Budha vāra | Budhvaar (बुधवार) | al-arbaʿā | Budhvaar (ਬੁਧਵਾਰ) |
5. | vyāḻam | വ്യാഴം | வியாழன் (vyāḻaṉ) | Guru vāsara | Thursday | Guru vāra | Guruvaar/Brihaspativaar (गुरूवार/बृहस्पतिवार) | al-khamīs | Guruvaar/Veervaar (ਗੁਰੂਵਾਰ/ਵੀਰਵਾਰ) |
6. | veḷḷi | വെള്ളി | வெள்ளி (veḷḷi) | Śukra vāsara | Friday | Śukra vāra | Shukravaar (शुक्रवार) | al-jumuʿah | Shukarvaar (ਸ਼ੁਕਰਵਾਰ) |
7. | śaṉi | ശനി | சனி (caṉi) | Śani vāsara | Saturday | Śani vāra | 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.
Vishu (വിഷു), celebrated on the first day of Medam, 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 considered the beginning of a year until 825 CE. Vishu is still celebrated as the traditional Malayali New Year, particularly in erstwhile Malabar and South Canara areas, as it is astronomically significant, 'Medam' being the first among the 12 rashis (the zodiac signs corresponding to the 12 months of a solar year).[ citation needed ]
The Makaravilakku festival is celebrated in the Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala on the first day of Makaram month. 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 21 June, and the winter solstice on 21 December).[ citation needed ]
Chaitram 1 (usually coinciding with 20 March) or Medam 1 (mostly coinciding with 14 April, for 2019 it was on 15 April), both in the proximity of the date of the vernal equinox (21 March), 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 first of Chingam, the month of the festival of Onam, was accepted as the Malayalam New Year instead.[ citation needed ]
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.[ citation needed ]
Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was designated a "Classical Language of India" in 2013. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé), and is also the primary spoken language of Lakshadweep and is spoken by 35 million people in India. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with a significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. It is also spoken by the Malayali Diaspora worldwide, especially in the Persian Gulf countries, due to the large populations of Malayali expatriates there. They are a significant population in each city in India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Pune etc. Malayalam is closely related to the Tamil language.
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The Malayali people are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They form the majority of the population in Kerala and Lakshadweep. They are predominantly native speakers of the Malayalam language, one of the six classical languages of India. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, since the 1800s existed the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Travancore, Malabar District, and South Canara of the British India. The Malabar District was annexed by the British through the Third Mysore War (1790–92) from Tipu Sultan. Before that, the Malabar District was under various kingdoms including the Zamorins of Calicut, Kingdom of Tanur, Arakkal kingdom, Kolathunadu, Valluvanad, and Palakkad Rajas.
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