Nepali calendar is the official calendar of Nepal. It is mostly used in Nepal and all over the world among the Nepalese people. Most of the governmental organization schedule their programs based on it.

Nepali Calendar – Coming Soon

Nepal is a multicultural country with many cultural and religious festivals. Nepali Calendar includes all the Events and Festivals of all the cultural ethnic groups, national days, international days and all other important days that are celebrated in Nepal. Nepali Calendar follows the Bikram Sambat (B.S) system which uses lunar months and solar sidereal year and is also called Nepali Patro.

The New year in Nepalese Calendar begins with the month of Baisakh which falls on mid of April in Gregorian Calendar (English Calendar). Approximately, Nepali Calendar is 56 years and 8½ months ahead of the Gregorian calendar (A.D). In the Nepali calendar, there are 12 months but the number of days in each month varies. Each month in Nepalese Calendar have a minimum of 29 days and a maximum of 32 days, which are not the same every year. Bikram Sambat Calendar, besides Nepal and India, is also used in other countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Bikram Sambat or Nepali Calendar is an official calendar of Nepal with which Daily Panchang of Nepal, Government and Bank holidays, Nepali festivals, Nepali Horoscope, Marriage Dates, Bratabandha, etc auspicious dates are fixed. Nepali Calendar also includes the dates of cultural celebrations of different ethnic, tribal, and social groups of Nepal. It is a traditional lunar calendar used for both civic and religious purposes in Nepal.

As we know, Nepal’s Official calendar follows the Bikram Sambat. So all the festivities of the cultural group are mainly dependent on lunar months and national holidays are celebrated on Nepali Calendar dates, so all the festivals may not match exactly every year on the same date as they follow lunar day.

For the convenience of Nepalese people around the globe, here we have brought a Nepali Calendar which can help you to keep tracks of important dates and days, events and festivals that are celebrated in Nepal.

History of Nepali Calendar

The Malla Kings in Kathmandu Valley used to use Nepal Sambat. After the victory of the Gorkha Kingdom, the advent of Shahs used Saka era. However, Nepal Sambat has still remained in official use. Nepal Sambat was replaced by Bikram Sambat as the national calendar in the Rana period of the Kingdom of Nepal. In 1903 AD, Saka Sambat was also superseded by Bikram Sambat as the official calendar. However, the Saka Sambat on gold and silver coins until 1912 was still used. For a long period of time, BS calendar along with Shaka Sambat was kept to hold. Later, it was fully replaced by Bikram Sambat.

Which Other Calendar is used in Nepal?

In addition to Bikram Sambat (B.S), the Gregorian calendar that is (A.D), the Newari calendar which is known as Nepal Sambat (N.S) and Saka Sambat (S.S) are used.

Bikram Sambat:

Bikram Sambat or Vikram Samvat or Vikram Samwat, (B.S or V.S) is the calendar established by Emperor Vikramaditya. It is a widely used calendar in the Indian subcontinent and the official calendar of Nepal and Bangladesh. The Bikram Sambat Calendar is believed to be founded by the Emperor Vikramaditya of Ujjain after his victory over the Sakas in 56 BCE. It is a lunar calendar based on ancient Hindu tradition. The Bikram Sambat calendar is 56.7 years ahead of the solar Gregorian calendar. The solar months in the Bikram Sambat calendar have 29 to 32 days.

For example, the year 2076 B.S begins in 2019 A.D and ends in 2020 A.D. In Nepal, the calendar starts in mid-April and marks the start of the solar new year. In India, Saka Calendar is officially used but Vikram Samvat calendar is also used in some official works and many regional communities and people still use Bikram Sambat Calendar in India.

In Northern India, the calendar starts with the first day after the new moon in the month Chaitra, which usually falls in March and April in the Gregorian calendar. And in Western India, the same era begins with the first day after the new moon in the month of Kartika which usually falls in October and November in the Gregorian calendar.

Solar cycle and Lunar cycle in Nepali Calendar

The New Year in Nepali Calendar falls on the first day of the month of Baishakh, which is in the Solar cycle. In Nepali Calendar, the solar cycle of Bikram Sambat is mainly used for marking dates related to public holidays and events. In Gregorian Calendar i.e AD, the new year of BS solar year will start in mid of April.

But the New Lunar Year takes place in the first day of Chaitra Shukla Paksha which can occur in Chaitra month of Solar cycle in Bikram Sambat Calendar and Nepali Calendar. In Nepali Calendar, Bikram Sambat lunar cycle is used for marking the dates of festivals based on religious traditions. That’s why some of the festivals won’t be recurring on the same date as the previous year as they are based on the lunar cycle. The lunar year of BS begins on March or April which is Chaitra Shukla Pratipada day.

Related: Nepali Date Converter

Lunar Months in Bikram Sambat Calendar

In Bikram Sambat, one lunar month is exactly 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds. And for one lunar year, 12 months have a total of 354 days 8 hours 48 minutes and 36 seconds. Due to this, it doesn’t coincide with Solar year. And to help lunar months coincide with the solar year, the thirteenth month is added in every three years interval which is known as “adhika masa” where “adhika” means “extra” and “masa” means “month”. The “Adhika mass” month is not considered to be auspicious. The other names for Adhik Maas are Purushottam Maas, Mala Maas (‘unclean month’), and Malimmacha.

Purushottam Maas or Adhika Mass is considered inauspicious and no celebrations and activities like weddings, or (Grihaparbesh) moving into a new house are conducted. Prayer, fasting, charity, and self-improvement activities should be done in this month.

The lunar days in Bikram Sambat Calendar have two Paksha, Shukla Paksha, and Krishna Paksha. A paksha refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar and Shukla Paksha means the period of brightening moon or waxing moon and Krishna Paksha means fading moon or waning moon. In Bikram Sambat system, lunar days are called “Tithis” and each month has 30 “Tithis”. These “Tithis” may vary from 20 – 27 hours. A paksha, either Shukla or Krishna has 15 “Tithis” and are calculated by a 12-degree motion of the Moon.

Shukla Paksha Krishna Paksha:

  1. Pratipada
  2. Dwitiya
  3. Tritiya
  4. Chaturthi
  5. Panchami
  6. Sasthi
  7. Saptami
  8. Ashtami
  9. Navami
  10. Dashami
  11. Ekadashi
  12. Dwadashi
  13. Trayodashi
  14. Chaturdashi
  15. Purnima (Ausi)

Nepali Calendar- Name of Months and Number

There are twelve months in the Nepali Calendar. And the month of Baisakh marks the beginning of the new year in Nepali Calendar and Chaitra is the last month of the year. Here are all the 12 months and their corresponding months with Gregorian calendar and number of days:

Name of Nepali Months Corresponding Gregorian Months Days:

  1. Baisakha – Mid-April to Mid-May 30 / 31 (30.950 exactly)
  2. Jestha – Mid-May to Mid-June 31 / 32 (31.429 exactly)
  3. Ashar – Mid-June to Mid-July 31 / 32 (31.638 exactly)
  4. Shrawan – Mid-July to Mid-August 31 / 32 (31.463 exactly)
  5. Bhadra – Mid-August to Mid-September 31 / 32 (31.012 exactly)
  6. Ashwin – Mid-September to Mid-October 30 / 31 (30.428 exactly)
  7. Karthik – Mid-October to Mid-November 29 / 30 (29.879 exactly)
  8. Mangsir – Mid-November-Mid December 29 / 30 (29.475 exactly)
  9. Poush – Mid-December to Mid-January 29 / 30 (29.310 exactly)
  10. Magh – Mid-January to Mid-February 29 / 30 (29.457 exactly)
  11. Falgun – Mid-February to Mid-March 29 / 30 (29.841 exactly)
  12. Chaitra – Mid-March to Mid-April 30 / 31(30.377 exactly)

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Some Important Festival and Days

The national days and events are celebrated on the Solar Cycle of Bikram Sambat Calendar whereas religious festivals are celebrated on the lunar cycle so the date may vary each year in Nepali calendar. And the festivals like Christmas, Eid, etc are celebrated according to their religious calendars. Here is the list of some important festivals and national days that are celebrated on these dates:

  1. New Year – 1st of Baisakh
  2. Loktantra Diwas – 11th of Baisakh
  3. Mata Tirtha Aushi – Baisakh Krishna Paksha Aunsi
  4. Buddha Jayanti – Baisakh Shukla Paksha Purnima
  5. Republic Day – 15th of Jestha
  6. Naag Panchami – Shravan Shukla Paksha Panchami
  7. Janai Purnima – Shrawan Shukla Paksha Purnima
  8. Krishna Janmashtami – Bhadra Krishna Paksha Ashtami
  9. Teej – Bhadra Shukla Paksha Tritiya
  10. Dashain – Ashwin Shukla Paksha Dashami
  11. Chhath puja -Kartik Shukla Paksha
  12. Laxmi Pooja – Kartik Krishna Paksha Trayodashi
  13. Tamu Losar – 15th of Poush
  14. Tol Losar – Poush Shukla Paksha Pratipada
  15. Maghesankrati – 1st of Magh
  16. Sonam Losar – Magh Shukla Paksha Pratipada
  17. Ram Navami – Chaitra Shukla Paksha Navami

This calendar includes all the public holidays, bank holidays, national days, cultural and religious festivals of different ethnic people of Nepal and is also helpful for people who live outside of Nepal.

The significance of Nepali Calendar is due to the unique perspective of Nepalese people who celebrates their own national days and events according to the Nepali dates rather than the Gregorian Calendar system.

In the Nepalese new year, various rituals are conducted in different parts of Nepal and yearly annual carnivals like Bisket Jatra, Sindoor Jatra and Bode Jatra are carried out to welcome the New Year in traditional style. Nowadays, New Year’s Eve events and parties are also organized by hotels, restaurants, and clubs for party lovers to celebrate the new year in western style.
Traditionally, Nepalese people wear new clothes, prepare delicious foods and celebrate different Jatras across the different parts of the country in the New Year of Nepal, that is the First day of Baisakh.

For exact dates of Dashain, Tihar, Chhath, Holi, Losar, Eid, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Christmas and all other festivals of Nepalese people and national day celebration, here we have brought you the official calendar of Nepal for every year’s events and festivals.

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