The Tamil Calendar is followed by the Tamil speaking state of Tamil Nadu, Kerala in India and by the Tamil

population in Malaysia, Singapore & Sri Lanka. There are several festivals in Tamil Nadu based on the Tamil Hindu Calendar. The Tamil calendar is based on the solar cycle. It has a sixty years cycle and each year has twelve months. The Tamil New Year follows the vernal equinox and generally falls on April 14 of the Gregorian year. The Tamil calendar is based on the Hindu solar calendar also used in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Nepal, Manipur, Orissa and the Punjab. It in turn influenced the calendars of Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand where the traditional new year falls around April 14 as well. The Hindu lunar calendar is conversely used in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra where the traditional year begins on the new moon preceding April 14.

The Seven Days of the Week

The days of the Tamil Calendar relate to the celestial bodies in the solar system. Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn, in that order. The week starts with Sunday The following list compiles the days of the week in Tamil Calendar: No. Weekday (Tamil) Weekday (English) 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. Nyaayitru-kizhamai Thingat-kizhamai Sevvaai-kizhamai Buthan-kizhama Viyaazha-kizhama Velli-kizhama Sani-kizhamai Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Lord or Planet Sun Moon Mars Mercury Jupiter Venus Saturn

The Months of a Tamil Calendar

The Tamil Hindu Calendar starts around April 14 of the Gregorian Calendar each year. It consists of twelve months. The number of days in a month can vary between 29 to 32. The following list compiles the months of the Tamil Calendar. The names of most Tamil months have Sanskrit antecedents. For example the name of the month 'Panguni' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Phalguna'. The month 'Chitterai' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Chaitra'. The name of the month 'Vaikaasi' is derived from the Sanskrit 'Vaishaaka'. The month 'Aadi' comes from 'Ashaadha'. No. 01. 02. 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10. 11. 12. Month (Tamil) Month (English) Gregorian Calendar equivalent Chitthirai Vaikaasi Aani Aadi Aavani Purattaasi Aipassi Kaarthigai Maargazhi Thai Maasi Panguni mid-April to mid-May mid-May to mid-June mid-June to mid-July mid-July to mid-August mid-August to mid-September mid-September to mid-October mid-October to mid-November mid-November to mid-December mid-December to mid-January mid-January to mid-February mid-February to mid-March mid-March to mid-April

The Sixty-Year Cycle of Tamil Calendar

There 60 year cycle of Tamil Calendar was inserted into the Tamil Calendar system relatively late. Except few names in the 60 year cycle, the rest are 'Sanskrit' names. The calendar follows a sixty year cycle. After the completion of sixty years, the calendar starts anew with the first year. This corresponds to the "Hindu century". The Vakya or Tirukannitha Panchangam (the traditional Tamil almanac) outlines this sequence. The following list presents the current 60-year cycle of the Calendar: No. Name Gregorian Year 1987 - 1988 1988 1989 1989 - 1990 1990 - 1991 1991 1992 1992 1993 1993 1994 1994 1995 1995 - 1996 1996 - 1997 1997 - 1998 1998 1999 1999 - 2000 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 - 2003 2003 - 2004 2004 - 2005 2005 2006 No. Name Gregorian Year 2017 - 2018 2018 - 2019 2019 - 2020 2020 - 2021 2021 - 2022 2022 - 2023 2023 - 2024 2024 - 2025 2025 - 2026 2026 - 2027 2027 - 2028 2028 - 2029 2029 - 2030 2030 - 2031 2031 - 2032 2032 - 2033 2033 - 2034 2034 - 2035 2035 - 2036

01. Prabhava 02. Vibhava 03 Sukla 04 . Pramodhoodha 05. Prajorpaththi 06. Aangirasa 07. Srimukha 08. Bhava 09. Yuva 10. Thaadhu 11. Eesvara 12. Vehudhanya 13. Pramathi 14. Vikrama 15. Vishu 16. Chitrabaanu 17. Subaanu 18. Thaarana 19. Paarthiba

31.Hevilambi 32.Vilambi 33. Vikari 34. Sarvari 35. Plava 36. Subakrith 37 .Sobakrith 38. Krodhi 39. Visuvaasuva 40. Parabhaava 41. Plavanga 42. Keelaka 43. Saumya 44. Sadharana 45.Virodhikrithu 46. Paridhaabi 47. Pramaadhisa 48 .Aanandha 49. Rakshasa

20. Viya 21. Sarvasithu 22. Sarvadhari 23. Virodhi 24. Vikruthi 25. Kara 26. Nandhana 27. Vijaya 28. Jaya 29. Manmatha 30. Dhunmuki

2006 - 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 - 2010 2010 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013 2013 - 2014 2014 2015 2015 - 2016 2016 2017

50. Nala 51. Pingala 52. Kalayukthi 53. Siddharthi 54. Raudhri 55. Thunmathi 56. Dhundubhi 57. Rudhrodhgaari 58. Raktakshi 59. Krodhana 60. Akshaya

2036 - 2037 2037 - 2038 2038 - 2039 2039 - 2040 2040 - 2041 2041 - 2042 2042 - 2043 2043 - 2044 2044 - 2045 2045 - 2046 2046 - 2047