Re-defining the Lunar New Year Chart - December 3, 2014 (version 1)

Oct 12, 2026

A redefinition of the lunar new year chart is proposed by linking lunar year boundaries to a tropical-solar framework instead of traditional sidereal practice. The text defines tropical versus sidereal solar years, explains relevant teachings from Vishnu Purana, and argues that tropical signs better align seasons with new year timing. It further surveys India’s Suklanta and Amanta conventions, then formulates a reformed rule using conjunction timing tied to ayana/yuga commencements, including Cancer and Pushya nakshatra references.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Solar Calendar

Vishnu Purana Teaching

Sidereal vs Tropical Zodiac

Lunar Calendar

Tradition

Aligning with Solar Calendar

Link to Ayana Commencement

Link to Yuga Commencement

Reformed Lunar New Year

Definition

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah Om Rishibhyo Namah Om Sree Gurubhyo Namah Re-defining the Lunar New Year Chart P.V.R. Narasimha Rao December 3, 2014 (version 1) Warning: All copyrights are reserved with author. This article cannot be reproduced in any form in part or in full, without express permission from the author. Introduction Lunar calendar is used in many parts of the world including India. However, there are many variations of lunar calendar, with different definitions used for reckoning the lunar new year. The lunar new year chart will be redefined in this article. Solar Calendar Before defining the soli-lunar calendar, let us define the solar calendar. A solar year is of 365.242 days (tropical) or 365.256 days (sidereal) . Tropical solar year is the time period in which Sun traverses the tropical zodiac once. Sidereal solar year is the time period in which Sun traverses the sidereal zodiac once. Vishnu Purana Teaching For defining soli-lunar years, astrologers now-a-days use sidereal solar year as the reference for alignment. However, this is inconsistent with the teachings of Maharshi Parasara to Maitreya in “Vishnu Purana” chapter 2.8. Maharshi Pararsara taught Maitreya that a solar year consists of 2 ayanas and that each ayana consists of 3 ritus (seasons) . This link to seasons clearly points to tropical zodiac. A solar year based on tropical zodiac (i.e. the time Sun takes to traverse exactly 360° around the tropical zodiac) is tied to seasons. For example, when Sun enters tropical Aries, day and night are of equal length and it is spring. When Sun enters tropical Cancer, day is the longest and it is summer (in northern hemisphere) . When Sun enters tropical Libra, day and night are of equal length and it is autumn. When Sun enters tropical Capricorn, day is the shortest and it is winter (in northern hemisphere) . If we take the sidereal zodiac, it is not tied to seasons. When Sun enters sidereal Aries every year, he will be in the vicinity of particular stars associated with sidereal Aries, but the season changes over the years! Not stopping at that, Maharshi Parasara explicitly taught Maitreya that Uttarayana starts when Sun enters Capricorn and the day length is the smallest then. When Uttarayana ends, Sun leaves Gemini to enter Cancer and the day is is the longest then. That makes it obvious that Pararsara is referring to tropical signs here! Sidereal vs Tropical Zodiac As mentioned above, Maharshi Parasara clearly used tropical zodiac when defining solar years in “Vishnu Purana”. But, when teaching divisional charts in “Brihat Parasara Hora Sastram”, he taught how nakshatras are aligned to rasis and how navamsas map to quarters of naksatras. So he used sidereal zodiac there. This author's conclusion is that both tropical and sidereal zodiacs are needed: • Sidereal zodiac: Used for all matters related to space, i.e. definition of rasi chart and divisional charts • Tropical zodiac: Used for all matters related to time, i.e. definition of months, seasons, ayanas and years. Lunar Calendar Tradition Lunar year has traditionally been defined in various parts of India in various ways. Some traditions reckon new year at Full Moon (i.e. when Sun and Moon are exactly 180º apart) and some at New Moon (i.e. when Sun and Moon are exactly conjoined). These calendar systems are known as Suklanta and Amanta respectively. The latter, i.e. amanta, is more popular. In the most popular tradition, new year is reckoned in spring. It is reckoned when Sun and Moon conjoin insidereal Pisces. Of course, when we say “in spring”, it must be noted that lunar new year currently comes in spring with this definition. A few thousand years later, it will come in summer, autumn and winter. If it has to come in the same season, it has to use tropical signs instead of sidereal signs. In fact, it is possible that tropical Aries was used in the past and sidereal Pisces was adopted later due to emphasis

FAQs

Why does the text argue for using tropical solar years when defining lunar years?

Because tropical solar years are tied to seasons, and the author aligns the method with the teachings referenced from Vishnu Purana. This helps ensure the lunar new year comes in the same season consistently.

What is the difference between sidereal and tropical zodiac in this article’s reasoning?

Sidereal zodiac aligns with star locations, causing seasons to shift over years, while tropical zodiac is explicitly tied to seasons through the Sun’s traversal of the tropical signs.

How does the article characterize traditional lunar new year traditions in India?

It distinguishes Suklanta (new year reckoned at Full Moon, when Sun and Moon are 180° apart) from Amanta (new year reckoned at New Moon, when Sun and Moon are conjoined), noting Amanta as more popular in the text.

Oct 12, 2026

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