Calendars for Agriculture

by PR Sarkar

The Solar Calendar

The Bengali months:

• are solar months
• take into account the seasons.

The Hindi months are lunar months so cultivation cannot be done according to the Hindi calendar.

The Gregorian calendar is also a solar calendar, but it is not adjusted. For example, when the arc is starting, it is April 14, which is the middle of the month. But if it were properly adjusted, it would be in the beginning of the month.

Generally, the solar year is 365 days. The lunar year is 355 days. Therefore, every 3 years, the lunar year advances by one month.

The Bengali Calendar

The months in the Bengali calendar are:

_# | Name | Months — | — 1 | Vaeshákha | mid-April to mid-May [4.5-5.5] 2 | Jyaeśt́ha | mid-May to mid-June [5.5-6.5] 3 | Aśádha | mid-June to mid-July [6.5-7.5] 4 | Shrávańa | mid-July to mid-August [7.5-8.5] 5 | Bhádra | mid-August to mid-September [8.5-9.5] 6 | Áshvina | mid-September to mid-October [9.5-10.5] 7 | Kárttika | mid October to mid November [10.5-11.5] 8 | Agrahayańa | mid November to mid December [11.5-12.5] 9 | Pauśa | mid December to mid January [12.5-1.5] 10 | Mágha | mid January to mid February [1.5-2.5] 11 | Phálguna | mid February to mid March [2.5-3.5] 12 | Caetra | mid March to mid April [3.5-4.5]

The Bengali calendar is followed in:

• West Bengal
• Bangladesh
• Tripura
• Assam
• Orissa
• the Bengali speaking areas of Bihar and Chotanagpur.

It is also followed for cultivation in:

• Uttar Pradesh
• Madhya Pradesh
• Jammu
• Kashmir
• the Punjab
• Himachal Pradesh
• Tibet
• Kerala
• Tamil Nadu
• Andhra Pradesh
• Maharashtra
• Gujarat
• Rajasthan.

“Hathiya’ in Bihar is when:

• both the sun and the moon are in Pisces
• clouds form in the sky and it rains

This combination is considered excellent for agriculture because the yield of the crops will increase tremendously.

Some plants are sun-affected. Others are moon-affected.

Basil is moon-affected. In moon-affected herbs, the effect increases on the full moon.

Sun-affected and moon-affected plants should be grown in separate areas.

Detailed research needs to be done to make all calendars more accurate. This will make farming more scientific and increase productivity.