हिन्दू पञ्चाङ्ग 2028 Hindu Calendar 2028

The Hindu calendar (Panchang) is a lunisolar calendar used to determine festivals, vratas, and auspicious times in Sanatana Dharma. It tracks the Moon's phases (tithi, paksha) and the Sun's position (sankranti, ayanamsa). Different regions use slightly different versions — Vikram Samvat in North India, Shaka Samvat in South, Bengali San in Bengal, etc.

12 lunar months: Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, Shravana, Bhadrapada, Ashwin, Kartika, Margashirsha, Pausha, Magha, Phalguna. Each month has 30 tithis (15 Shukla + 15 Krishna). Roughly every 3 years, an extra month called Adhik Maas is added to align with the solar year.

The Gregorian calendar is purely solar — months are based on Earth's orbit around the Sun. The Hindu calendar is lunisolar — months track the Moon (29.5-day lunar cycle), but extra days/months are inserted to keep festivals aligned with seasons. This is why Diwali falls on different Gregorian dates each year, but always in Kartika lunar month.

Hindu New Year falls on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada — the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (typically late March or early April). Different regions celebrate it as: Gudi Padwa (Maharashtra), Ugadi/Yugadi (Andhra/Telangana/Karnataka), Cheti Chand (Sindhi), Navreh (Kashmiri Pandits).

Vikram Samvat is the most widely-used Hindu calendar era, established by King Vikramaditya in 57 BCE. To convert: Gregorian year + 57 = Vikram Samvat. So 2026 CE = 2083 Vikram Samvat. The era starts on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada.

Adhik Maas (also called Mal Maas or Purushottam Maas) is the extra month added to the Hindu calendar approximately every 3 years to synchronize the lunar year (354 days) with the solar year (365 days). During Adhik Maas, weddings and new ventures are typically avoided, but spiritual practices are intensified — the month is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Purushottam).

There is no single 'most authoritative' calendar — different regions follow different traditions. Drik Panchang (based on actual astronomical positions) is considered the most precise modern panchang. Older almanacs use slightly different ayanamsa values. The Vikram Samvat is most popular pan-India for religious purposes; the Shaka Samvat is the official Indian National Calendar.

A Gregorian date is a fixed 24-hour day. A tithi is the time the Moon takes to move 12° relative to the Sun — which can range from ~19 to ~26 hours. So a tithi may span parts of two Gregorian dates, or two tithis may fall on the same date. Festivals are determined by which tithi is in effect at sunrise (or specific time windows depending on the festival).