Indian national calendar converter
The Indian national calendar, also called the Saka calendar, is the civil calendar used alongside the Gregorian one in India's official gazette and government documents. Its year starts on 1 Chaitra, 22 March in most years. Convert a Gregorian date to Saka, or a Saka date back to Gregorian, with the weekday.
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How to use it
- Choose Gregorian → Saka and pick a date, or Saka → Gregorian and type a year, choose a month and type a day.
- Read the converted date; the Gregorian date is shown with its weekday.
- Below, see whether the Saka year is a leap year, when its 1 Chaitra falls and how many days the month has.
How it works
- Saka year = Gregorian year − 78, counted from 1 Chaitra: 22 March, or 21 March when the Gregorian year is a leap year.
- Months in order: Chaitra 30 (31 in a leap year), then Vaishakha, Jyaishtha, Ashadha, Shravana and Bhadra 31 days each, then Ashvin, Kartika, Agrahayana, Pausha, Magha and Phalguna 30 days each.
- The converter counts the days from 1 Chaitra and walks through the months, or does the same in reverse.
Worked example
4 November 2026. The Saka year started on 22 March 2026 (2026 is not a leap year), year 2026 − 78 = 1948.
- From 22 March to 4 November is 227 days.
- Chaitra 30 + five months of 31 + Ashvin 30 = 215 days, which takes us to the end of Ashvin.
- 227 − 215 = 12 days into Kartika, so the date is 13 Kartika 1948 Saka.
1 January 2026 is 285 days after 22 March 2025; the first nine months make 275 days, so it is 11 Pausha 1947 Saka.
Tips
- In January to March, remember that the Saka year is still the previous one until 1 Chaitra.
- Indian government documents often give both dates, for example “13 Kartika 1948 / 4 November 2026”.
- For dates of Hindu festivals, use a panchang for your region rather than this calendar.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a Gregorian year to a Saka year?
Subtract 78 from 1 Chaitra (22 March, or 21 March in a leap year) to 31 December, and 79 from 1 January until the day before 1 Chaitra. 4 November 2026 is in Saka year 1948, 1 January 2026 in 1947.
How long are the months?
Chaitra has 30 days, or 31 in a leap year; Vaishakha, Jyaishtha, Ashadha, Shravana and Bhadra have 31; Ashvin, Kartika, Agrahayana, Pausha, Magha and Phalguna have 30. That makes 365 or 366 days.
When is a Saka year a leap year?
When the Gregorian year it starts in, the Saka year plus 78, is a leap year. Then Chaitra gets a 31st day and the year begins on 21 March.
Is this the same as the Hindu religious calendars?
No. Festival dates follow lunisolar calendars such as Vikram Samvat, whose months share names with these but start at different times. The national calendar is solar and fixed to the Gregorian one.
Since when has India used it?
It was adopted from 1 Chaitra 1879 Saka, which was 22 March 1957. The converter also works for earlier dates by the same rules.