Anka year ( or, ଅଙ୍କ ''Aṅka'') system is a unique

regnal year A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year o ...

system used in the state of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and was instituted by the rulers of the

Eastern Ganga dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

for dating their reigns. It had a number of features that mark the regnal year different from that actual duration of the year elapsed during the reign. The system still survives today and is used in the

Odia calendar The Odia calendar ( or, ପାଞ୍ଜି Pāñji) is a lunisolar calendar followed in the state of Odisha, India. The calendar follows the sidereal solar cycle while using the lunar Purnimanta phase for the religious dates. The New Year in the Od ...

(panji) to mark the titular regnal year of the Gajapati Maharaja (King of Puri) which is currently held by Divyasingha Deva IV of the

Bhoi dynasty The Bhoi dynasty or the Yaduvamsa (IAST: Yaduvaṃśa) dynasty were a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Odisha that reigned from 1541 to 1560 CE. Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne f ...

, whose title carries the legacy of the historical ruling monarchs of Odisha.

Description

The Anka system, also denoted as the Odisha style of dating refers to a special system of counting used only in

which is written along with the name of the King of Puri accompanied by a simple calculation which yields the regnal year of the king. The Anka years were so popular in the Odia-speaking tracts that not only it was used in official records but also by the authors in their works and in the horoscopes prepared by the astrologers. Additional information are also provided on the lunar or solar date besides the King's Anka with the

following the Purnimanta system of month naming.

Features

* The Anka system always starts on the Odia fiscal new year called ''Sunia'' which falls on the 12th day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadra (August-September) known as Bhādra Sukḷa Dwādasi. If the king accedes the throne for a few days before this date, then the first year of his reign would then just be a few days long. * Coins were minted on the date of the new year and hence the first coins were given the Anka year 2, the number 1 was not used. * All years ending in 6 were skipped. As in the Anka year 5 was followed by Anka year 7, Anka year 15 was followed by Anka year 17 and so on. * All years ending in 0 were also skipped, except for the Anka year 10. Hence no Anka years exist for 1, 6, 16, 20, 26, 30, 36, 40, 46, 50, 56 and so on.

Description

Features

Regnal and Anka year Timeline

Anka year of the current titular Gajapati Maharaja

List of Anka year for monarchs of the ruling dynasties

Eastern Ganga dynasty

Suryavamsa (Routray) dynasty

Bhoi dynasty (1st reign)

Chalukya dynasty

Bhoi dynasty (2nd reign, Khurda-Puri)

References