The Tripuri calendar is the traditional

luni-solar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the ...

used by the

Tripuri people The Tripuri (also known as Tripura, Tipra, Tiprasa, Twipra) are an ethnic group originating in the Indian state of Tripura. They are the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through the ...

, especially in the context of

Tripuri irredentism Tripuri Nationalism is an ideology that supports self-determination by the Tripuri people. The conflict is in essence ethnic and the Tripuri community, indigenous to the region formed the clear majority of population in the princely state of Twipr ...

. Its era, the "Twipra Era", "Tripura Era" or ''Tripurabda'' is set at 15 April AD 590. The Tripura Era's New Year is on the 1st of Vaishak which corresponds to 14 or 15 of April of

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

, depending on whether that year is a Leap year or not. The months are named in pan Indian months, time since its inception 1419 years back by Tripur king Hamtorfa alias Himtifa alias Jujharufa in 512 Saka Era. Historically, the Tripura Era was prevalent in all official matters of the princely state of

Tippera Tripura State, also known as Hill Tipperah, was a princely state in India during the period of the British Raj and for some two years after the departure of the British. Its rulers belonged to the Manikya dynasty and until August ...

under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Tradition holds that the era marks the conquest of Bengal by the 118th Tripuri king in the ''

Rajmala ''Rajmala'' is a chronicle of the Kings of Tripura, written in Bengali verse in the 15th century under Dharma Manikya I. Overview The ''Rajmala'' chronicles the history of the Manikya kings of Tripura. While it serves as an invaluable sou ...

'' chronicle, Hamtor Fa (also ''Jujaru Fa'' or ''Himti'' or ''Birraj''). In historical reality, however, the Tripuri era, just as the Bengali era, is an adoption of the Mughal '' Fasli era'' introduced by emperor

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

in 1563. Its use in Tripura (Twipra) can be traced to the 163rd king in Tripuri reckoning,

Govinda Manikya Govinda Manikya (d. 1676) was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1660 to 1661 and again from 1667 to 1676. Though viewed as a capable and successful ruler, Govinda's reign was interrupted by his temporary overthrow and usurpation by his younger brother ...

(fl. 1660), and the characteristic shift by three years is first recorded under his successor, ''Chhatramanikya'' in 1663/4, who can thus be considered to have introduced the "Tripuri calendar". With the accession of

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

to the

Republic 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 ...

in 1949, official use of the Tripuri calendar was discontinued. There have long been calls to revive the Tripuri calendar in

Tripuri nationalism Tripuri Nationalism is an ideology that supports self-determination by the Tripuri people. The conflict is in essence ethnic and the Tripuri community, indigenous to the region formed the clear majority of population in the princely state of Tippe ...

. In 1991, the Tripuri era was first cited in the State Government calendar and diaries. In 2001, the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) authorities organized a three-day "Tring festival", which concluded at the TTAADC headquarters

Khumulwng Khumulwng is a town in the West Tripura district in the Indian state of Tripura. It is the headquarters and the largest town of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. History Khumulwng was established in 1991. The TTAADC headquar ...

West Tripura West Tripura is an administrative district in the state of Tripura in India. The district headquarters are located at Agartala. As of 2012 it is the most populous district of Tripura (out of 8). Geography Climate District Profile The inform ...

References

*D. C.Sircar, ''Some Epigraohical Records Of The Mediaeval Period From Eastern India'', Abhinav Publications, 1979
93f.

References

See also