Shaka era
The Shaka era is a year-numbering system whose epoch is 78 CE. It is used in the Indian national calendar and in historical dating across South Asia.
Indian national calendar: India’s official civil calendar, which uses the Saka era and a lunisolar month sequence adapted to the solar year. It is the principal modern calendar that numbers years from the Shaka era.
Saka people: Ancient Iranian-speaking nomadic peoples known in South Asian sources as Sakas. The era’s name is traditionally connected with these peoples, though its origin remains debated.
Indian government documents: Official records issued by India’s government, often dated using the Indian national calendar alongside the Gregorian calendar. The Shaka year appears in formal Indian civil dating.
Vikrama Samvat: A Hindu calendar era traditionally beginning in 57 BCE and used in parts of South Asia. Its earlier epoch produces year numbers different from Shaka dating for the same date.
Saka calendar: A calendar system that counts years from the era beginning in 78 CE. This calendar framework gives the era its year numbering and historical continuity.
Kushan Empire: An empire that ruled parts of Central and South Asia from the first to third centuries CE. Kushan inscriptions provide evidence relevant to competing accounts of the era’s early use.
Indian coinage: Coins produced across the Indian subcontinent, often bearing rulers’ names, symbols, and dates. Dates in the era help place some coins within South Asian political chronologies.
Bengali calendar: A solar calendar used in Bengal, with regional variants in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. It represents a distinct regional calendar tradition rather than the national Shaka system.
Chaitra: The first month of the Indian national calendar, beginning in March or April. The national calendar’s year begins with this month, not on January 1.
Kanishka: A Kushan ruler whose reign is associated with the spread of Buddhism and whose accession date remains disputed. Older scholarship linked his accession to 78 CE, an identification not accepted as settled today.