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Vikram Samvat to English date

Turn a tithi from a wedding card or panchang, like Kartik Sud 5, into an English calendar date. Or find the Vikram Samvat date for any day.

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Pick a date to convert.

How the Vikram Samvat calendar works

Vikram Samvat is a lunisolar calendar: its months follow the Moon, while its years stay in step with the Sun. It is the traditional calendar across much of India and the official calendar of Nepal, and it is how many wedding cards, festivals and family events are dated.

Each lunar month has two halves, or pakshas. Sud (Shukla, the bright half) runs from the new moon to the full moon, and Vad (Krishna, the dark half) runs from the full moon back to the new moon. Each half has 15 lunar days called tithis. So "Kartik Sud 5" means the fifth lunar day of the bright half of the month of Kartik.

Why a tithi is not the same as a day

A tithi is the time the Moon takes to move 12° further from the Sun, which varies between roughly 19 and 26 hours. The tithi in force at sunrise gives the day its name. Occasionally a tithi starts and ends between two sunrises and is skipped (kshaya), or spans two sunrises and repeats. This converter handles both and tells you when it happens.

Gujarati and North Indian calendars

Two things differ by region. First, the month system: in Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India, months run new moon to new moon (Amanta); in most of North India they run full moon to full moon (Purnimanta), so the dark half carries the next month's name. Second, the new year: the Gujarati year begins the day after Diwali, while the North Indian year begins in Chaitra, in spring. The year number is about 57 years ahead of the English year: most of 2026 is VS 2082 in Gujarat, and VS 2083 begins on November 10, 2026.

Examples

How this converter calculates

Everything runs in your browser. It calculates the positions of the Sun and Moon, finds the tithi at sunrise in Ujjain, the traditional reference city, and names each month by the zodiac sign the Sun is in when it begins (Lahiri ayanamsa). A local panchang may differ by a day when a tithi ends close to sunrise, so for religious timings, confirm with your family's panchang.

Got a card full of dates? Invited reads every function on a wedding card and understands 9 calendar systems, including Vikram Samvat.

Questions

Why does my panchang show a different date?

Panchangs are calculated for a place, and a tithi that ends within minutes of sunrise can land on different days in different cities. This converter uses sunrise at Ujjain, the traditional reference. Festivals can also follow other rules, such as the tithi at midday or at dusk.

What is the difference between Amanta and Purnimanta?

In Amanta (used in Gujarat, Maharashtra and South India) a month runs from new moon to new moon. In Purnimanta (used in most of North India) it runs from full moon to full moon, so the dark half (Vad) carries the next month's name.

Why is the Gujarati year different from the North Indian year?

The Gujarati Vikram Samvat year starts the day after Diwali (Kartik Sud 1). The North Indian year starts in spring (Chaitra Sud 1). For about seven months a year they differ by one.

What is an Adhik month?

About every three years a lunar month passes without the Sun changing zodiac sign. That month is repeated as Adhik (extra), which keeps the calendar in step with the seasons. 2026 has an Adhik Jyeshtha.

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