Indian Epigraphy c15.s1.t1: 1. Hijrī Era
Indian Epigraphy c15.s1.t1
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1. Hijrī Era
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¹ ’Ain-i-Akbarī, translated by H. S. Jarrett, ed. J. N. Sarkar, Vol. II, pp. 23-26.; Ojha, Bhāratīya Prācīn Lipimālā, pp. 190-91.
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The name of the era is derived from the Arabic root hijr, ‘to be separated, to leave’, and the reckoning is believed to have started from the time of the departure of Muḥammad, the great founder of Islām, from Mecca to Medina, viz. the evening of the 15th July 622 A. D. (Vikrama 679, Śrāvaṇa-sudi 2). The era was instituted by Khalifa Umr (634-44 A.D.) a few years after the death of Muḥammad. According to some authorities, its institution took place in the Hijrī year 17.
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The years of the Hijrī era are lunar. The months are counted from the sight of moon after the new-moon (i.e. from the evening of the 2nd tithi of the bright fortnight). The days are counted from the evening of one day to that of another. The twelve months of the Hijrī era are the following : (1) Muharram, (2) Safar, (3) Rabi’ul Avval ( i.e. Rabi’ I ), (4) Rabi’ul Akhir or Rabi’uṣ Sānī ( i.e. Rabi’ II ), (5) Jamadaul Avval (i. e. Jamada I), (6) Jamadaul Akhir or Jamadauṣ Sānī (i. e. Jamada II), (7) Rajab, (8) Shāban, (9) Ramẓān, (10) Shavval, (11) Zilqada, and (12) Zilhijja. Since the duration of the lunar month is 29 days, 31 ghaṭikās or daṇḍas 50 palas and 7 vipalas, the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by 10 days, 53 ghaṭikās or daṇḍas, 30 palas and 6 vipalas. Thus in a century of solar years, we have 103 lunar years, 24 days and 9 ghaṭikās or daṇḍas. The lunar year may happen to begin from any date in any month of the solar year without any link with the seasons.
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The Hijrī era was introduced in India by the Muslim conquerors. It is first used in the legend of the bilingual coins issued by Sultān Maḥmūd of Ghaznī from the Maḥmūdpūr (Lahore) mint in Hijrī 418 and 419 (1027 and 1028 A.D.).¹ The era is called, in the Sanskrit legend on the reverse of one of the specimens, the Tājikīya-saṁvat, i.e. the era of the Tājika people. The word Tājik, from Tāzī meaning ‘Arabic’, denotes ‘one of the Arab blood, born and brought up in Persia.’²
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¹ Thomas, *Chronicle of the Pathan Kings of Delhi*, p. 48; *JAS*, Letters, Vol. XIX, pp. 133 ff. and Plate. On one of the issues, the legend reads in the central part : *Avyaktam=eka(m*)* *Muḥammada(ḥ*)* *avatāra(ḥ*)* *nṛpati(r*)* = *Mahamūda(ḥ*)*. Around the border, the legend runs: *ayaṁ taṁkaṁ(kaḥ)* *Mahamūdapure ghaṭita(ḥ*)* *Tājikīyena saṁvatā* 419. On another specimen, the marginal legend on the reverse seems to read *avyaktīya-nāme(mni)* *ayaṁ taṁkaṁ(kaḥ)* *hata(ḥ*)* *Mahamūdapure saṁvatā* 418.
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² Steingass, *Persian-English Dictionary*, s.v. *Tāz*, *Tājik*. The Arabs are generally mentioned in Indian epigraphic records as Tājika.
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A rule for finding out the Christian equivalent of a given Hijrī year is as follows : Multiply the Hijrī year by 970203, cut off six decimals, add 622.54 and the sum will be the year of the Christian era, and decimal of the day following, in old style. Thus Hijrī 1215 × 970203 = 1178.796645, leaving 1178+622.54=1800.54. Another system is: Multiply the Hijrī year by 2.977 (the difference between 100 solar and as many lunar years); divide the product by 100, and deduct the quotient from the Hijrī year; add to the result 621.569, and the quotient will be the Christian year from the date at which the Muhammadan year begins. Thus Hijrī 1269 × 2.977 = 37778; 37778 ÷ 100 = 37.778; 1269 - 37.778 = 1231.222 + 621.569 = 1852.791 (791 or 9 months 15 days indicating the commencement of Hijrī 1269 on the 15th October). The formula of finding the Hijrī equivalent of a given Christian year is as follows : Subtract 622 from the current year; multiply the result by 1.0307; cut off four decimals, and add 46; the sum will be the year which, when this is a surplus decimal, requires the addition of 1. Thus 1852 - 622 = 1230; 1230 × 1.0307 = 1267.7610 + 46 = 1268.22; add 1 and we have the Hijrī year 1269.³
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³ Cf. Wilson’s *Glossary*, s. v. *Hijra*.
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The use of the Hijrī era is found not only in Arabic and Persian epigraphs, but sometimes also in inscriptions in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.