Indian Epigraphy c15.s2.t2.2

c15.s2.t2.2

The Saptarṣi era, otherwise called the Laukika, Śāstra, Pahāḍī or Kaccā reckoning, is an imaginary cycle of 2700 years. Its calculation is based on the supposition that the Saptarṣi (Great Bear) stays for one hundred years at each one of the 27 nakṣatras or lunar mansions. The name Pahāḍī is due to the prevalence of the era in the hills of the Punjab and Kashmir regions, while the names Laukika and Kaccā refer to its use with the omission of the hundreds. Owing to its use mainly in the works pertaining to *jyotiḥ-śāstra*, it is called the Śāstra-saṁvat. The movement of the Great Bear, though mentioned in works like the *Bṛhatsaṁhitā*¹, *Bhāgavata Purāṇa*, etc.², is really imaginary and is also recognised as such by medieval astronomers.³