Indian Epigraphy c15.t16: 4. Jupiter's Twelve-year Cycle
Indian Epigraphy c15.t16
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4. Jupiter's Twelve-year Cycle
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⁴ Fleet, CII, Vol. III, pp. 105 ff.; Ojha, Bhāratīya Prācīn Lipimālā, p. 187.
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The reckoning is associated with Jupiter's movement. This planet sets when the sun comes near it and reappears between 25 and 31 days later. The year is named after the nakṣatra in which Jupiter reappears, the names being those of the lunar months such as Caitra, etc. Sometimes the word mahā is prefixed to the names of the month to indicate the years of the cycle, e.g., Mahā-Caitra, etc.
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Jupiter's reappearance in particular nakṣatras leads to the naming of the years in the following order : (1) Kṛttikā or Rohiṇī—Kārttika or Mahā-Kārttika; (2) Mṛgaśirā or Ārdrā—Mārgaśīrṣa or Mahā-Mārgaśīrṣa; (3) Punarvasu or Puṣyā—Pauṣa or Mahā-Pauṣa; (4) Aśleṣā or Maghā—Māgha or Mahā-Māgha; (5) Pūrva-Phalgunī, Uttara-Phalgunī or Hastā—Phālguna or Mahā-Phālguna; (6) Citrā or Svātī—Caitra or Mahā-Caitra; (7) Viśākhā or Anurādhā—Vaiśākha or Mahā-Vaiśākha; (8) Jyeṣṭhā or Mūlā—Jyaiṣṭha or Mahā-Jyaiṣṭha; (9) Pūrv-Āṣāḍhā or Uttar-Āṣāḍhā—Āṣāḍha or Mahā-Āṣāḍha; (10) Śravaṇā or Dhaniṣṭhā—Śrāvaṇa or Mahā-Śrāvaṇa; (11) Śatabhiṣā, Pūrva-Bhādrapada or Uttara-Bhādrapada—
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Bhādrapada or Mahā-Bhādrapada; and (12) Revatī, Aśvinī or Bharaṇī—Aśvina (Āśvayuja) or Mah-Āśvina (Mah-Āśvayuja).
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In twelve solar years, Jupiter’s reappearance occurs eleven times. One of the solar years of the Cycle is therefore regarded as suppressed. Some inscriptions of about the 5th century A.D. mention the years of Jupiter’s Twelve-year Cycle though they are even now mentioned in the almanacs in some parts of India. The earliest occurrence of the reckoning in North and South India can be traced in the Khoh copper-plate grant¹ of the Parivrājaka king Hastin dated in the Gupta year 163 (482-83 A.D.) called Mah-Āśvayuja-saṃvatsara and a grant² of the Kadamba king Mṛgeśavarman (second half of the 5th century A.D.) dated in his third regnal year styled Pauṣa-saṃvatsara. Among other records mentioning the said reckoning, reference may be made to the Majgaon plates³ of Hastin (dated in the Gupta year 191 = 510-11 A.D. called Mahā-Caitra-saṃvatsara), the Khoh plates⁴ of Saṃkṣobha (dated in the Gupta year 209 = 528-29 A.D. called Mah-Āśvayuja-saṃvatsara) and the Bhumara pillar inscription⁵ (dated in the Mahā-Māgha-saṃvatsara) of the time of Hastin.
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¹ *CII*, Vol. III, p. 102.
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² *Ind. Ant.*, Vol. VII, p. 35.
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³ *CII*, Vol. III, pp. 106 ff.
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⁴ Ibid., pp. 112 ff.
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⁵ Ibid., pp. 110 ff.; *Ep. Ind.*, Vol. XXXIII, pp. 167 ff.