Hindu calendar
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The Hindu calendar is an ancient, and complex lunar system of dividing up the year. Holy days are observed according the the phases of the moon, and a thorough understanding of the Hindu calendar is needed to determin the exact date of a specific function. Marriages are also planned around auspicious times during the Hindu lunar year.
The Hindu calendar is divided into six seasons. 1. Basant — Spring 2. Grishm — Summer 3. Varshaa — Monsoon 4. Sharad or Patajhardh — Autumn 5. Hemant — Winter 6. Shisheer — The Cool Season
Each season contains two months which begin roughly, the day after the new moon, although there are many variables. Due to the inconstant rotations of the moon, days can be lost, or extra days can appear in the Hindu year. The twelve months of the Hindu year are: 1. Chaitr 2. Vaishaakh 3. Jyeshth 4. Aashaarh 5. Shraavarn 6. Bhaadrapad 7. Aashwin 8. Kaartik 9. Aagrihaayarn 10.Paushn 11.Maagh 12.Phaalgun
The month of Chaitr, theoretically, starts off the year in the season of Basant (Spring) the day after the new moon in March, however, recent attempts have been made to adapt the Hindu Calendar into something resembling the solar year, which has thrown the entire system into confusion. For instance the festival of Lohrdi is supposed to begin the month of Maagh, but Lohrdi is always celebrated on a fixed date of the solar calendar (January 14th), and so the phases of the moon cannot be relied upon to give an accurate picture of the Hindu Year. The problem of sorting out the anomalies, and declaring spring, usually falls to the Pandits—learned men and astrologers of the Hindu tradition.
In modern Hindi language, the seasons Hemant and Shisheer are referred to together, as Sardee—generic winter. Grishm and Varshaa fall under the heading of Garmiyaan—the heats.
Variants
It is misleading to refer to 'the Hindu calendar, as there are many variant calendars in use by different shades of Hinduism, or in different regions. Further, even where basically the same underlying calendar is used, there may be differences of a day or more in dates due to observational or interpretational differences.
References
There are few works in English that describe Hindu calendars in detail and accurately. A good starting point is Calendrical Calculations: The Millennium Edition (Edward M. Reingold & Nachum Dershowitz).
