Vikram Samvat
or the Vikrama Era is the most important of the India’s many systems of dating that
were or are in use in India. It was traditionally introduced by the legendary King
Vikramaditya of Ujjaini who drove the Sakas out of Ujjain and thus founded the
era to mark his victory. Since Chandra Gupta II (c. 376-415) of the Gupta Dynasty
is the only king who assumed the title of Vikramaditya and drove the Sakas out
of Ujjain, he cannot be person who introduced the Vikrama Era which began in 58
BC. It is so because the Gupta King lived some 400 years after the beginning of
this era. So the legend is certainly incorrect.
There is a
school of thought which says that Era of Vikram was founded by the Malava tribe
identified with the Malloi referred to by the Greek historians. It was after
the Malavas that the region around Ujjaini, north of the Narmada River, got its
name and came to be known as Malwa. Some
scholars credit Azes, an early Indo-Scythian king, for founding the Vikram era
but this theory has found few acceptances.
Vikrama Era
was more popular in North India. Its new year began originally with the month
of Kartitika. However, by the medieval period while its new years commenced in
the bright half of Chaitra in North India, in the South India in the dark half
of the same month. Today it is the official calendar in the Himalayan country
of Nepal.
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