Ancient Hindu calendars had divided the year on the basis of the religious rites and seasons (Ritu). Following seasons are the part of ancient Hindi calendar –
- Vasant (spring) from mid-March to mid-May
- Greeshma (summer) from mid-May to mid-July
- Varsha (rain) from mid-July to mid-September
- Sharad (autumn) from mid-September to mid-November
- Hemant (winter) from mid-November to mid-January
- Shishir (the dews) from mid-January to mid-March
The Hindu calendars have several eras such as –
- Kali -Yuga having epoch on 18 February 3102 BCE as per Julian calendar
- Vikrama Samvat introduced about the 12th century, counts from 56 to 57 BCE.
- Saka Era, used in some Hindu calendars also followed in the official Indian national calendar. It has its epoch near the vernal equinox of the year 78 CE.
- Saptarishi calendar is also used and that has its epoch at 3076 BCE.
