Samvatsara · संवत्सरः
The 60-Year Samvatsara Cycle
Samvatsara is the Sanskrit word for a Jovian year — the time Brihaspati (Jupiter) takes to move through one sign of the zodiac, about 361 days. Sixty such years, grouped into three sets of twenty (dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva), make one complete cycle before the names repeat.
How the cycle is calculated
Prabhava, the first name, corresponds to Vikram Samvat 2044 (1987–88 CE) by published Panchang convention. Every subsequent Vikram Samvat year simply advances one position in the 60-name list; after Kshaya (position 60), the cycle restarts at Prabhava.
A note on precision
This is a solar-year approximation aligned to Vikram Samvat, which begins around Chaitra (March/April). In classical Siddhanta astronomy, roughly once every 85 years a Samvatsara name is technically "expunged" to keep the 60-year Jovian cycle synchronised with real time — a refinement most modern Panchangs and this page do not apply, so treat the exact year boundary as accurate to within a year in rare edge cases.
Not the same as an "era"
Samvatsara is a repeating 60-name cycle, not a running year count. For the actual year-counting systems, see Vikram Samvat (the traditional era) and Shaka Samvat (India's official National Calendar era) — both run alongside this cycle.
The three groups of twenty
Traditional sources group the 60 names into three sets of twenty, each associated with a deity of the Trimurti — the first twenty with Brahma, the next twenty with Vishnu, and the final twenty with Shiva. This grouping is a mnemonic and devotional convention rather than something that changes how the cycle is calculated; the 60 names simply repeat in the same fixed order regardless of which third a given year falls in.
Frequently asked questions
What is the current Samvatsara?
See the highlighted name at the top of this page — it's calculated live from today's date. Each Samvatsara year runs roughly with the Vikram Samvat year, changing over around Chaitra (March/April).
How many Samvatsara names are there?
60, starting with Prabhava and ending with Kshaya, after which the cycle restarts at Prabhava again. The full list with the current year highlighted is above.
What is the difference between Samvatsara and Vikram Samvat?
Vikram Samvat is a running year count (an era) that increases by one every year and never repeats. Samvatsara is a name from a 60-year cycle that repeats indefinitely — so a Samvatsara name recurs every 60 years, while a Vikram Samvat year number never does. Both apply to the same year simultaneously.
What is the difference between Samvatsara and Shaka Samvat?
The same distinction applies: Shaka Samvat is a running era (India's official National Calendar year count), while Samvatsara is the repeating 60-name cycle. See Vikram vs Shaka Samvat for how those two eras themselves differ from each other.
Why is the cycle called "Brihaspati" or "Jovian"?
Because it's traditionally tied to Brihaspati (Jupiter)'s roughly 12-year orbital period combined with a 5-fold structure to reach 60 — Jupiter takes about 361 days to move through one zodiac sign in this reckoning, giving each Samvatsara its length. "Jovian year" is simply the English term for a Jupiter-based year.