Shaka Era

One of the dating systems in India,
which is claimed to mark the defeat of
the Shakas by King Salivahana. For any
given year in the common era, the
Shaka era date is either seventy-eight or
seventy-nine years earlier, a discrepancy
that stems from the differing days on
which the years begin in these two systems. In the common era the year begins
on January 1, but in the Shaka era it
begins with the sun’s transition into
Aries, determined in India as falling on
April 14. Hence, to convert a Shaka era
date to a common era date, one adds
seventy-nine years for dates from
January 1 to April 14, and seventy-eight
years for dates from April 15 to
December 31.