Vikram Era

One of the most common dating systems,
particularly in northern India. It is generally believed that the Vikram era takes its
name from King Vikramaditya of Ujjain,
who is supposed to have ruled over much
of India. The Vikram era date is fifty-six or
fifty-seven years later than that of the common era; the discrepancy stems from the
differing first days of the year in the two
systems. In the common era the year
begins on January 1, but in the Vikram era
the year begins with the sun’s transition
into Aries, considered in India as occurring
on April 14. Hence, to convert a Vikram era
date to a common era date, one subtracts
fifty-six years for dates between January 1
and April 14, and fifty-seven years for dates
between April 15 and December 31.