Ancient and modern calendar systems across world religions and cultures

March 19, 2026General

Source: The Real Reason We Stopped Saying BC by Archaeologist Ed Barnhart

So many calendar systems still in use today! Buddhist calendar is currently year 2569 BE, Maya began in 3114 BCE, India's Saka in 78 CE, and ancient Kali Yuga in 3102 BCE. Time is truly relative 🌍✨

Key facts claimed:

- India's Saka calendar begins in 78 CE with debated origin related to establishment of a king and dynasty

- Ancient Indian Kali Yuga calendar began in 3102 BCE

- Buddhist calendar starts in 543 BCE calculated as the death date of Buddha, currently in year 2569 BE (Buddhist Era)

- Maya calendar starts at 3114 BCE when hero twins set time in motion and started the fourth creation

- Maya calendar currently in the 13th 400-year period called a baktun

Key facts

India's Saka calendar begins in 78 CE with debated origin related to establishment of a king and dynasty
Ancient Indian Kaliuga calendar began in 3102 BCE
Buddhist calendar starts in 543 BCE calculated as the death date of Buddha, currently in year 2569 BE (Buddhist Era)
Maya calendar starts at 3114 BCE when hero twins set time in motion and started the fourth creation
Maya calendar currently in the 13th 400-year period called a boon
Multiple fully functional calendar systems existed in world history and many still exist and evolve today

Sources

Stories Behind Diverse Calendars of India - Devdutt Pattanaikdevdutt.com

The Indian National Calendar is the Saka calendar, which begins from 78 AD. It was officially adopted in 1957 because independent India ...

Calendars in Indiapmfias.com

Types of Calendars in India ; Vikram Samvat, Lunisolar, 57 BCE ; Saka Samvat, Solar, 78 CE ; Gregorian Calendar, Solar, 1582 CE ; Vikram Samvat was introduced in 57 ...

Buddhist calendaren.wikipedia.org

The Buddhist calendar is a set of lunisolar calendars primarily used in Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam

List of calendarsen.wikipedia.org

Based on the Hindu calendar using the Saka era (78 CE), but ... This is one of the oldest system of chronological reckoning which is still used in India.

Maya calendar | System, Mesoamerica, & Astronomybritannica.com

The Maya calendar was the dating system of the ancient Maya civilization and the basis for all other calendars used by Mesoamerican civilizations.

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