Mysore: a gazetteer compiled for government (Volume 1) online

area denotes a khandi of wet land.

The following- therefore are the estabhshed standards : —



Gram Pleasure.




4 Chattaks


=


I Pavu


2 Pavus


=


I Payili or Padi


2 Padi or Payili


=


I Seer


2 Seers


=


I Balla


4 Ballas


=


I Kolaga or Kudu


20 Kolagas or Kudus


=


I Khandaga or Khancli


Land Measure.









Equivalent area


3f land.


CJuantity of seed sown.


Square






yaids.


Acres.'


Guntas.


Sq. yards.


Dry Land —










I Payili or Padi ...


200


—


I


79


2 ,, =1 Seer...


400


—


3


37


2 Seers =1 I Balla


800





6


74


4 Ballas = I Kudu


3,200





26


54


20 Kudus= Khandaga or Khandi


64,000


13


8


112


]Vct and Garden Land —










I Payili or Padi


3ii


—


—


31I


2 ,, =1 Seer


62^


—


—


62i


2 Seers := i Balla


125





I


4


4 Ballas = I Kudu


500





4


16


20 Kudus = I Khandaga or Khand'


10,000


2


2


78



' Acres consist of 40 Guntas, each Gunta being 121 square yards.



CALENDAR 8ii

Measures of Time.

Eras. — By the Hindus in Mysore the Saka era, afterwards called (see
p. 293) the S'dlivdhana S'aka, or era of S'ahvdhana (a corruption of S'dtavd-
hana),' dating (with sometimes a variation of two or three years) from
78 A.D., has always been and still is universally employed. Occasionally
the era of Kali Yuga, 3101 B.C., is used.

An attempt was made by Vikramdditya, the most powerful of the
Ch^lukya kings, to introduce a new era, dating from his accession to the
throne, and called the Chalukya Vikrama s'aka. The near coincidence of
the end of the first millennium of SVilivahana with the commencement of
his reign, and the correspondence of his name with that of the era reckoned
from 57 B.c , in universal use in the north of India, doubtless suggested
the innovation, in conjunction with the usual motives of ambition. The
Chalukya Vikrama era dates from 1076 A.D., and continued in use in
inscriptions throughout their dominions as long as the power of the
Chdlukyas was in the ascendant, though several of Vikramaditya's succes-
sors copied his example and sometimes dated from their own eras.-

By the Aluhammadans the era of the Hijra, or Flight, of Muhammad
from Mecca to Medina, is universally employed. It dates from 622 .A.D.,
reckoning by lunar years.^

Tipu Sultan, with that love of innovation which characterised his rule,
and from his ambition to establish a new order of things originating with
himself, made a reformation of the calendar ; in this also, as in so many
other particulars, the transactions of the French Revolution finding an echo
or parody in Mysore. Tipu's new system, which ended with his life, was
introduced with the 1200th year of the Hijra, or 1784 a.d., but was revised
four years afterwards. The new era, in opposition to the practice of the
whole Muhammadan world, dated from the Maulud, or Birth, i.e. as sup-
posed, of Muhammad. But the difference between Tipu's new Mauludi era
and that of the Hijra was only about twelve years, whereas Muhammad
was fifty-one years of age at the time of the Hijra. The Maulud may
therefore perhaps be supposed to have some possible reference to the origin
of Islam, counting it from the period when Muhammad first formed the
conception of his prophetic mission, which is said to have been at forty
years of age. Thus much is necessary to state on the subject in order to
e.xplain the apparent discrepancy of the dates on his coins, &c. Another

? I have actually found an inscription, of ilic time of I5ukk:i Raya of \'ijayanagar,
dated in the S' atavdhana s'aka.

- From confounding the Chalukya Vikrama era with the northern era of \'ikra-
maditya, the Administration Report for 1869-70 contains the announcement that
inscriptions had been deciphered and translated bearing date as far back as the year
one!

^ The following formula given by Sir H. Nicolas will be found useful in converting
Hijra into Anno -Domini dates. Multiply the years elapsed by 97D203 ; cut o(T six
decimals; add 622'S4, and the sum will he the year of the Christian era. — Chroii. of
Hist., 17.



5i2 APPENDIX i

feature of the new scheme was that the numbers were written from right to
left, instead of in the usual manner of left to right according to the decimal
system.

Years. — The Bnhaspali Chakra or Cycle of Jupiter, of 60 years, is the
common and general mode of reckoning. Each year has a special name
{see below), which alone it is usual to mention, without its number according
to any era.

The year commences with new moon in Chaitra, which falls in March. J
It is divided into 12 lunar months (for names see p. 10 1), of 30 and 29 daysl
alternately, making altogether 354 days. As this is eleven days less thanl
the solar year, the Chandramd,na or luni-solar calendar was invented to
reconcile the difference. For this purpose a cycle of 19 solar years was
adopted as being equal, or nearly so, to 235 lunations, and in each cycle of
19 years there are added seven intercalary months, namely, in the 3rd, 5th,
8th, nth, 14th, i6th, and 19th years. The name and position of the
intercalary month are determined in the following manner : — When two
new moons fall within the same solar month, the corresponding lunar
month is repeated. The extra month is placed before the ordinary one and
called by the same name, but distinguished as adhika, or added, the normal
month being called the nija or true one.'

Each month is divided into iwo paks/ia—ih.& s'ukla paksha, or s'ltdda, the
bright fortnight from new moon to full moon ; and the krishna paksha or
bahula, the dark fortnight from full moon to new moon. Each paksha
contains 15 tithi or lunar days, which are reckoned from amdvdse (new
moon), or purnanii (full moon), as the case may be. The dajs of the
week are named from the planets, on the usual system. The day of 24
English hours is divided into 60 ghalige or Indian hours, each equal to 24
minutes : 7^ ghalige or 3 English hours make one Jama or watch.

As Marsden has said {N'nm. Or.), many Eastern nations, as well as the
Greeks and Romans, have been in the practice of expressing numbers, and
dates in particular, by means of letters of the alphabet, to each of which a
certain value is assigned. These may be either employed simply like other
ciphers, or, being distributed among the words of a sentence, may form
what is called a chronogram. In carrying out the system the Arabs did
not adhere to the direct order of the letters in their own alphabet as it now
exists, but followed the old order of the Hebrew alphabet. They thus
formed the scheme called abjad from the first four letters, a, b,J, d. Tipu
Sultan at first followed this system, which is universally employed by the
Muhammadans, but four years afterwards introduced one based on the
order of the letters in the modern Arabic alphabet, which was therefore, on
a similar principle, called abtas, but named by himself zar. Recognising,
at the same time, some advantage in the Hindu cycle of sixty years, he
invented names for them, formed at first according to the abjad, and four
years afterwards according to the abtas, the addition of the numerical value
of the letters in which (except for the first and second years) gave the
number of the cycle year.

' Sec Cunningham's Boo/: of Indian Eras.



CYCLE OF YEARS



813



For convenience of reference the following list is inserted of the Hindu
names, together with Tipu's names for the same.' The cycle now current
began in March 1867 A.D.

Names of Years.







Sultdni






Suliiini


No.


Hindu.






No.


Hindu










by abjad.


by abtas.


31




by abjad.


by abtas.


I


Prabhava


ahad


ahad


Hevilambi


kiya


zdr


2


Vibhava


ahniad


ah mad


32


^'ilamb^


kaln'id


buzar


3


S'ukla


ab^


ab


33


\'ikari


aljal


zar.-il)


4


I'ramoduta


alxi


aba


' 34


S'arvari


dil


said


5


Prajoti^atti


baba


bah


35


Plava


dal


zandb


6


A'ngirasa


baja


tab


36


S'ul)hakrit


jabal


rabtar


7


S'rimukha


abad


taba


37


S'olihakrit


zaki


sakh


8


Bhava


abad


baja


38


Krodhi


azal


sakha


9


Vuva


jah


taj


39


^'is'vavasu


jalu


dardz


10


Dhatu


auj


tabat


40


Paral)hava


dalu


da.sad


II


I 's' vara


haj


aliad


41


Plavanga


ma


sha


12


Bahudhanya


jaliad


adal)


42


Kilaka


kabak


sdra


13


Pramathi


jahad


bar


43


Saumya


jam


sardl}


14


Vikrama


vajah


hajib


44


Sadharana


jam


shitd


15


Vishu


yad


jar^


45


\'ir()dhikrit


adam


zaljarjad


16


Chitral)hanu


zahad


rija


46


Paridhavi


vali


sahar


17


Svaljhdnu


jauzah


har


47


Praniadicha


vali


sdhar


18


Tarana


haiy


dar


48


A'nanda


kaukab


rdsikh


19


Parthiva


viihid


dar


49


Raksha.sa


kavakab


shdd


20


Vyaya


Iniduh


rahat


50


Nala


yam


hard.sal


21


Sarvajit


tayab


Ijarid


SI


Pingala


davam


sdz


22


Sarvadhari


tayab


charkh


52


Kalayukti


hamd


shdddb


23


Virodhi


yauz


khirai


53


Siddharthi


hamid


barish


24


Vikriti


kad


tdz


54


Raudri


jan


rasldr


25


Khara


havi


khirad


55


Durmali


odan


bushtar


26


Nandana


kaljad


badarlab


56


Dundubhi


hamayi


bashdrat


27


Vijaya


dgah


dartaj


57


Rudhirodgari


majid


sharah


28


Jaya


vahid


dadar


58


Raktakshi


kohal


rashad


29


Manmatha


yahi


zad '


59


Krodhana


jahan


saliah


30


Durmukhi


kaiy


zar


60


Kshaya


majiz


irshdd



Tipii Sultan s Names for the Months.

(By abjad) ahniadi lialidri j'dfari ddrdi hdshami vas'di zabarjadi liaidari tului yusufi
yczidi baydsi.

(By abtas) ahmadi balidri takhi sliumii j'dfari haidari khusravi diiii zakiri rahnidiii
rdzi rubdni.



I But as his system did not ovitiast him, and he reigned for only seventeen years,
the names actually used are only the four from zaki to dalu of the abjad and the
thirteen years .f//rt to (^rtr/.f/i of the ablas. The former are 119710 1200 Hijri, and
the latter 121 5 to 1227 Mauludi.



Sr



ADDENDA et CORRIGENDA



Page
I



line
17



65 15

66 Note '



67



104
180

194
205



14
14



After " scale " add, " The exact area by Revenue survey is 18,795,075
acres, or 29,367 square miles 195 acres."

With reference to "general dryness," add (as foot-note), '"The relative
mean annual humidity of the Mysore State is given as 66 by Mr.
Blanford."

Add, "After all the other factors have been considered, the jxDsition
of the year in the sun-spot cycle may be taken as an index of the
steadiness or variability of its general characteristics. Thus, in years
of maximum sun-spot the monsoon is distributed more evenly, and
local anomalies are less exaggerated. The years about the epoch t f
minimum are characterised by greater local contrasts and irregulari-
ties." — Douglas Archibald, in Nature, 1896.

After "31 Dec. 1881," add, "at about 7 A.M. There was also an
earthquake at Bangalore on the 13th April 1882, at 9.30 I'.M.

With reference to " nakshatras," add (as foot-note), "•'The leading
stars {yoga) of the nakshatras correspond with the following stars in
European catalogues : —

Rcgulus
;3 Leonis
Denib

13. 5 Corvi

14. Spica
Arcturus
24 Libri
j8 Scorpii
Anlares.

206. Also sec IV, 150, and XIV, 43



1. jS Arietis.

2. 35 Arietis

3. 7j Tauri

4. Aldel)aran

5. 1 16 Tauri

6. 133 Tauri

7. Pollux

8. 5 Cancri

9. 49 Cancri



K. L. Chatre, in Ind. Ant.



10.
II.
12.



15-
16.

17-
18.

III.



19.


34 Scorpii


20.


5 Sagittarii


21.


(f) Sagittarii


22.


Altair


23-


Dclphini


24.


X Aquarii


25-


Markab


26.


Alpherab


27-


f I'iscium



15 Add, " 1892 . . . 5-01 ; 1S93 • • • 5"39-"
Note ' Add, " And at the end of 1895, his successor, the Earl of Elgin, visited
the keddahs."
13 After " the lasar silkworm," add, ^'(anthema paphia)."
38 To "river Krishna," add (as foot-note), "^Thc llullu is also called
Gauli ; and the Chokatu or Chakati is also called Choli and Chuli."

208 15 To " Australia," a