The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (488 page)

in 622 CE. 1 Mu
arram of that year was 16 July 622, which begins the first year of the Muslim era. The years are referred to as AH, i.e. ‘after the Hijra’.
Hinduism
The Hindu religious calendar is lunar, with the months divided into a bright (
ulapak
a
) and a dark (
k
apak
a
) half, with fifteen
tithis
(days) in each. The correlation of human activity with the whole cosmic process (made evident in the movement of heavenly bodies) is of paramount importance. The religious calendar is then a proliferation of special observances, for some of which see
FESTIVALS AND FASTS
. There are six seasons (
tu
):

(i) Vasanta (spring);
(ii) Gr
ma (hot season);
(iii) Var
a (rainy season);
(iv) 
arad (autumn);
(v) Hemanta (winter);
(vi) 
i
ira (cold). To each of these is allocated two months (Caitra, Vai
kha; Jyai
tha, A
ha;
r
vana, Bh