The coming Ugadi on March 18,1999 is a very special day in the Nirayan Hindu calendar, but except members of the diminishing tribe of calendar writers, hardly anybody is aware of its enormous significance.

As less than a year later the world enters the 21st century according to the Gregorian calendar, the Nirayan calendar will enter the 52nd century of the Kaliyuga, calculated to have started 5100 years ago at the end of the Krishna Avatar (incarnation of Lord Krishna), according to the calendar writers.

These calendar writers are also unhappy about the fact that while there is so much of excitement about the beginning of a new millennium, in India, not a word is being said about its own traditional Nirayan calendar, which enters into the 51st century, thus continuing with a much older and more elaborate and perhaps advanced system of time-keeping.

According to the Nirayan calendar writers, eminent astrologers and mathematicians like Varahamihira, Bhaskara and Aryabhatta used this calendar in their discourses.

According to the Hindu system, the smallest unit for measuring time is the truti, which can be compared to what one gets if one second (western system) is divided into 33,750 equal parts.

Thus, the indigenous system is so advanced in calculating time that such accuracy cannot be achieved even by nuclear clocks, they say. According to the Nirayan calendar writers, the duration of the earlier Yugas were first, the Krutayuga, which lasted for 17,28,000 years second, the Tretayuga, for 12,96,000 years third, the Dwaparyuga for 8,64,000 years and finally, the present Kaliyuga, which would last for 4,32,000 years.

According to this calendar, the Kaliyuga on March 18, 1999 (Shalivahana Saka 1921), completes 5100 years and starts the 5101st.The calendar writers say the above four yugas repeat themselves 1000 times on earth, which makes one day for Brahma (the Creator).

Brahma’s total life span, according to this system, is 31,10,40,00,00,00,000 years. Thus, the mankind has passed through half the age of its Creator while 15,55,20,00,00,00,000 years of Brahma’s life remain. Further, there is no problem like whether the month of February would have 28, 29 or 30 days during the year 2000-2001, they say, adding it is of immense significance to be a witness to such historic events as the Hindu calendar entering its 52nd century.