In the Telugu panchangam every year has a name, and there are sixty names in all, from Prabhava to Akshaya. When the cycle ends it begins again with Prabhava. The name changes every Ugadi.
What is the 60-year cycle?
Our tradition sees time as a wheel. This cycle of sixty is called the Prabhavadi shashti samvatsaralu. Jyotisha texts link it to the movement of Brihaspati (Jupiter), which takes about twelve years to go round the zodiac; five such rounds make sixty years. That is why it is also called the Barhaspatya reckoning.
In South India, and especially in the Telugu states, these names are attached to the lunar year: one name runs from Chaitra Shukla Padyami (Ugadi) to the following Phalguna Amavasya. Parts of North India reckon the cycle directly from Jupiter's motion, so their year name can sometimes differ from ours.
List of the 60 Telugu year names
Panchangams write the name with "nama samvatsaram", for example "Vishvavasu nama samvatsaram".
| No. | Name | No. | Name | No. | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prabhava | 21 | Sarvajit | 41 | Plavanga |
| 2 | Vibhava | 22 | Sarvadhari | 42 | Kilaka |
| 3 | Shukla | 23 | Virodhi | 43 | Saumya |
| 4 | Pramoduta | 24 | Vikruti | 44 | Sadharana |
| 5 | Prajotpatti | 25 | Khara | 45 | Virodhikrut |
| 6 | Angirasa | 26 | Nandana | 46 | Paridhavi |
| 7 | Shrimukha | 27 | Vijaya | 47 | Pramadicha |
| 8 | Bhava | 28 | Jaya | 48 | Ananda |
| 9 | Yuva | 29 | Manmatha | 49 | Rakshasa |
| 10 | Dhata | 30 | Durmukhi | 50 | Nala |
| 11 | Ishvara | 31 | Hevilambi | 51 | Pingala |
| 12 | Bahudhanya | 32 | Vilambi | 52 | Kalayukti |
| 13 | Pramadi | 33 | Vikari | 53 | Siddharthi |
| 14 | Vikrama | 34 | Sharvari | 54 | Raudri |
| 15 | Vrisha | 35 | Plava | 55 | Durmati |
| 16 | Chitrabhanu | 36 | Shubhakrut | 56 | Dundubhi |
| 17 | Svabhanu | 37 | Shobhakrut | 57 | Rudhirodgari |
| 18 | Tarana | 38 | Krodhi | 58 | Raktakshi |
| 19 | Parthiva | 39 | Vishvavasu | 59 | Krodhana |
| 20 | Vyaya | 40 | Parabhava | 60 | Akshaya |
Spellings vary a little by region, such as Hevilambi or Hemalamba, and Pramadicha or Pramadi. Use the form printed in your panchangam.
Do the year names have meanings?
Most are Sanskrit words with ordinary meanings, for example:
- Prabhava – origin, beginning (first of the cycle)
- Vijaya, Jaya – victory
- Nandana, Ananda – joy
- Bahudhanya – abundant grain
- Shubhakrut, Shobhakrut – one that brings auspiciousness, splendour
- Akshaya – imperishable (last of the cycle)
The literal meaning of a name does not decide what the year will bring. There is no need to fear names like Rakshasa or Krodhi; they are simply positions in the cycle. Panchangam authors give yearly forecasts separately, based on planetary positions.
How is the year name announced on Ugadi?
On Ugadi, temples and homes hold panchanga shravanam. The purohit usually announces:
- The new year's name, "Sri ... nama samvatsaram".
- The year's raja, mantri and the other navanayakas.
- Rainfall and crop indications and general results.
- Aadayam–vyayam and rajapujyam–avamanam figures for each rashi.
Families listen, eat Ugadi pachadi and welcome the year. The same name is used in every sankalpam during that year.
The three vimshatis: Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra
Some panchangams and traditional texts divide the sixty years into three groups of twenty: Prabhava to Vyaya as Brahma vimshati, Sarvajit to Parabhava as Vishnu vimshati, and Plavanga to Akshaya as Rudra vimshati. The three column pairs in the table above match these groups.
How is Shashtipurti linked to this cycle?
It takes sixty years for a person's birth-year name to return. Completing sixty years is therefore celebrated as Shashtipurti, giving thanks for one full wheel of time. When and how it is done varies by family; some fix the day by janma nakshatra. Ask your family purohit.
How to find your birth-year name
- Your jatakam usually mentions the samvatsaram in its first lines.
- Check whether you were born before or after Ugadi; before Ugadi, the previous year's name applies.
- Look it up in that year's panchangam or a reliable panchangam website.
Key points
- There are 60 Telugu year names, Prabhava first and Akshaya last.
- The cycle is the Barhaspatya reckoning, linked to Jupiter.
- In the Telugu states the name changes every Ugadi.
- A name's meaning does not decide the year's fortune.
- Shashtipurti marks the return of one's birth-year name after sixty years.