Calcutta, April 3: April 4 marks the start of Vikram Samvat 2068, the lunar calendar started by King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.

The calendar is followed in parts of north and central India and in Nepal. The day is celebrated as Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Gudhi Padwa in Maharashtra and the beginning of Chaitra Navratri in several parts of north India.

Nav Samvat or Vikram Samvat begins on the first day after Amavasi (new moon) in the month of Chaitra. In Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and some other parts of north and central India, the Hindu new year is celebrated on the Chaitra Shukala Pratipada (March-April).

According to the traditional Hindu calendar followed in north India, this is year 2068. This calculation is based on the lunar-solar calendar in which a month is from full moon to full moon (Purnima to Purnima). This is known as the Purnimanta system.