What is the Bangla Date Today?
The bangla date today represents the current calendar date on the Bengali calendar (known as the Bangabda or Bengali San). Used extensively in Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam, the Bengali calendar is a solar calendar system that calculates months based on the sun's movement through the zodiac signs.
Unlike Gregorian dates, the Bengali calendar is deeply tied to historical agrarian cycles, astronomical transits, and traditional seasons (known as Ritus). Because of calendar reforms introduced by the Bangla Academy in Bangladesh in 1987 and 2019, the date can differ by exactly one day depending on whether you are in Dhaka, Bangladesh, or Kolkata, West Bengal (India). Our live tool allows you to switch between these regions to find the correct local Bengali date today.
The History and Origin of the Bengali Era (Bangabda)
The origin of the Bengali calendar era remains a topic of historical study. There are two primary theories surrounding its creation:
1. The Reign of King Shashanka
Many historians attribute the calendar to King Shashanka, the ruler of the first unified Bengali kingdom (Gaur) in the early 7th century. It is believed Shashanka created the era (starting around 594 CE) to commemorate his ascension to the throne and establish a distinct cultural framework for the Bengali people.
2. The Reform of Emperor Akbar
Another widely accepted theory links the calendar to the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1584 AD. Akbar sought to standardize tax collection throughout the Mughal Empire. Because the Islamic Hijri calendar is lunar, it drifted backward relative to the solar harvest seasons, making it difficult for Bengali farmers to pay taxes at harvest time. Akbar ordered his royal astronomer, Fathullah Shirazi, to combine the Islamic calendar with the solar Hindu calendar, creating the crop calendar (Fasholi San), which later evolved into the modern Bangabda.
Why Bangladesh and West Bengal Calendars Differ
If you check the bengali calendar date today on different websites, you will often find conflicting dates. This occurs because the calendar is calculated using two different methods:
Bangladesh Academy Reform
In 1987, a committee led by Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah adjusted the Bengali calendar in Bangladesh. To align it with Gregorian dates, they fixed the start of the year (Poyla Boishakh) on April 14. In 2019, the Bangla Academy updated the rules so that the first six months (Boishakh to Ashwin) are 31 days long, while the remaining six months are 30 days long (with Falgun having 31 days in leap years).
Traditional West Bengal Calendar
In West Bengal, India, the calendar continues to follow the traditional astronomical principles outlined in the ancient text, the Surya Siddhanta. The calendar tracks the sun's physical transit into the constellation of Aries (Mesha Sankranti). Because the transit time varies, the lengths of months fluctuate between 29 and 32 days, and the New Year (Poyla Boishakh) typically falls on April 15.
The 12 Months and 6 Seasons (Ritus)
A unique feature of the Bengali calendar is its division into six seasons (Ritus), with each season spanning exactly two months:
| Bengali Month | Bengali Name | Season (Ritu) | Gregorian Starting Period (approx) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Boishakh | বৈশাখ | Grishma (Summer) | Mid-April to Mid-May |
| 2. Joishtho | জ্যৈষ্ঠ | Mid-May to Mid-June | |
| 3. Ashar | আষাঢ় | Barsha (Rainy) | Mid-June to Mid-July |
| 4. Shrabon | শ্রাবণ | Mid-July to Mid-August | |
| 5. Bhadro | ভাদ্র | Sharat (Autumn) | Mid-August to Mid-September |
| 6. Ashwin | আশ্বিন | Mid-September to Mid-October | |
| 7. Kartik | কার্তিক | Hemanta (Late Autumn) | Mid-October to Mid-November |
| 8. Agrahayan | অগ্রহায়ণ | Mid-November to Mid-December | |
| 9. Poush | পৌষ | Sheet (Winter) | Mid-December to Mid-January |
| 10. Magh | মাঘ | Mid-January to Mid-February | |
| 11. Falgun | ফাল্গুন | Basanta (Spring) | Mid-February to Mid-March |
| 12. Chaitra | চৈত্র | Mid-March to Mid-April |
How to Read and Convert the Bengali Date
Converting a Gregorian date to Bengali requires tracking the number of elapsed days from Boishakh 1st. In modern applications, our script calculates the exact days since the April epoch dynamically.
For those who wish to cross-reference dates on other calendars, visit the Today's Date homepage, compare lunar cycles on the Islamic Hijri Date Today page, or look up Hindu astronomical transits on the Hindu Indian Calendar Today and the Assamese Date Today pages.