What is Bikram Sambat?
Nepal uses the Bikram Sambat (B.S. / वि.सं.) calendar as its official civil calendar — a solar sidereal calendar approximately 56 years and 8.5 months ahead of the Gregorian calendar (AD).
The 12 Nepali Months
- Baisakh (वैशाख) — mid-Apr to mid-May
- Jestha (जेठ) — mid-May to mid-Jun
- Ashadh (असार) — mid-Jun to mid-Jul
- Shrawan (साउन) — mid-Jul to mid-Aug
- Bhadra (भदौ) — mid-Aug to mid-Sep
- Ashwin (असोज) — mid-Sep to mid-Oct
- Kartik (कात्तिक) — mid-Oct to mid-Nov
- Mangsir (मंसिर) — mid-Nov to mid-Dec
- Poush (पुस) — mid-Dec to mid-Jan
- Magh (माघ) — mid-Jan to mid-Feb
- Falgun (फागुन) — mid-Feb to mid-Mar
- Chaitra (चैत) — mid-Mar to mid-Apr
Why Can't You Just Add 57?
A common misconception is that converting BS to AD is simply "subtract 57." This gives you a rough year, but the month and day will be wrong because BS months vary between 29 and 32 days each year based on astronomical solar transitions.