Anka year explained

Anka year (or|ଅଙ୍କ Aṅka) system is a unique regnal year system used in the state of Odisha, India and was instituted by the rulers of the Eastern Ganga dynasty for dating their reigns. It had a number of features that mark the regnal year different from that actual duration of the year elapsed during the reign. The system still survives today and is used in the Odia calendar (panji) to mark the titular regnal year of the Gajapati Maharaja (King of Puri) which is currently held by Divyasingha Deva IV of the Bhoi dynasty, whose title carries the legacy of the historical ruling monarchs of Odisha.^[1]

Description

The Anka system, also denoted as the Odisha style of dating refers to a special system of counting used only in Odisha which is written along with the name of the King of Puri accompanied by a simple calculation which yields the regnal year of the king. The Anka years were so popular in the Odia-speaking tracts that not only it was used in official records but also by the authors in their works and in the horoscopes prepared by the astrologers. Additional information are also provided on the lunar or solar date besides the King's Anka with the Odia calendar following the Purnimanta system of month naming.

Features

The Anka system always starts on the Odia fiscal new year called Sunia which falls on the 12th day of the bright fortnight of the month Bhadra (August–September) known as Bhādra Sukḷa Dwādasi. If the king accedes the throne for a few days before this date, then the first year of his reign would then just be a few days long.
Coins were minted on the date of the new year and hence the first coins were given the Anka year 2, the number 1 was not used.
All years ending in 6 were skipped. As in the Anka year 5 was followed by Anka year 7, Anka year 15 was followed by Anka year 17 and so on.
All years ending in 0 were also skipped, except for the Anka year 10.

Hence no Anka years exist for 1, 6, 16, 20, 26, 30, 36, 40, 46, 50, 56 and so on.

Regnal and Anka year Timeline


1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Anka year	2	3	4	5	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	17	18	19	21	22	23	24	25	27	28	29	31	32	33	34	35	37

Anka year of the current titular Gajapati Maharaja


Regnal year	Odia year	Anka year
2024 CE	54	୧୪୩୦ ଉତ୍କଳାବ୍ଦ 1430 Utkaḷābda	୬୫ ଅଙ୍କ 68 Aṅka

This year, 15th Sept'24 happened to be Bhadrapada Shukla Dwadashi and from this date, 68 Gajapati Ank began.

List of Anka year for monarchs of the ruling dynasties

Eastern Ganga dynasty

Ruler	Reign	Regnal year duration	Anka year duration
Anantavarman Vajrahasta III	1038-1070	32	41
Rajaraja Devendravarman I	1070-1078	8	11
	1078-1147	69	87
Kamarnava II	1147-1157	10	13
Raghava	1157-1170	13	17
Rajaraja II	1170-1190	20	25
Anivankabhima II	1190-1197	7	10
Rajaraja III	1197-1211	14	17
	1211-1235	24	31
	1238-1263	26	33
Bhanudeva I	1264-1279	15	19
Narasimhadeva II	1279-1306	27	34
Bhanudeva II	1306-1328	22	28
Narasimhadeva III	1328-1352	24	31
Bhanudeva III	1352-1378	26	33
Narasimhadeva IV	1378-1414	36	45
Bhanudeva IV	1414-1434	20	25

Suryavamsa (Routray) dynasty

Ruler	Reign	Regnal year duration	Anka year duration
	1434–1470	36	44
	1470–1497	27	33
	1497–1540	43	53
Kalua Deva	1540–1541	2	3
Kakharua Deva	1541	1	2

Bhoi dynasty (1st reign)

Ruler	Reign	Regnal year duration	Anka year duration
	1541–1548	7	9
Chakrapratapa	1548–1557	9	11
Narasimha Jena	1557–1558	1	2
Raghuram Chhotaraya	1558–1560	2	3

Bhoi dynasty (2nd reign, Khurda-Puri)

Ruler	Reign	Regnal year duration	Anka year duration	Notes
	1568-1600	32	39	founder of Khurda Kingdom
Purusottam Deva	1600–1621	21	25
Narasingha Deva	1621–1647	26	32
Balabhadra Deva	1647–1657	10	12
Mukunda Deva I	1657–1689	32	39
Divyasingha Deva I	1689–1716	27	33
Harekrushna Deva	1716–1720	4	5
Gopinath Deva	1720–1727	7	9
Ramachandra Deva II	1727–1736	9	11
Birakesari Deva I (Bhagirathi Deva)	1736–1793	57	71
Divyasingha Deva II	1793–1798	5	7
Mukundeva Deva II	1798–1817	19	23	Puri Estate in 1809
Ramchandra Deva III	1817–1854	37	45
Birakesari Deva II	1854–1859	5	7
Divyasingha Deva III	1859–1882	23	28
Mukundeva Deva III	1882–1926	44	54
Ramchandra Deva IV	1926–1956	30	37	Titular since 1947(Indian independence)
Birakisore Deva III	1956–1970	14	17
	1970–current	54	68

References

Book: Tripathi, Kunjabihari . The Evolution of Oriya Language and Script . Utkal University . 1962 . "Note on Regnal and Anka Year" . 23 March 2021 . 3 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230703131841/https://books.google.com/books?id=b8MKAQAAIAAJ . live .