Nanakshahi · year begins 1 Chet = 14 March
Chet, Vaisakh… then most of us need a moment — and that's okay. These twelve names come straight from Gurbani's Barah Maha.
Read clockwise from Chet. Tap a month for its verse.
Each month opens with a line from Barah Maha — a season mapped to a stage of the soul's longing.
Mar 14 – Apr 13 · 31 days · Spring
ਚੇਤਿ ਗੋਵਿੰਦੁ ਅਰਾਧੀਐ ਹੋਵੈ ਅਨੰਦੁ ਘਣਾ ॥
By remembering the Master of the universe in the month of Chet, great rejoicing emanates.
Ang 133Spring arrives — the mustard fields turn golden and life renews. The Barah Maha opens by inviting us to turn to Waheguru, and an inner joy blossoms.
Bring it home: The Sikh year begins with spring — a natural moment to set an intention. What do you want to grow this year?
Apr 14 – May 14 · 31 days · Spring
ਵੈਸਾਖਿ ਧੀਰਨਿ ਕਿਉ ਵਾਢੀਆ ਜਿਨਾ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਬਿਛੋਹੁ ॥
In the month of Vaisakh, how can the separated ones, who suffer apart from their Beloved, have patience?
Ang 133The wheat harvest, and full bloom. Guru Ji reminds us that without divine connection, even abundance feels hollow.
Bring it home: Vaisakhi (1 Vaisakh, 14 April) marks the birth of the Khalsa in 1699.
May 15 – Jun 14 · 31 days · Summer
ਹਰਿ ਜੇਠਿ ਜੁੜੰਦਾ ਲੋੜੀਐ ਜਿਸੁ ਅਗੈ ਸਭਿ ਨਿਵੰਨਿ ॥
In the month of Jeth, we long to be united with the One before whom all bow.
Ang 134The heat begins to build. Those who taste the nectar of Naam stay cool even as the world around them heats up.
Jun 15 – Jul 15 · 31 days · Summer
ਆਸਾੜੁ ਤਪੰਦਾ ਤਿਸੁ ਲਗੈ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਹੁ ਨ ਜਿੰਨਾ ਪਾਸਿ ॥
The month of Harh seems scorching for those who do not have God the Spouse near them.
Ang 134Peak summer — the sun is relentless. Separation burns, but those who walk with the Guru find shade even in the fiercest heat.
Jul 16 – Aug 15 · 31 days · Monsoon
ਸਾਵਣਿ ਸਰਸੀ ਕਾਮਣੀ ਚਰਨ ਕਮਲ ਸਿਉ ਪਿਆਰੁ ॥
In the month of Sawan, happy is the bride who enshrines love for the Lord's lotus feet.
Ang 134The monsoon arrives and Punjab transforms. In Gurbani the rain is divine grace — the soul in love rejoices.
Aug 16 – Sep 14 · 30 days · Monsoon
ਭਾਦੁਇ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਣੀਆ ਦੂਜੈ ਲਗਾ ਹੇਤੁ ॥
In Bhadon, she who cherishes love for another is lost in doubt.
Ang 134Lush but murky — flooding and humidity. Guru Ji warns of the soul that clings to ego and attachment and loses its way.
Sep 15 – Oct 14 · 30 days · Autumn
ਅਸੁਨਿ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਉਮਾਹੜਾ ਕਿਉ ਮਿਲੀਐ ਹਰਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
In Assu, the Lord's love overflows within me. How shall I go and meet God?
Ang 134-135The air clears and the world turns golden. There is a tenderness here — the soul calling out, an invitation to come home.
Oct 15 – Nov 13 · 30 days · Autumn
ਕਤਿਕਿ ਕਰਮ ਕਮਾਵਣੇ ਦੋਸੁ ਨ ਕਾਹੂ ਜੋਗੁ ॥
In Kattak, do good deeds — it is not right to place blame on anyone else.
Ang 135A month of accountability. Our joys and sorrows are shaped by our own choices; the lamp of wisdom lights the darkening days.
Bring it home: Many of the Panth mark Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Prakash Purab on Kattak Pooranmashi — more in Going deeper.
Nov 14 – Dec 13 · 30 days · Winter
ਮੰਘਿਰਿ ਮਾਹਿ ਸੋਹੰਦੀਆ ਹਰਿ ਪਿਰ ਸੰਗਿ ਬੈਠੜੀਆਹ ॥
In Maghar, beautiful are they who sit with their Beloved God.
Ang 135Gurbani answers an old superstition that Maghar is unlucky: remember Waheguru and every single month is blessed.
Bring it home: A gentle reply whenever someone calls a day "bad luck" — that thinking has no place in Sikhi.
Dec 14 – Jan 12 · 30 days · Winter
ਪੋਖਿ ਤੁਖਾਰੁ ਨ ਵਿਆਪਈ ਕੰਠਿ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਹੁ ॥
In Poh, the cold does not touch those whom God the Spouse holds close.
Ang 135Deep winter. The cold of Poh cannot reach those warmed by the fire of Naam, however hard the frost bites.
Jan 13 – Feb 11 · 30 days · Winter
ਮਾਘਿ ਮਜਨੁ ਸੰਗਿ ਸਾਧੂਆ ਧੂੜੀ ਕਰਿ ਇਸਨਾਨੁ ॥
In Magh, take your cleansing bath in the dust of the company of the holy.
Ang 135-136Guru Ji redirects ritual bathing inward: real purification comes through Naam and devotion, not outward rites alone.
Bring it home: Maghi (1 Magh, 13 January) remembers the Forty Mukte — the liberated ones of Muktsar.
Feb 12 – Mar 13 · 30/31 days · Winter
ਫਲਗੁਣਿ ਅਨੰਦ ਉਪਾਰਜਨਾ ਹਰਿ ਸਜਣ ਪ੍ਰਗਟੇ ਆਇ ॥
In Phagun, they alone find happiness unto whom God the Friend has become manifest.
Ang 136The year comes full circle and the soul finds the Beloved within — all the months, all the moments, are blessed.
Bring it home: Hola Mohalla falls in Phagun — a good time to look back and ask: what did we learn this year?
Twelve cards, one per month — Gurmukhi on the front, meaning on the back.
Print the month flashcards →Prefer a plain list? One table, all twelve months, ready to print.
Print the months chart →On 1 Chet — 14 March. The year beginning 14 March 2026 is Nanakshahi Samat 558 ("of Nanak’s era"; Year 1 is Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birth year, 1469 CE).
It is a tropical solar calendar, so the dates are fixed: 1 Chet is always 14 March and Vaisakhi is always 14 April. Add each Sangrand (the first day of a month) to your calendar once and it holds true year after year.
For most of Sikh history the Panth used the Bikrami calendar, a lunar-based system in which Gurpurab dates shift each year. The Nanakshahi calendar (adopted 2003) fixed the major dates to the solar cycle so they fall on the same day annually.
In 2010 the SGPC amended it, reverting several dates to the older lunar reckoning. Today many Gurdwaras follow the original fixed-date "Mool Nanakshahi" calendar and others the amended version — both are in use. The calendar is a bridge, not a barrier.
No. Across the Barah Maha and the other compositions on time, Gurbani’s message is consistent: no day, month or moment carries power of its own.
Guru Nanak Dev Ji declares all twelve months, all seasons and all moments "bhale" — blessed — for the one who finds the True One within. It is a good thing to teach children: the calendar is for remembrance and rhythm, never astrology or superstition.
Because Gurbani does. There are two compositions called Barah Maha ("Twelve Months") — one by Guru Nanak Dev Ji in Raag Tukhari and one by Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Raag Majh — and both begin with Chet, mapping each season to a stage of the soul’s longing.
On Sangrand, many Gurdwaras recite that month’s shabad from the Barah Maha in Raag Majh — how the calendar and Gurbani stay connected in living practice.
Most of the Panth marks Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Purab on the full moon of Kattak (Kattak Pooranmashi), a tradition kept for over 150 years. At the same time, many early Janamsakhi sources record his birth in Vaisakh, and the Mool Nanakshahi calendar places it on 1 Vaisakh.
Sikh scholars continue this conversation respectfully — a sign of a living tradition. What matters most is that we honour his life and teachings, whenever we observe it. Our Gurpurab hub gathers Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s Prakash Purab and the year’s other Gurpurabs and Shaheedi days in one place, with ways to mark each with your kids.
A few simple ways to make the months stick — pick one, no need to do them all:
In the Barah Maha, Guru Ji tells us that for the one who remembers the True One, every month is blessed. Happy Nanakshahi New Year.
