Question

‘Shalivahan Shaka’ and ‘Vikram Samvat’ are two eras that are used in …………………..
A.India
B.Nepal
C.Pakistan
D.Sri lanka

Answer 1

Hint:A historical calendar period, the epoch of which corresponds to Julian year 78, is the Shaka era or Shalivahana Śaka. Vikram Samvat is the ancient Hindu calendar of the Indian subcontinent and is also known as the Vikrami calendar.

Complete answer:
Origin of shalivahan shaka: It is somewhat controversial about the roots of the Shaka period. In scholarly usage, there are two Shaka period systems, one called the Old Shaka Era, whose epoch is unknown, presumably sometime in the 1st millennium BCE since it is used by ancient Buddhist and Jaina inscriptions and writings, but this is a matter of scholarly debate. The other is called the 78 CE Saka Period, or simply the Saka Era, a method that is prevalent in South Indian epigraphic evidence. The Vikrama Period, which is used by the Vikrami calendar related to Vikramaditya, is a parallel northern India system.

Origin of Vikram Samvat: Before the 9th century CE, the association of the era starting in 57 BCE with Vikramaditya is not found in any source; previous sources name the age "Kṛṭa" (343 and 371 CE), "Kritaa" (404 CE), "the era of the Malava tribe" (424 CE), or simply "Samvat" The earliest known inscription from 842 names the period "Vikrama". This inscription was discovered in Dholpur, Rajasthan (India), by the Chauhana king, Chandamahasena.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: An ancient Indian tribe was the Malavas or Malwas. Modern scholars associate them with the Malloi, who arrived in the Punjab region in the 4th century BCE at the time of the invasion of Alexander. Later, to present-day Rajasthan, and finally to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, the Malavas moved southwards.