Pahar: Difference between revisions
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'''Pahar''' ([[Hindi]]/[[Nepali language|Nepali]]: पहर, [[Urdu]]:پہر), which is more commonly pronounced '''Peher''', is a traditional [[unit of time]] used in [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bangladesh]]. In India, the measure is primarily used in [[North India]]. One ''pahar'' equals three [[hours]], and there are eight ''pahars'' in a day.<ref name="wadley2005">{{Citation | title=Essays on North Indian folk traditions | author=Susan Snow Wadley | date=2005 | isbn=8180280160 | publisher=Orient Blackswan | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XuyTqD0Ybw4C | quote=''... pahar (period of three hours) ...''}}</ref> |
'''Pahar''' ([[Hindi]]/[[Nepali language|Nepali]]: पहर, [[Urdu]]:پہر), which is more commonly pronounced '''Peher''', is a traditional [[unit of time]] used in [[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Nepal]] and [[Bangladesh]]. In India, the measure is primarily used in [[North India]].<ref name="khusro1882">{{Citation | title=Bāgh-o-bahār; or, Tales of the four darweshes | author=[[Amir Khusro| Amir Khusro Dihlavi]], Mir Amman | date=1882 | isbn= | publisher=W.H. Allen | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=va9AAAAAYAAJ | quote=''... pahars, or watches, of which the second terminated at noon; hence, do-pahar-din, mid-day ... do-pahar-rat, midnight ... in the north of India, the pahar must have varied from three and a-half hours about the summer solstice, to two and a-half in winter, the pahars of the night varying inversely ...''}}</ref> One ''pahar'' nominally equals three [[hours]], and there are eight ''pahars'' in a day.<ref name="wadley2005">{{Citation | title=Essays on North Indian folk traditions | author=Susan Snow Wadley | date=2005 | isbn=8180280160 | publisher=Orient Blackswan | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XuyTqD0Ybw4C | quote=''... pahar (period of three hours) ...''}}</ref> |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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The word ''pahar''/''peher'' literally means a watch (i.e. period of guard-duty), and has the same root as the [[Hindi-Urdu]] word ''pehra'' (meaning ''to stand guard'') and ''pehredar'' (literally ''guard''). |
The word ''pahar''/''peher'' literally means a watch (i.e. period of guard-duty), and has the same root as the [[Hindi-Urdu]] word ''pehra'' (meaning ''to stand guard'') and ''pehredar'' (literally ''guard'').<ref name="khusro1882"/> |
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==Specific pahars== |
==Specific pahars== |
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Each ''pahar'' of a 24-hour day-night cycle has a specific name and number.<ref name="khusro1882"/> Traditionally, night and day were each allocated four ''pahars''. The first day ''pahar'' (or ''din pahar'') was timed to begin at sunrise and the first night ''pahar'' (''raat pahar'') was timed to begin at sunset.<ref name="khusro1882"/> This meant that the day ''pahars'' were shorter than night ''pahars'' in winter, the opposite was true in summer, and they were exactly equal on the [[equinoxes]]. Thus, the length of the traditional ''pahar'' varied from about 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours in the [[Indo-Gangetic plains]].<ref name="khusro1882"/> |
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Each ''pahar'' of a 24-hour day-night cycle has a specific name and number. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 16:40, 19 June 2010
Pahar (Hindi/Nepali: पहर, Urdu:پہر), which is more commonly pronounced Peher, is a traditional unit of time used in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. In India, the measure is primarily used in North India.[1] One pahar nominally equals three hours, and there are eight pahars in a day.[2]
Etymology
The word pahar/peher literally means a watch (i.e. period of guard-duty), and has the same root as the Hindi-Urdu word pehra (meaning to stand guard) and pehredar (literally guard).[1]
Specific pahars
Each pahar of a 24-hour day-night cycle has a specific name and number.[1] Traditionally, night and day were each allocated four pahars. The first day pahar (or din pahar) was timed to begin at sunrise and the first night pahar (raat pahar) was timed to begin at sunset.[1] This meant that the day pahars were shorter than night pahars in winter, the opposite was true in summer, and they were exactly equal on the equinoxes. Thus, the length of the traditional pahar varied from about 2.5 hours to 3.5 hours in the Indo-Gangetic plains.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Amir Khusro Dihlavi, Mir Amman (1882), Bāgh-o-bahār; or, Tales of the four darweshes, W.H. Allen,
... pahars, or watches, of which the second terminated at noon; hence, do-pahar-din, mid-day ... do-pahar-rat, midnight ... in the north of India, the pahar must have varied from three and a-half hours about the summer solstice, to two and a-half in winter, the pahars of the night varying inversely ...
- ^ Susan Snow Wadley (2005), Essays on North Indian folk traditions, Orient Blackswan, ISBN 8180280160,
... pahar (period of three hours) ...