Chronogram
A
chronogram is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals, stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the Greek words
chronos and
gramma. In the
pure chronogram each word contains a numeral, the
natural chronogram shows all numerals in the correct numerical order, e.g. A
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ITAS = MMVI = 2006. Chronograms in versification are referred to as
chronosticha if they are written in hexameter and
chronodisticha if they are written in distich. In the ancient Indonesian Hindu-Buddhist tradition, especially in ancient Java, chronograms were called
chandrasengkala and usually used in inscriptions to signify a given year in the Saka Calendar. Certain words were assigned their specific number, and poetic phrases were formed from these selected words to describe particular events that have their own numerical meanings. For example, the
candrasengkala "
sirna ilang kertaning bumi" corresponds to the year 1400 in the Saka Calendar, the date of the fall of the Majapahit Empire.