Vāra
WeekdayA sunrise-to-sunrise religious day associated with one of the seven visible grahas.
PAÑCĀṄGA REFERENCE
How to read a Panchang
A Panchang combines astronomical positions, calendar conventions and tradition-specific decision rules. A dependable result declares its date, location, timezone and calculation method.
Pañca + aṅga: five limbs
The five limbs must be read together. A useful daily entry gives every transition time, not only the value present at midnight.
Tithi
Lunar dayThe elongation between Moon and Sun divided into thirty portions of 12°. It can begin or end at any clock time.
Nakṣatra
Lunar mansionThe Moon’s sidereal longitude divided into twenty-seven segments of 13°20′, each with four pādas.
Yoga
Lunisolar yogaA twenty-sevenfold division calculated from the combined sidereal longitudes of Sun and Moon.
Karaṇa
Half-tithiHalf a tithi: 6° of relative Sun–Moon motion. Seven names recur and four occur at fixed positions.
COMPLETE NAME INDEX
The daily cycles
15 tithi names in each pakṣa
Pratipadā · Dvitīyā · Tṛtīyā · Caturthī · Pañcamī · Ṣaṣṭhī · Saptamī · Aṣṭamī · Navamī · Daśamī · Ekādaśī · Dvādaśī · Trayodaśī · Caturdaśī · Pūrṇimā or Amāvasyā
The first fourteen repeat in both halves; the fifteenth is full or new moon.27 nakṣatras
Aśvinī · Bharaṇī · Kṛttikā · Rohiṇī · Mṛgaśīrṣa · Ārdrā · Punarvasu · Puṣya · Āśleṣā · Maghā · Pūrva Phālgunī · Uttara Phālgunī · Hasta · Citrā · Svātī · Viśākhā · Anurādhā · Jyeṣṭhā · Mūla · Pūrva Āṣāḍhā · Uttara Āṣāḍhā · Śravaṇa · Dhaniṣṭhā · Śatabhiṣaj · Pūrva Bhādrapadā · Uttara Bhādrapadā · Revatī
Each covers 13°20′ of sidereal longitude and has four pādas of 3°20′.27 nitya yogas
Viṣkambha · Prīti · Āyuṣmān · Saubhāgya · Śobhana · Atigaṇḍa · Sukarmā · Dhṛti · Śūla · Gaṇḍa · Vṛddhi · Dhruva · Vyāghāta · Harṣaṇa · Vajra · Siddhi · Vyatīpāta · Varīyas · Parigha · Śiva · Siddha · Sādhya · Śubha · Śukla · Brahma · Indra · Vaidhṛti
Calculated from the sum of the nirayana longitudes of Sun and Moon.11 karaṇa names
Bava · Bālava · Kaulava · Taitila · Gara · Vaṇija · Viṣṭi (Bhadrā) · Śakuni · Catuṣpāda · Nāga · Kiṃstughna
Seven movable karaṇas recur; four fixed karaṇas occur at defined lunar-cycle positions.CALENDAR STRUCTURE
Months, seasons and year cycles
Pakṣa
The bright Śukla half runs toward full moon; the dark Kṛṣṇa half runs toward new moon.
Lunar month
Amānta months end at new moon; Pūrṇimānta months end at full moon. Month labels can therefore differ.
Solar month
Based on the Sun’s entry into sidereal rāśis; regional solar calendars use distinct conventions.
Adhika māsa
An intercalary lunar month when no solar ingress occurs within a lunar month.
Kṣaya māsa
A rare omitted-month condition connected with two solar ingresses in one lunar month.
Ayana
Uttarāyaṇa and Dakṣiṇāyana are the two broad halves of the solar cycle.
Ṛtu
The six seasons: Vasanta, Grīṣma, Varṣā, Śarad, Hemanta and Śiśira.
Saṃvatsara
A traditional sixty-year Jovian cycle used by many regional calendars.
DAILY TIME WINDOWS
Why location changes the answer
Sunrise
Often the boundary for assigning the religious day; the tithi at sunrise matters for many, but not all, observances.
Pradoṣa
A twilight period around sunset used for particular observances; definitions vary by authority.
Rāhu Kāla
A weekday-dependent eighth of local daylight, not one universal clock time.
Yamaghaṇṭa and Gulika
Other daylight divisions used in some regional electional traditions.
Abhijit Muhūrta
A midday interval recognized by some traditions; it is not universally applied.
Brahma Muhūrta
A pre-dawn period for practice, defined relative to local sunrise.
Durmuhūrta
Intervals treated as unsuitable for selected undertakings in some systems.
Festival rule
A festival may require a limb at sunrise, moonrise, midday, sunset or midnight; every observance has its own rule.
HOW TO READ ONE DAY
A responsible sequence
Establish local sunrise first. Then read the limb present at sunrise and every transition. Apply a festival or vrata rule only after identifying its regional authority.
- Confirm place, date and timezone
- Read local sunrise and sunset
- Read weekday from sunrise
- Check pakṣa and tithi end time
- Check nakṣatra and pāda transitions
- Check yoga and karaṇa end times
- Apply the observance-specific rule
- Record ayanāṃśa and calendar school
CALCULATION METADATA
What a trustworthy result must disclose
01
Coordinates and elevation
02
Timezone and historical daylight saving
03
Ephemeris and software version
04
Declared ayanāṃśa
05
Sunrise and refraction definition
06
Amānta or Pūrṇimānta month system
07
Regional solar-calendar convention
08
Named festival or ritual authority