Panchang guide
Panchang explained: the five limbs of the Hindu calendar
A panchang (पञ्चाङ्ग, “five limbs”) is the Hindu almanac for a day. It describes the day by five measurements, all taken from the positions of the Sun and the Moon. Festivals, fasts and muhurats are all set from these five.
The five limbs at a glance
| Limb | What it measures | How many |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi · lunar day | The angle between the Moon and the Sun, in steps of 12° | 30 a lunar month |
| Vara · weekday | The day from one sunrise to the next, named after its ruling planet | 7 |
| Nakshatra · lunar mansion | Which of 27 sectors of 13°20′ the Moon is in | 27 |
| Yoga | The sum of the Sun’s and Moon’s longitudes, in steps of 13°20′ | 27 |
| Karana | Half a tithi: 6° of Moon–Sun angle | 11 kinds, 60 a month |
1. Tithi: the lunar day
Each time the Moon moves 12° further ahead of the Sun, a new tithi begins. Thirty tithis make a lunar month: fifteen in the bright half (Shukla paksha, ending at full moon, Purnima) and fifteen in the dark half (Krishna paksha, ending at new moon, Amavasya). Because the Moon’s speed varies, a tithi can last from about 20 to about 27 hours. More on tithis →
2. Vara: the weekday
The Hindu day runs from sunrise to sunrise, not midnight to midnight. Each weekday belongs to a planet: Sunday the Sun (Ravivara), Monday the Moon (Somavara), Tuesday Mars (Mangalavara), Wednesday Mercury (Budhavara), Thursday Jupiter (Guruvara), Friday Venus (Shukravara) and Saturday Saturn (Shanivara). The same order produces the horas, the planetary hours.
3. Nakshatra: the Moon’s mansion
The zodiac is divided into 27 equal nakshatras of 13°20′, starting at 0° of sidereal Aries. The day’s nakshatra is the one the Moon occupies; the Moon crosses roughly one a day. All 27 nakshatras →
4. Yoga: Sun and Moon together
Add the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and the Moon, and divide the total into 27 parts of 13°20′. Each part is a yoga, from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. This panchang yoga is different from the planetary yogas of a birth chart, such as Gajakesari. Two of the 27, Vyatipata and Vaidhriti, are traditionally avoided for new beginnings.
5. Karana: half a tithi
Every tithi has two karanas, one for each 6° of Moon–Sun angle. Seven “moveable” karanas (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija and Vishti) repeat eight times through the month; four “fixed” ones (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna) fall around the new moon. Vishti, also called Bhadra, is avoided for auspicious work.
Why the panchang changes with your city
The moment a tithi, nakshatra, yoga or karana begins is the same everywhere on Earth. What changes is sunrise. Since the day’s tithi is the one running at local sunrise, a tithi that ends at 6:30 am in Delhi can belong to a different date in London or New York. That is why a panchang must be calculated for your own location, as Today’s panchang does.
See it for today: Today’s panchang for your city shows all five limbs with their start and end times, calculated with the Swiss Ephemeris and the Lahiri ayanamsa.