About this Panchang

A panchang is the Hindu almanac. It tells you the lunar day, the star the moon is passing through and the good and bad times of each day. Families use it to choose dates for pujas, weddings, griha pravesh, travel and fasts. This page works it out for every day of the year, for the city you pick at the top.

The word means “five limbs”. Each day is described by the five items below.

Tithi (lunar day)

A tithi is the time the moon takes to move 12 degrees ahead of the sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month: 15 in Shukla Paksha, the bright half when the moon grows towards Purnima, and 15 in Krishna Paksha, the dark half when it shrinks towards Amavasya. A tithi can last anywhere from about 19 to 26 hours, so it rarely starts at midnight. The tithi that is running at sunrise gives the day its name. That is why the calendar shows the sunrise tithi and the end time, followed by the next tithi.

Vara (weekday)

The seven weekdays, Ravivar to Shanivar. In the panchang a day starts at sunrise and ends at the next sunrise, not at midnight. Times after midnight therefore still belong to the same panchang day and are shown with the next date beside them.

Nakshatra (lunar mansion)

The sky along the moon’s path is divided into 27 nakshatras, each 13°20′ wide. The nakshatra of the day is the one the moon is in. The moon spends about a day in each one. Each nakshatra is further split into four padas (quarters), which are listed under Rashi & Nakshatra.

Yoga

Yoga here is a calculation, not exercise. The longitudes of the sun and moon are added together and the total is divided into 27 parts, from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. A few yogas, such as Vyatipata and Vaidhriti, are traditionally avoided for new work.

Karana (half tithi)

Each tithi has two halves called karanas, so there are two in a normal day. There are 11 karanas in all. The seventh, Vishti, is better known as Bhadra and is avoided for mangalik (auspicious) work.

How to read this page

Click any date in the calendar. The box beside the calendar shows what most people need: tithi, nakshatra, sunrise, sunset, Rahu Kaal, Abhijit Muhurat and the festivals of the day. The full panchang for that date appears below the calendar. Use the city menu to see times for your city, because sunrise, sunset and every muhurat change from place to place. Use the A− and A+ buttons to make the text smaller or bigger. All times are Indian Standard Time in 24-hour format.

Auspicious times (Shubh Muhurat)

Many periods are measured in muhurtas. A muhurta is one fifteenth of the daytime or of the night, roughly 48 minutes, so its length changes through the year.

• Brahma Muhurat: the muhurta that ends one muhurta before sunrise. It is the traditional time to wake up, pray, meditate and study.
• Pratah and Sayahna Sandhya: the twilight periods before sunrise and after sunset, kept for the daily sandhya prayers.
• Abhijit Muhurat: the eighth muhurta of the day, around local noon. It is considered good for starting almost any work when no other muhurat is available. It is not used on Wednesdays.
• Vijaya Muhurat: the eleventh muhurta of the day, preferred for starting journeys and important tasks.
• Godhuli Muhurat: the short period just after sunset, when cattle traditionally return home. It is often used for weddings.
• Nishita Muhurat: the muhurta around midnight. Pujas on Maha Shivratri and Janmashtami are done at this time.
• Amrit Kaal: a window of about an hour and a half fixed by the nakshatra of the day. It is considered very favourable.
• Special yogas: Ravi Yoga, Sarvartha Siddhi Yoga, Amrit Siddhi Yoga, Guru Pushya and Ravi Pushya Yoga, and Dwipushkar and Tripushkar Yoga come from particular combinations of weekday, tithi and nakshatra. They are shown only on the days they occur.

Inauspicious times (Ashubh Samay)

• Rahu Kaal: one eighth of the daytime, at a different slot each weekday. New work, purchases and journeys are usually not started in it. It is followed most widely in South India.
• Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal: two more one-eighth slots of the day, also fixed by weekday.
• Dur Muhurat: one or two muhurtas of the day, depending on the weekday, that are avoided for auspicious work.
• Varjyam: a window of about an hour and a half fixed by the nakshatra, the opposite of Amrit Kaal.
• Bhadra: the time of Vishti karana. Weddings, griha pravesh, mundan and similar ceremonies are not held in it. Its effect is said to depend on where Bhadra resides; it is considered harmful when it is on earth (Prithvi).
• Panchak: the five-day stretch when the moon passes through Kumbha and Meena rashi, from the second half of Dhanishta to Revati. Some kinds of work are traditionally avoided in it.
• Ganda Mool: the moon in Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Mula or Revati. A shanti puja is traditionally done for children born at this time.
• Baana: one of five “arrows” (Roga, Agni, Raja, Chora, Mrityu) worked out from the sun’s position in its sign. Each is linked with a kind of work to avoid.

Choghadiya

The day from sunrise to sunset and the night from sunset to sunrise are each split into eight choghadiyas. Shubh, Labh and Amrit are good. Char is neutral and is considered fine for travel. Udveg, Rog and Kaal are avoided. Choghadiya is widely used in Gujarat and Rajasthan to pick a time for shopping, travel and starting a business. The one that is running now is highlighted.

Nivas and Shool

• Agnivas: where the fire god is said to reside, on earth (Prithvi), in the sky (Akash) or in the underworld (Patal). A havan is done when Agnivas is on earth.
• Shivvas: where Lord Shiva is said to be. Rudrabhishek is preferred when he is on Kailash, with Gauri or on Nandi.
• Disha Shool: the direction in which travel is avoided on that weekday. Nakshatra Shool does the same for a few nakshatras.
• Homahuti and Chandra Vaas: the planet that receives the offerings in a havan, and the direction of the moon.

Lagna and Panchak Rahita Muhurat

The Udaya Lagna is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon. It changes about every two hours. Panchak Rahita Muhurat combines the tithi, weekday, nakshatra and lagna to show which parts of the day are free of the five kinds of panchak (Mrityu, Agni, Raja, Chora and Roga). Periods marked “Good muhurat” are the ones to choose.

Chandrabalam and Tarabalam

These help you check whether a day suits you personally. Chandrabalam lists the moon signs (rashis) for which the moon is well placed that day. Tarabalam lists the birth nakshatras for which the day’s nakshatra is favourable. If your rashi or birth nakshatra is in the list, the day is considered good for you.

Months and Samvat

Two ways of naming lunar months are used in India. In the Purnimanta system, followed in most of North India, a month ends on Purnima. In the Amanta system, used in South and West India, it ends on Amavasya. The festivals fall on the same days either way; only the month name differs during Krishna Paksha. Both are shown.

Vikram Samvat begins on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada and runs 57 years ahead of the Common Era. Shaka Samvat, the basis of the national calendar, runs 78 years behind it. The Gujarati Samvat begins the day after Diwali. Each year also has a name from the 60-year cycle of samvatsaras and its own “cabinet” of planets, the Mantri Mandal.

How the times are calculated

All positions of the sun and moon are calculated astronomically with the Swiss Ephemeris, using the Lahiri ayanamsa adopted by the Government of India. Sunrise and sunset are worked out for the selected city. Festival dates follow the usual rules of the dharma shastras and are calculated for New Delhi, so some festivals may be observed a day apart in other regions or traditions, and Islamic dates can move by a day after moon sighting. For weddings and other major ceremonies, please confirm the muhurat with your family priest or a local panchang.