Today's Panchang — Tithi, Vaar, Nakshatra, Yoga, Karana and the Day's Good Times

For centuries, Indian homes have opened the panchang (the Hindu almanac of five limbs) every morning. Fasts, festivals, naming ceremonies, house-warmings and weddings all take their dates from it. Yet many people find a panchang page confusing — so many names, so many times, and a word like "Rahu Kaal" that makes people slightly nervous the moment they hear it.

This page clears that up. At the top is today's panchang, which our calculation builds every day from the real positions of the Sun and Moon. Below it you will find what each limb means, how each window is worked out, and finally how all this connects to a wedding muhurat — where both the bride's and groom's birth charts must also be seen. This guide was written by the Kundli Milan Jyotish team to explain, not to frighten.

What is a panchang — the five limbs at a glance

Panchang comes from pancha (five) and anga (limb). Every day is identified in five ways. Four of them — tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana — come from the positions of the Sun and Moon. The fifth, vaar (weekday), runs from sunrise. So a panchang is a clock of the sky: no guesswork, only arithmetic.

The circle of the sky has 360 degrees. The Sun moves about one degree a day along it; the Moon moves about 12 to 15.

Old panchangs wrote time in ghatis. One ghati (or ghadi) is 24 minutes, and two ghatis make one muhurta — about 48 minutes. A day and night hold 30 muhurtas, 15 by day and 15 by night. In everyday speech "muhurat" now means "an auspicious time", but in panchang arithmetic it is a unit of time. The word "Choghadiya" comes from here too: a part of roughly four ghadis.

Tithi — how far the Moon is ahead of the Sun

On Amavasya (new moon) the Sun and Moon stand at almost the same place in the sky. Then the faster Moon pulls ahead, gaining about 12 degrees a day. Every 12 degrees of separation is one tithi. 360 divided by 12 is 30 — so a lunar month has 30 tithis.

The Moon's speed varies, so one tithi may finish in about 20 hours while another takes 26 or 27. A tithi can change at any hour of day or night. That is why a panchang writes things like "Shashthi until 14:32, then Saptami".

Two pakshas — Shukla and Krishna

A paksha is a fortnight, about 15 days.

• Shukla paksha (bright half) — from Pratipada after Amavasya up to Purnima. The Moon grows each night.
• Krishna paksha (dark half) — from Pratipada after Purnima up to Amavasya. The Moon shrinks each night.

Both halves use the same names, Pratipada to Chaturdashi. Only the fifteenth differs: Purnima in Shukla paksha, Amavasya in Krishna paksha. So always read the paksha with the tithi — "Ekadashi" alone is incomplete, "Shukla Ekadashi" is complete.

Five groups — Nanda, Bhadra, Jaya, Rikta, Purna

The old teachers divided the fifteen tithis into five groups, the same in both halves.

Tradition says an auspicious beginning made on a Rikta tithi may stay somewhat incomplete, so these are usually not chosen for a wedding or house-warming. There is nothing to fear, though. Chaturthi is Lord Ganesha's tithi, Ram Navami falls on Navami, and Maha Shivaratri falls on Chaturdashi. For worship and fasting these tithis are deeply sacred. Likewise, Ekadashi is the day of the Vishnu fast, and the Pradosh fast is kept on the evening of Trayodashi.

Purnima and Amavasya

On Purnima the Moon stands exactly opposite the Sun, 180 degrees away, and shines as a full disc. Guru Purnima, Raksha Bandhan on Shravana Purnima, Sharad Purnima and Holika Dahan on Phalguna Purnima all fall on a full moon.

On Amavasya the Moon travels with the Sun and cannot be seen. Tradition keeps it for remembering the ancestors (pitris), charity and quiet practice. Amavasya is not unlucky; it is simply not chosen for new beginnings such as a wedding or house-warming.

Udaya tithi, kshaya and vriddhi

The tithi of a day is the one running at sunrise — the udaya tithi. If sunrise is at 6:15 and Panchami lasts until 9:40 before Shashthi begins, the whole day is still called Panchami.

Sometimes a tithi begins and ends between two sunrises. It is a kshaya (lost) tithi, and the calendar seems to skip it. If a tithi touches two sunrises, the same tithi is written on two days — a vriddhi (extended) tithi. This is not an error; it comes from the Moon's changing speed.

Fasts have their own rules too — Karva Chauth and Sankashti Chaturthi look at the tithi at moonrise, Janmashtami at midnight, and Pradosh just after sunset.

Amanta and Purnimanta

Lunar months are named in two ways. Amanta (the month ends on Amavasya) is used in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra; Purnimanta (the month ends on Purnima) across most of North India. In the Krishna paksha the month name changes: Janmashtami is Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami in North India and Shravana Krishna Ashtami in Maharashtra and Gujarat — the same day.

Roughly once every three years a lunar month is repeated — Adhik Maas or Purushottam Maas — so the lunar year (about 354 days) does not fall behind the seasons. Tradition holds no weddings in it, but considers it excellent for chanting, charity and devotion.

Vaar — the day begins at sunrise

The clock changes the date at midnight; the panchang runs a vaar from one sunrise to the next. A child born at 3 a.m. on Tuesday night, before sunrise, has a Wednesday calendar date — but in the panchang it is still Tuesday. For the same reason Rahu Kaal, Choghadiya and hora are counted from sunrise. Our kundli calculation follows this rule too.

Tradition calls Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saumya (gentle) days, and Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday krura (firm) days. "Krura" does not mean bad — these are days of courage and discipline, for practice rather than fear.

Where the order of the week comes from — the hora

Why does Monday follow Sunday? The answer is the hora. Ancient jyotish arranged the seven planets by apparent speed — slowest Saturn, then Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and fastest the Moon. Day and night were divided into 24 horas (roughly hour-long parts), and the lord of each hora changes in this order.

At sunrise on Sunday the first hora belongs to the Sun. Then come Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars — and the Sun again. After 24 horas, the first hora of the next sunrise falls to the Moon, so the next day is Monday. Keep counting and the following days begin with Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Tradition says work linked with a planet goes well in its hora — study in Mercury's, worship in Jupiter's. It is a fine tool; there is no need to fret over it daily.

Nakshatra — which star group the Moon is near today

The Moon's path is divided into 27 equal parts, each marked by a group of stars — a nakshatra. One nakshatra spans 13 degrees 20 minutes. The Moon circles the sky in about 27.3 days, so it moves about one nakshatra a day. Each nakshatra has four padas (quarters), and the birth pada gives the first syllable traditionally used for a name.

The birth nakshatra matters a great deal in kundli milan. Four of the eight koots (tests) of Ashtakoot matching — Tara, Yoni, Gana and Nadi — come straight from the two birth nakshatras.

The 27 nakshatras and their lords

In the Vimshottari dasha (the 120-year cycle of planetary periods), each nakshatra has a lord. The order is always Ketu, Venus, Sun, Moon, Mars, Rahu, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, and it runs exactly three times through the 27. The first dasha of a life belongs to the lord of the birth nakshatra.

Seven natures — fixed, movable, sharp and the rest

The muhurta texts (classical works on choosing good times) place the nakshatras in seven groups by nature.

These groups are a broad guide, not the final rule. For marriage, the Muhurta Chintamani names eleven nakshatras: Rohini, Mrigashira, Magha, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati. It includes Magha (fierce) and Mula (sharp), while Pushya, considered very auspicious, is not on it. So look at the rule for the task in hand.

When Pushya falls on a Thursday or Sunday (Guru-Pushya, Ravi-Pushya), tradition considers it very good for purchases or opening a new account. During Panchak — about five days while the Moon is in Kumbha (Aquarius) and Meena (Pisces) — tradition puts off a few tasks such as laying a roof; daily work goes on as normal.

Yoga — the Sun and Moon added together

For tithi we look at the distance between the Sun and Moon; for yoga we add their longitudes. Divide the sum into parts of 13 degrees 20 minutes and you get one of 27 yogas. Note that a panchang yoga is quite different from birth-chart yogas such as Gajakesari or Raja yoga; it is simply one limb of the day.

In order, the 27 yogas are: Vishkambha, Priti, Ayushman, Saubhagya, Shobhana, Atiganda, Sukarma, Dhriti, Shoola, Ganda, Vriddhi, Dhruva, Vyaghata, Harshana, Vajra, Siddhi, Vyatipata, Variyan, Parigha, Shiva, Siddha, Sadhya, Shubha, Shukla, Brahma, Indra and Vaidhriti.

Tradition avoids Vyatipata (17th) and Vaidhriti (27th) entirely for starting auspicious work. In Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shoola, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra and Parigha, the opening portion is usually left out (for Parigha, the first half). The other eighteen are ordinary or favourable. Even on Vyatipata or Vaidhriti days there is nothing to fear — tradition holds that charity, chanting and worship carry special merit then.

Karana — half a tithi

Each tithi has two halves, and each half is a karana — 6 degrees of Sun–Moon separation. A month has 60 karanas but only 11 names:

• 7 movable karanas — Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija and Vishti, repeating in this order eight times a month. Vanija takes its name from vanik, a trader.
• 4 fixed karanas, once a month each — Kimstughna in the first half of Shukla Pratipada, Shakuni in the second half of Krishna Chaturdashi, and Chatushpada and Naga in the two halves of Amavasya.

Kimstughna is considered favourable; the other three fixed karanas fall around Amavasya, so they are usually not taken for a wedding.

Vishti — the karana called Bhadra

The seventh movable karana is Vishti, popularly called Bhadra. Tradition avoids it for new auspicious beginnings. The familiar examples: people tie the rakhi only after Bhadra ends, and light the Holika fire after Bhadra too.

Bhadra comes eight times a month, 10 to 13 hours each time. In Shukla paksha it falls in the second half of Chaturthi and Ekadashi and the first half of Ashtami and Purnima; in Krishna paksha, in the second half of Tritiya and Dashami and the first half of Saptami and Chaturdashi. Worship, chanting, charity and necessary work all continue during Bhadra.

One confusion to clear up: the "Bhadra" group of tithis (Dwitiya, Saptami, Dwadashi) and Bhadra karana (Vishti) are different things. Bhadra tithis are considered beneficial; Bhadra karana is avoided for new beginnings.

Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal — the day in eight parts

All three are found the same way. Divide the daytime, sunrise to sunset, into eight equal parts; by weekday, one part is Rahu Kaal, one Yamaganda and one Gulika Kaal. A 12-hour day gives parts of 90 minutes; a shorter or longer day gives shorter or longer parts.

A worked example

Suppose that on a Monday sunrise is at 6:20 and sunset at 17:56.

1. Day length: 11 hours 36 minutes = 696 minutes.
2. One part: 696 ÷ 8 = 87 minutes.
3. Monday's Rahu Kaal is the second part: 6:20 + 87 minutes = 7:47, running to 9:14.
4. Yamaganda, the fourth part: 10:41 to 12:08.
5. Gulika Kaal, the sixth part: 13:35 to 15:02.

On a summer Monday — sunrise 5:30, sunset 19:06 — one part is 102 minutes, and Rahu Kaal runs from 7:12 to 8:54.

Many calendars print fixed times — Monday 7:30 to 9:00, and so on. These are right only when sunrise and sunset fall at exactly 6 o'clock; our two Mondays already differ by 35 minutes. So read Rahu Kaal from your own city's sunrise and sunset for that day. If you are far from the place the times above were made for, you can do this arithmetic yourself.

What the three mean

• Rahu Kaal — the part linked with Rahu (the shadow planet, signifier of confusion and sudden change). Tradition advises not starting something new in it — a new deal, a journey, a new account. Work already under way carries on.
• Yamaganda — tradition links it with Yama (Dharmaraja, deity of law and justice); in the arithmetic, Jupiter rules this part. Here too, avoid new beginnings, especially setting out on a journey.
• Gulika Kaal — Saturn's part. The first part of the day belongs to the weekday's lord, and the rest follow in weekday order; the eighth has no lord. The part that falls to Saturn is Gulika — the seventh on Sunday, the first on Saturday.

Rahu Kaal is an old practice in South India; North and West India traditionally relied more on Choghadiya, and most panchangs now print both. A South Indian folk belief says work begun in Gulika tends to repeat — a folk tradition, not a firm classical rule.

What to do in Rahu Kaal — no panic

• Never hold back necessary work. Exams, work, trains, hospital visits and medicines are timed by need, not by the panchang.
• Work already running — office, shop, farm, home — carries on.
• New tasks whose timing is in your hands can easily be shifted a little out of Rahu Kaal.
• If you must start in Rahu Kaal, remember Lord Ganesha first and work with a calm mind.

'Om Gam Ganapataye Namah'

Abhijit Muhurta — the favourable window at midday

Divide the daytime into 15 equal parts; each is a muhurta. The eighth is Abhijit, around local noon, when the Sun is highest. "Abhijit" means "the unconquered". Tradition considers it good for starting almost any auspicious work, especially when no other good window is available.

In our example — sunrise 6:20, sunset 17:56 — one muhurta is 696 ÷ 15, about 46 minutes, and Abhijit runs from about 11:45 to 12:31. By tradition Abhijit is not used on Wednesdays. It is good support for small everyday tasks, but major ceremonies such as a wedding or house-warming need a full muhurat, with both people's charts in view.

Local noon is not 12 o'clock by the clock, because India's clock (IST) is set to 82.5 degrees east longitude. In Ahmedabad or Rajkot the Sun is highest at about 12:25 to 12:55; in Guwahati at about 11:10 to 11:30. So Abhijit falls at a different clock time in each city.

Brahma Muhurta — the quiet time before sunrise

Brahma Muhurta is the fourteenth of the night's 15 muhurtas — the second-to-last before sunrise. A night muhurta is one fifteenth of the night, so it changes with the season: 48 minutes when the night is exactly 12 hours, a little longer in the long winter nights, a little shorter in summer. For example, with sunrise at 6:20 and the previous sunset at 17:56, the night is 744 minutes and one muhurta is 744 ÷ 15 ≈ 49.6 minutes. Brahma Muhurta then runs from about 99 minutes to 50 minutes before sunrise — roughly 4:41 to 5:30. Our calculation follows this rule, starting the shown time at the next whole minute and ending it at the previous one; some panchangs count the whole hour and a half up to sunrise.

It is regarded as excellent for prayer, meditation, chanting and study — there is little noise and the mind settles quickly. If you wish, chant the Gayatri mantra:

'Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah, Tat Savitur Varenyam, Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi, Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat'

But it is not to be forced on the body. For those who work late, or are unwell or elderly, a full night's sleep comes first; chanting with a calm mind after sunrise is just as sincere.

Choghadiya — eight parts of the day, seven names

Choghadiya also divides the day into eight equal parts — eight by day, sunrise to sunset, and eight by night. Each name is linked with a planet. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have a long tradition of checking Choghadiya before opening a shop, setting out on a journey or starting a new account book; the time for Chopda Pujan (worship of the account books) at Diwali is often chosen this way.

The first Choghadiya belongs to the weekday's lord. After that the names follow the hora order — Udveg (Sun), Char (Venus), Labh (Mercury), Amrit (Moon), Kaal (Saturn), Shubh (Jupiter), Rog (Mars), and back to Udveg. There are eight parts but seven names, so the eighth repeats the first.

A whole Thursday

Take a Thursday in the same city — sunrise 6:20, sunset 17:56, each part 87 minutes.

1. Shubh — 6:20 to 7:47
2. Rog — 7:47 to 9:14
3. Udveg — 9:14 to 10:41
4. Char — 10:41 to 12:08
5. Labh — 12:08 to 13:35
6. Amrit — 13:35 to 15:02
7. Kaal — 15:02 to 16:29
8. Shubh — 16:29 to 17:56

Notice that Thursday's Rahu Kaal is the sixth part — 13:35 to 15:02 — right on top of Amrit! The two systems come from different traditions, so the simplest path is a window where both agree. This Thursday, Labh (12:08 to 13:35) holds no Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda or Gulika, and Abhijit (about 11:45 to 12:31) falls across Char and Labh. A clear window like this can be found almost every day.

Why the times differ from city to city

Nearly every time in a panchang rests on sunrise, and sunrise differs by city:

1. Longitude — the Sun rises first in the east. India keeps one clock, yet sunrise in Guwahati and Rajkot can differ by more than an hour and a half.
2. Latitude — northern cities have very long summer days and short winter days; the south changes less.
3. Season — in one city, June and December sunrises can differ by close to an hour and three quarters.

These times are approximate. In Delhi one part of a December day (day ÷ 8) is about 77 minutes, and of a June day about 104 — and Rahu Kaal shrinks and grows with it.

One moment for the change, but the day's tithi can differ

A change of tithi, nakshatra, yoga or karana is an event in the sky, happening at the same instant everywhere — "Ekadashi until 9:40" means 9:40 in Delhi and Chennai alike. But the day's tithi is set by sunrise. Suppose that on a day in October the tithi changes at 6:10 a.m. Kolkata's sunrise came at about 5:31, so the old tithi counts there for that day; Ahmedabad's sunrise is about 6:35, so the new one counts. That is why one fast can fall on different days in different cities, and abroad.

Why two panchangs can differ slightly

• Method — most panchangs today are drik panchangs (based on the sky as actually observed), using modern astronomy, as our calculation does; some traditional ones use older formulae such as the Surya Siddhanta.
• Ayanamsa — nakshatras and yogas are counted against the stars, so an ayanamsa (the gap between the Western and Indian zodiacs) is needed. We use Lahiri, which India's national calendar also adopted. It does not affect tithi or karana.
• Definition of sunrise — the Sun's upper edge or its centre: a minute or two of difference. Our calculation takes the upper edge, with the standard allowance for refraction — the moment the eye first sees the Sun.

These are methods, not mistakes — a family can simply stick to one panchang.

The panchang in daily life — calmly, not fearfully

A panchang is for understanding the day, not fearing it. In earlier times the family priest would read out the day's panchang each morning — panchang-shravan. Today the box above does that job:

1. A morning glance — today's tithi, paksha and nakshatra, so no fast or festival is missed.
2. A map of the day — when Rahu Kaal falls, and when Amrit, Shubh or Labh do. Put flexible new tasks in the good parts.
3. Necessary work by necessity — never postpone an exam, a job, a journey or medical treatment for the panchang. With health, the doctor's advice comes first; jyotish remedies go alongside treatment, never in place of it.
4. Keep calm — "I left home in Rahu Kaal, what now?" is not a worry worth having. The panchang helps you choose a better time; it does not punish.

On a restless day you can chant the mantra of the day's ruling planet for one mala (108 times) — on Thursday, for example, this mantra of Jupiter:

'Om Graam Greem Graum Sah Gurave Namah'

As a regular practice, keep it up for at least 43 days without a break. Fast only if your health allows. No remedy is a guarantee of a result — a remedy done regularly and with faith supports the mind.

The panchang and marriage — why a wedding muhurat needs both charts

The "wedding dates of the year" printed in calendars do only half the job: they show the days when the five limbs are suitable. The other half comes from the bride's and groom's own charts.

The first half — the purity of the day

• Tithi — the Rikta tithis (Chaturthi, Navami, Chaturdashi) and Amavasya are usually left out.
• Nakshatra — one of the eleven listed above.
• Yoga — not Vyatipata or Vaidhriti.
• Karana — not Vishti (Bhadra).
• Vaar — regions prefer different weekdays; each family follows its own priest's tradition.

The second half — the couple's own charts

• Chandra bala — which house the Moon is passing that day, counted from each person's birth sign. The 4th, 8th and 12th are usually avoided.
• Tara bala — which tara the day's nakshatra forms when counted from each person's birth nakshatra. In the count of nine, the third, fifth and seventh taras are weak — the same arithmetic used in the Tara koot of kundli matching.
• Tribala shuddhi — in North Indian tradition, the transit (current movement in the sky) of Jupiter for the bride, the Sun for the groom, and the Moon for both.
• Lagna shuddhi — the sign rising in the east at the moment of the pheras (sacred rounds); the seventh house of that moment should be empty and no harsh planets should sit in the rising sign.

None of this can be worked out without both people's dates, times and places of birth. So one "auspicious date" may suit one couple well and another less.

Times tradition avoids for weddings

• Chaturmas — Ashadha Shukla Ekadashi (Devshayani) to Kartika Shukla Ekadashi (Dev Uthani), especially in North and West India.
• Kharmas — while the Sun is in Dhanu (Sagittarius) or Meena (Pisces), roughly mid-December to mid-January and mid-March to mid-April.
• Jupiter or Venus combust — when either is too close to the Sun to be seen; both are significators of marriage.
• Adhik Maas — as above.

These vary by region, and some rules differ in South India.

Abujh muhurat — a lovely tradition, not the whole answer

In North India, days such as Akshaya Tritiya, Basant Panchami, Dev Uthani Ekadashi and Phulera Dooj are called abujh muhurat — believed to need no panchang at all. It is a beautiful folk tradition, but it says the day is good, not that two charts match — only kundli milan shows that.

Kundli milan before the muhurat — what our report looks at

The right order: kundli milan first, muhurat second. A muhurat picks a day; kundli milan looks at a lifetime together. If the matching shows something needing attention — Manglik dosha or Nadi, say — it is best to start the remedy before the wedding. The muhurat itself also needs both birth nakshatras and birth signs, so both tasks rest on the same foundation.

Our Vivah Kundli Milan (marriage matching) builds both charts from both people's dates, times and places of birth, and looks at:

• All eight koots of Ashtakoot and the score out of 36 — Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoot and Nadi;
• Manglik dosha — whether it forms in either chart, and whether a classical exception (parihar) applies;
• Nadi and Bhakoot — whether a dosha forms, and its exceptions;
• Remedies — simple, harmless ones for whatever needs attention.

After payment, the full result opens on the site right away. The full report comes as a PDF, with each person's own chart, the complete remedy procedure, a weekly schedule and a section called "Your questions — straight answers".

We are clear about a few things. Our report does not pick a wedding date; it shows how the two charts match. Afterwards, show both birth signs and nakshatras to a knowledgeable priest for the muhurat. The report never advises against a marriage over a low score — the score out of 36 is one part of the picture; Manglik exceptions, Nadi and Graha Maitri are all weighed, and remedies are given where needed. And it does not predict wealth, children or career.

The panchang stays with you after the wedding — house-warming, household pujas, festivals. But peace at home comes from how the family gets along, not from a good day alone. If small things keep turning into tension, our Griha Shanti Kundli Milan (home-harmony matching) takes any two family members' charts together and looks at the match of temperaments, the Moon (mind), the fourth house (peace at home), speech, Pitru dosha and Kaal Sarp, the current dasha and Saturn's transit, and gives remedies for both. Pitru dosha comes from tradition, and Kaal Sarp is not in the ancient texts but a later tradition — the report presents them that way.

Frequently asked questions