How to Read a Panchang

A panchang describes a day through five limbs (panch-anga): tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga and karana. All five are worked out from where the Moon and Sun are in the sky, so they change every day and do not always line up neatly with sunrise. That is why festivals and vrats are fixed by the tithi, not by the calendar date — and the tithi has to be read from a panchang. This site's today's panchang shows these same five limbs and timings for a Maharashtra reference.

What is a panchang

The word panchang comes from panch (five) + anga (limb) — a set of five parts. Together these five describe a day astronomically: the tithi, the vaar (weekday), the nakshatra, the yoga and the karana. Every row of a daily panchang is built around these five, and alongside them it gives timings such as sunrise, sunset, Rahukaal and Abhijit muhurat.

These five limbs are not "assigned" — they are calculated, from the positions of the Moon and Sun. So a panchang is not just a calendar; it is an astronomical record.

Why reading a panchang matters

• Festivals and vrats follow the tithi, not the date. Any religious day depends on a lunar tithi; the panchang tells you which English date that tithi falls on.
• You can read the daily table with meaning. Once you know the five limbs, every line of a panchang — tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga, karana and the timings — makes sense.
• A tithi is not a date. One tithi lasts roughly 19–26 hours and can begin or end at any clock time. So the tithi present at sunrise is taken as that day's tithi; but some festivals are decided by the tithi at moonrise, pradosh, midnight or the afternoon. This is exactly why the dates cannot be worked out by hand — and why a panchang is needed.

The five limbs of a panchang

Below is each limb's meaning, count and a short grouping; each limb has its own detailed page.

1. Tithi (the lunar day)

A tithi completes each time the Moon moves 12° ahead of the Sun. One lunar month has 30 tithis — 15 in the Shukla paksha (the waxing fortnight, Pratipada to Purnima) and 15 in the Krishna paksha (the waning fortnight, Pratipada to Amavasya).

• Five groups (by number): Nanda (1, 6, 11), Bhadra (2, 7, 12), Jaya (3, 8, 13), Rikta (4, 9, 14) and Purna (5, 10, 15); each group appears three times per paksha. Traditionally the Rikta tithis are avoided for auspicious beginnings. (This avoidance is a traditional rule and varies by family and region.)
• Kshaya and vriddhi tithis: if a tithi passes without touching any sunrise it is a kshaya (skipped) tithi; if it stretches across two sunrises it is a vriddhi (repeated) tithi. So "the same Nth tithi every month" does not hold.
• More → tithi

2. Vaar (the weekday)

There are seven vaars; each is linked with a ruling planet and a presiding deity — this is the basis of the weekday vrats.

(This vaar-to-deity pairing is traditional and can vary a little by family and region.) More → vaar

3. Nakshatra (the Moon's position)

There are 27 nakshatras (lunar mansions, Ashwini to Revati), each 13°20′ wide. Whichever nakshatra the Moon is in is that day's nakshatra. Each nakshatra is given a presiding deity and a ruling planet.

• Gana: the nakshatras fall into three ganas — Deva, Manushya and Rakshasa — which are looked at for marriage matching (gun-milan), naming a child (namakaran) and choosing a muhurat.
• Panchak and gandant are certain junction-nakshatras that are traditionally treated with caution; in some traditions a shanti is performed for them. (This is descriptive, not binding on everyone.)
• (The full gana list, the exact panchak/gandant nakshatras and the deity-planet details are on the nakshatra page.) More → nakshatra

4. Yoga

The 27 yogas are derived from the combined longitude of the Sun and Moon (divided by 13°20′). Traditionally the Vyatipata and Vaidhriti yogas are avoided, while Amrita and Siddhi are considered auspicious. (Treating these as auspicious or inauspicious is tradition-specific.)

More → yoga

5. Karana (the half-tithi)

A karana is half a tithi; there are 11 karanas in all — 4 fixed (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna) and 7 movable (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija, Vishti). Each tithi contains two karanas. The Vishti karana is also called Bhadra — and it is traditionally avoided for auspicious work. (Treating Vishti/Bhadra as inauspicious is tradition-specific.)

More → karana

Every day's panchang lists all five limbs together — tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga (e.g. "Siddha") and karana (e.g. "Taitila"). See today's panchang for today's five limbs.

The daily timing windows (Rahukaal, Gulika, Yamaganda, Abhijit, Choghadiya)

Besides the five limbs, a panchang gives a few timing windows. These are worked out from sunrise and sunset, so they change with the date and the place — no single time is "for everyone". Whether a window counts as auspicious or inauspicious is itself a matter of tradition.

• Rahukaal — the daytime (sunrise to sunset) is split into 8 parts, and one part fixed by the vaar (~1.5 hours) is Rahukaal; it is traditionally treated as inauspicious. There is never any Rahukaal in the first part of the day. More → Rahukaal
• Gulika kaal — another part fixed by the vaar; treated as inauspicious. More → Gulika kaal
• Yamaganda — another such part; treated as inauspicious. More → Yamaganda
• Abhijit muhurat — a short, most-auspicious window around local madhyanha (the Sun's midday peak); some traditions avoid it on Wednesday. It lasts roughly ~48 minutes (about 24 minutes on either side of madhyanha), and shifts a little with the local sunrise/sunset and the date. More → Abhijit muhurat
• Choghadiya — 8 parts of the day and 8 of the night; treated as good (Amrit/Shubh/Labh/Char) or to be avoided (Rog/Kaal/Udveg). More → Choghadiya

Masa, paksha and adhik maas

Which masa (month) and paksha (fortnight) a day belongs to matters too. Maharashtra follows a luni-solar system and the Shalivahan Shaka era.

• Masa: the year begins at Gudi Padwa (Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, around March–April). The order of months is Chaitra, Vaishakh, Jyeshtha, Ashadh, Shravan, Bhadrapad, Ashwin, Kartik, Margashirsh, Paush, Magh, Phalgun.
• Paksha: the Shukla paksha (waxing — Pratipada to Purnima) and the Krishna paksha (waning — Pratipada to Amavasya).
• Amanta vs purnimanta: Maharashtra follows the amanta reckoning (a month ends at the Amavasya); the north follows purnimanta. So a Krishna-paksha festival can land in a differently named month under the two systems — here the month is stated the amanta way.
• Adhik maas (malmaas): roughly every 32–33 months an extra lunar month is inserted (one that contains no solar sankranti), doubling that month. This year has an adhik Jyeshtha — the panchang shows "adhik Jyeshtha" followed by "nij Jyeshtha", two Jyeshtha months in a row. Most vrats and festivals are observed in the nij month.

Good to know

• Read the tithi, not the date. One tithi lasts ~19–26 hours; "which tithi is it today" is read from the panchang by the sunrise tithi. Festivals and vrats follow the tithi.
• Timings are place-specific. Rahukaal, Abhijit and Choghadiya depend on your city's sunrise and sunset; do not copy another city's time as-is. (This site shows a Maharashtra reference; your city may differ.)
• Auspicious/inauspicious rules are tradition-specific. Rikta tithi, Vyatipata/Vaidhriti yoga, Vishti/Bhadra karana and Rahukaal are treated as "to be avoided", but the practice varies by family and region; for a final decision, follow your family custom (kulachar) or a local priest.
• Watch for adhik maas. In an adhik-maas year, check which (nij) month a vrat or festival is observed in.

FAQ

What is a panchang?

A traditional astronomical calendar that describes a day through five limbs — tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga and karana — and also gives timings such as sunrise, sunset, Rahukaal and Abhijit muhurat.

What are the five limbs of a panchang?

Tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga and karana. All five are calculated from the positions of the Moon and Sun.

What is a tithi and how is it decided?

A tithi completes each time the Moon moves 12° ahead of the Sun; a lunar month has 30 tithis (15 Shukla + 15 Krishna).

What is the difference between a tithi and a date?

A date is solar / clock-based; a tithi is lunar, lasts ~19–26 hours and need not line up with sunrise — which is why festival dates cannot be worked out by hand and a panchang is needed.

What is Rahukaal, and does it change every day?

It is a ~1.5-hour part of the day (sunrise to sunset split into 8), fixed by the vaar; it shifts by place and day and is traditionally treated as inauspicious.

How many nakshatras are there?

27 nakshatras (some traditions count 28 by including Abhijit).

What is adhik maas?

An extra lunar month inserted roughly every 32–33 months; this year it is adhik Jyeshtha.

Why are the timings in one panchang not the same in every city?

Because they are derived from the local sunrise and sunset, which change from place to place.