What is Yoga (panchang)?

Yog (yoga) is the fourth anga (limb) of the panchang — tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yog and karana. At any moment you add the longitudes of the Sun and the Moon and split the result into 27 equal parts; the part you land in is that moment's yog. Because there are 27 of them, they are called nitya yogas (the daily yogas). Yog changes every day and is read alongside the other angas to judge a day's auspicious or inauspicious lean and its muhurat.

Note: here ‘yog’ means this element of the panchang — not hatha-yoga or yogasana. The word is the same, but the meaning is different.

The panchang describes the character of a day through five angas — tithi, vaar (weekday), nakshatra, yog and karana. Of these, yog is fixed by where the Sun and Moon sit in the sky — that is, by their longitudes.

There are 27 nitya yogas in all — from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. Each yog carries a nature or meaning (for example Siddhi = success, Saubhagya = good fortune, Shula = obstacle), and this meaning is weighed when choosing a muhurat for auspicious work and when reading a birth chart.

How Yog is worked out

Yog is not something you estimate by hand — it comes from an astronomical calculation. Put simply:

1. Take the Moon's longitude and the Sun's longitude at that moment and add them together.
2. Divide that sum by 13°20′ (thirteen degrees, twenty minutes) — the part you land in is the nitya yog for that moment.
3. The full combined cycle of the Sun and Moon is split into 27 equal parts, which is why there are 27 yogas.

Each yog lasts roughly 15 to 27 hours (more or less, depending on how fast the Moon and Sun move relative to each other). So a single day can carry two yogas — one ends and the next begins. In Marathi panchang such days show both yoga names slashed together, e.g. ‘Brahma / Aindra’.

The 27 nitya yogas and their meanings

The order below is fixed in panchang tradition. The meaning in brackets is a one-word cue — just enough to sense the yog's flavour; it is not a firm astrological rule.

In this site's 2026 panchang data all 27 yogas appear across the year. Where the data shows ‘Dhruti’ or ‘Brahm’, those are just spelling variants of Dhriti and Brahma — not separate yogas.

Which yogas are auspicious and which are avoided

Traditionally some yogas are considered auspicious and some are avoided.

• The two yogas traditionally avoided: Vyatipata (17) and Vaidhriti (27). Traditionally these two are avoided in full — for their entire duration — when auspicious work is being planned.
• Considered auspicious (examples): yogas such as Siddhi, Saubhagya, Shiva, Siddha, Sadhya, Vriddhi, Dhruva and Shubha are seen as favourable for auspicious work.
• About the rest: which yogas count as ‘fully inauspicious’ varies by tradition — some list only Vyatipata and Vaidhriti, while others also add Atigand, Shula, Gand, Vyaghata, Parigha and Shukla. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are traditionally avoided; the others may change by household and local panchang.

When fixing a muhurat, yog is not the only test — tithi, vaar, nakshatra and karana are all read together.

A separate kind: combination yogas (Amrit Siddhi, Sarvartha Siddhi)

In the panchang you will also hear of ‘auspicious yogas’ like Amrit Siddhi yog, Sarvartha Siddhi yog, and Ravi Pushya / Guru Pushya. These are not among the 27 nitya yogas above — keep the difference in mind to avoid confusion.

• Nitya yogas (this page's subject) are fixed from the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes — one of 27.
• Combination yogas (Amrit Siddhi, Sarvartha Siddhi) form from a particular nakshatra plus a particular vaar (weekday) and are considered highly auspicious. Ravi Pushya / Guru Pushya (Pushya nakshatra on a Sunday / Thursday), Dwipushkar and Tripushkar are similar standalone yogas.

In short: nitya yog = a Sun+Moon calculation; combination yog = a nakshatra+vaar match. Both are recorded in the panchang, but they are different kinds.

When does a given yog occur this year?

Yog changes every day, so ‘which exact date a given yog falls on this year’ cannot be pinned to a fixed list — it shifts year to year. Yogas like Vyatipata and Vaidhriti occur several times across the year, while each day carries its own yog.

So rather than relying on a remembered rule for a specific date, read that day's panchang:

• Today's yog and its time: today's panchang.
• Any other day's yog is shown on that date's panchang page.

About the times: yog-ending times (and all times tied to sunrise and the Moon) shift by location — the times in the panchang are a Maharashtra reference, not a city-specific guarantee.

Good to know

• Yog changes every day, and a single day can carry two yogas — always read ‘today's yog’ from that day's panchang, not from a remembered rule.
• Yog is not the only test of auspiciousness — a muhurat is fixed by reading tithi, vaar, nakshatra and karana together.
• The detailed list of auspicious and inauspicious yogas varies by tradition — take the advice of your household or local panchang, or an elder.

FAQ

What is yog?

Yog is the fourth anga of the panchang — a daily-changing element fixed from the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. There are 27 nitya yogas in all.

How many yogas are there in the panchang?

Mainly 27 nitya yogas (Vishkambha to Vaidhriti). Besides these, standalone auspicious yogas formed from a nakshatra+vaar match — like Amrit Siddhi and Sarvartha Siddhi — are also recorded in the panchang.

How is yog calculated?

Add the Moon's longitude and the Sun's longitude, then divide by 13°20′ — the part you land in is that moment's yog.

Which yogas are auspicious and which are inauspicious?

Yogas like Siddhi, Shiva and Siddha are considered auspicious; Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided everywhere. (The wider list of inauspicious yogas varies by tradition.)

What are Vyatipata and Vaidhriti yog?

They are yogas #17 and #27; they are taken to signal sudden crisis/upheaval and weak support, so they are avoided for auspicious work.

What is the difference between Amrit Siddhi yog and a nitya yog?

A nitya yog comes from the Sun's and Moon's longitudes (one of 27); Amrit Siddhi and Sarvartha Siddhi are separate auspicious yogas formed from a nakshatra + vaar match — not among the nitya yogas.