The Panchang: How Tithi, Vara, Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana Are Worked Out

The word panjika comes from panchanga, "five limbs". Behind every day's page in the almanac are these five: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana. Four come mathematically from the positions of the Sun and Moon; the fifth, the weekday, runs from sunrise.

At a glance

Tithi

At new moon the Sun and Moon stand together; then the Moon moves ahead about 12° a day. Each 12° is one tithi: fifteen in the bright half from Pratipada to Purnima, fifteen in the dark half from Pratipada to Amavasya. The Moon's speed varies, so tithis vary in length. A tithi that spans two sunrises is called vriddhi; one that touches no sunrise at all is kshaya. See the thirty tithis for each one's character.

Vara

The Hindu day begins at sunrise, not midnight, so something at three in the morning belongs to the previous day's weekday in the panjika. Each weekday has a lord: Sunday the Sun, Monday the Moon, Tuesday Mars, Wednesday Mercury, Thursday Jupiter, Friday Venus, Saturday Saturn. The old rules for choosing the year's king and minister also work from the weekday.

Nakshatra

The nakshatra the Moon occupies is the day's nakshatra. It plays the largest part in choosing auspicious dates: for weddings, for instance, Rohini, Mrigashira, Magha, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati are favoured. The full list is in the 27 nakshatras.

Yoga

Add the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and Moon, take the remainder after 360, and divide by 13°20′: the result is the yoga. The twenty-seven are Vishkumbha, Priti, Ayushman, Saubhagya, Shobhana, Atiganda, Sukarma, Dhriti, Shula, Ganda, Vriddhi, Dhruva, Vyaghata, Harshana, Vajra, Siddhi, Vyatipata, Variyan, Parigha, Shiva, Siddha, Sadhya, Shubha, Shukla, Brahma, Indra and Vaidhriti. Vishkumbha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha and Vaidhriti are generally inauspicious; Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided entirely.

Karana

A karana is half a tithi. There are eleven kinds. Seven repeat in turn (movable karanas): Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti. Four occur once a month (fixed karanas): Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna. The movable cycle runs from the second half of Shukla Pratipada; the four fixed ones run from the second half of Krishna Chaturdashi to the first half of Shukla Pratipada.

Vishti is also called Bhadra. By custom new work, purchases, journeys and agreements are avoided while it lasts. When Suvolagna's daily horoscope says "Bhadra in the panjika today", this is what it means.

Whose time is the panjika in?

Tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana begin and end at the same moment everywhere on earth; only the local clock time differs. But sunrise, sunset, Rahu kaal and which tithi prevails at sunrise depend on the place. Suvolagna's daily panchang is calculated for sunrise in Dhaka.