Understanding the Panchangam

A practical guide to reading the five limbs of the Vedic almanac and using daily time windows for auspicious planning.

How to use this app

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Use the location picker to choose from 100+ Indian cities. The timezone is automatically set based on the selected city.

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Use the date selector to browse any date within ±100 years. The Panchang is recalculated instantly for each date and location.

Read the "Prevails at Sunrise" badge

The green badge means this Tithi, Nakshatra, or Yoga was active when the sun rose — making it the governing element for the calendar day.

Plan around the time windows

Check the inauspicious periods (Rahu Kalam, Gulika, Yamaganda) to avoid them and use Abhijit Muhurta or Brahma Muhurta for important activities.

The five limbs of the Panchangam

Pancha = five, anga = limb. The five elements below are consulted together when selecting auspicious timings.

Tithiதிதி

Lunar day — the most fundamental unit of the Panchang.

•A Tithi is defined by the Moon moving 12° ahead of the Sun in longitude.
•There are 30 Tithis in a lunar month — 15 in the waxing phase (Shukla Paksha) and 15 in the waning phase (Krishna Paksha).
•The Tithi prevailing at local sunrise governs the entire calendar day in the Vedic tradition.
•Duration varies from about 19 to 27 hours depending on the Moon's speed, so a Tithi can occasionally skip a sunrise entirely.

Pratipada (1st)Ashtami (8th)Ekadashi (11th)Purnima (Full Moon)Amavasya (New Moon)

Nakshatraநட்சத்திரம்

Lunar mansion — the zodiacal segment the Moon occupies.

•The sky is divided into 27 equal segments of 13°20' each, called Nakshatras.
•Each Nakshatra has 4 subdivisions called Padas (quarters), making 108 Padas in total.
•The Moon takes approximately 27.3 days to complete one orbit, spending roughly a day in each Nakshatra.
•Each Nakshatra is associated with a ruling deity and has specific qualities used in Muhurta selection.

Ashwini (1)Rohini (4)Pushya (8)Chitra (14)Revati (27)

Yogaயோகம்

Astrological combination formed by adding Sun and Moon longitudes.

•Yoga = (Sun longitude + Moon longitude) ÷ 13°20'
•There are 27 Yogas, each spanning 13°20' of the combined Sun–Moon arc.
•Some Yogas (like Vishkambha, Atiganda, Vyatipata, Vaidhriti) are considered inauspicious for starting new ventures.
•Auspicious Yogas (like Siddhi, Shubha, Brahma) are preferred for important ceremonies.

Vishkambha (inauspicious)Priti (auspicious)Siddhi (very auspicious)Vaidhriti (inauspicious)

Karanaகரணம்

Half of a Tithi — approximately 6 hours long.

•Each Tithi is divided into two Karanas, so there are 2 Karanas per day.
•There are 11 types of Karanas: 7 movable (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garija, Vanija, Vishti) and 4 fixed (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna).
•Vishti Karana (also called Bhadra) is considered inauspicious for auspicious activities.
•The start and end times shown are when each Karana becomes active at your location.

Bava (auspicious)Vishti/Bhadra (inauspicious)Vanija (good for trade)

Daily time windows

All times are calculated from the precise local sunrise and sunset for your selected location and date.

Inauspicious periods — avoid for important starts

Rahu Kalamராகு காலம்

90-minute inauspicious period governed by the shadow planet Rahu.

•Rahu Kalam occurs once every day and its position in the day depends on the weekday.
•It is 1/8th of the daylight duration, calculated from sunrise to sunset.
•Starting new ventures, travel, or auspicious activities during Rahu Kalam is traditionally avoided.
•The period shifts daily: Mon (7:30–9:00), Tue (15:00–16:30), Wed (12:00–13:30), Thu (13:30–15:00), Fri (10:30–12:00), Sat (9:00–10:30), Sun (16:30–18:00) — these are approximate; your app shows the exact times for your location.

Gulika Kalamகுளிகை காலம்

90-minute inauspicious period associated with Saturn's son Gulika.

•Similar to Rahu Kalam in duration (1/8th of daylight), Gulika Kalam is governed by Mandi (Gulika), a sub-planet of Saturn.
•Activities started during Gulika Kalam are believed to face obstacles and delays.
•It is especially inauspicious for financial transactions, signing agreements, and weddings.

Yamagandaயமகண்டம்

90-minute inauspicious period associated with Yama, the lord of death.

•Also 1/8th of the daylight period, governed by Yama.
•Traditionally avoided for travel, especially journeys to the south.
•Not as universally observed as Rahu Kalam but still considered inauspicious in Tamil tradition.

Durmuhurtamதுர்முஹூர்த்தம்

Two daily inauspicious windows, each about 48 minutes long.

•Durmuhurtam literally means "bad time" — there are 2 per day, derived from the Muhurta system that divides daylight into 15 equal parts.
•The specific Durmuhurtam windows depend on the weekday.
•Shorter than the Kalam periods but equally avoided for auspicious starts.

Auspicious periods — preferred for important activities

Abhijit Muhurtaஅபிஜித் முஹூர்த்தம்

The most auspicious 48-minute window of the day, centred on solar noon.

•Abhijit Muhurta spans the 8th Muhurta of the day — the period closest to local solar noon.
•It is ruled by the Sun and considered universally auspicious regardless of other planetary positions.
•Ideal for starting important work, signing agreements, travel, or any activity where a good Muhurta is needed but no astrologer is available.
•Not available on Wednesdays in traditional Muhurta calculation.

Brahma Muhurtaபிரம்ம முஹூர்த்தம்

Pre-dawn 48-minute window, 1.5 hours before sunrise — ideal for meditation.

•Brahma Muhurta begins 1 hour 36 minutes before sunrise (two Muhurtas before sunrise).
•Considered the most spiritually potent time of the day for meditation, yoga, prayer, and study.
•The Vata (air) element dominates this time, enhancing clarity of mind and creativity.
•Waking during Brahma Muhurta is a core recommendation in Ayurvedic daily routine (Dinacharya).

📐 About accuracy

Calculations use the Swiss Ephemeris (Moshier method) with the Lahiri ayanamsa, which is the standard for Tamil and most South Indian Panchangams.

Tithi, Nakshatra, and Yoga boundaries are computed to ±1 minute precision using a bisection algorithm. Sunrise and sunset times include atmospheric refraction corrections.

Results are consistent with published Panchangams from Ahobila Mutt and Drikpanchang.com to within the ±2-minute tolerance typical of published almanacs.

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