Panchang: The Five Limbs of the Hindu Calendar

Tithi, vaar, nakshatra, yoga and karana, plus Rahu Kaal, Choghadiya and Hora

Updated 8 October 2026

The Panchang (also spelled Panchangam or Panchanga) is the traditional Hindu almanac. The name means “five limbs” (pancha = five, anga = limb): tithi (lunar day), vaar (weekday), nakshatra (the Moon’s constellation), yoga (a Sun-Moon combination) and karana (half of a tithi). Calculated daily for a given place, it tells you the quality of the time, the dates of festivals and fasts, and the windows to use or avoid. It is also the foundation for muhurat, the choice of auspicious timing.

Why Panchang matters

For centuries, Indian households have consulted the Panchang before weddings, festivals, travel, new ventures and daily rituals. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which follows the Sun alone, the Hindu calendar is luni-solar: the months follow the Moon’s phases, and an extra month (adhika masa) is occasionally inserted to keep the lunar year in step with the solar year. The Panchang is therefore derived from the exact, constantly changing positions of the Sun and the Moon, which is why it needs to be computed for your location.

The five limbs in depth

1. Tithi (the lunar day)

A tithi is the time the Moon takes to gain exactly 12 degrees on the Sun. With 360 degrees in a circle there are 30 tithis in each lunar month. They are divided into two fortnights (pakshas):

• Shukla paksha, the bright half, from the new Moon (Amavasya) to the full Moon (Purnima), with the Moon waxing.
• Krishna paksha, the dark half, from the full Moon to the new Moon, with the Moon waning.

Each fortnight has fifteen tithis with the same names: 1 Pratipada, 2 Dwitiya, 3 Tritiya, 4 Chaturthi, 5 Panchami, 6 Shashthi, 7 Saptami, 8 Ashtami, 9 Navami, 10 Dashami, 11 Ekadashi, 12 Dwadashi, 13 Trayodashi, 14 Chaturdashi, and then Purnima (15th of Shukla) or Amavasya (15th of Krishna, the 30th tithi). Tithis vary in length from about 19 to 26 hours because the Sun and Moon move at changing speeds, so a tithi can start or end at any time of day. The tithi at sunrise is customarily taken as the tithi of the day for most observances. Some tithis are special: Ekadashi is observed as a fasting day; Chaturthi is sacred to Ganesha; Ashtami and Navami to the Devi; Purnima and Amavasya are important for ancestors and rites. The 4th, 9th and 14th tithis are called Rikta (“empty”) and generally avoided for new beginnings.

2. Vaar (the weekday)

Each weekday is ruled by a planet: Ravivaar (Sunday, Sun), Somvaar (Monday, Moon), Mangalvaar (Tuesday, Mars), Budhvaar (Wednesday, Mercury), Guruvaar (Thursday, Jupiter), Shukravaar (Friday, Venus) and Shanivaar (Saturday, Saturn). In the Hindu calendar the day traditionally begins at sunrise, not midnight, so early-morning hours before dawn belong to the previous day. The lord of the day influences its general character and the deities worshipped on it.

3. Nakshatra (the Moon’s constellation)

The Moon crosses the zodiac in about 27.3 days, passing each of the 27 nakshatras, each 13°20′ wide, in roughly a day. The Panchang gives the nakshatra and the time it ends. The nakshatra decides the quality of the moment for different tasks, and in personal charts it is used in dashas and compatibility. See our guide to what a nakshatra is.

4. Yoga (the Sun-Moon combination)

Add the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and Moon, and divide the total by 13°20′. Each such segment is one of 27 yogas: Vishkambha, Priti, Ayushman, Saubhagya, Shobhana, Atiganda, Sukarma, Dhriti, Shula, Ganda, Vriddhi, Dhruva, Vyaghata, Harshana, Vajra, Siddhi, Vyatipata, Variyana, Parigha, Shiva, Siddha, Sadhya, Shubha, Shukla, Brahma, Indra and Vaidhriti. Nine of them (Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha and Vaidhriti) are traditionally considered inauspicious, while the others range from neutral to very favourable. Panchang yogas are different from the planetary yogas found in a birth chart.

5. Karana (half a tithi)

A karana equals half a tithi, or 6 degrees of Moon-Sun separation, so there are 60 in a lunar month. There are 11 karanas in two sets:

• Seven movable (chara) karanas: Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti (Bhadra). They repeat eight times in sequence, filling 56 of the 60 slots.
• Four fixed (sthira) karanas: Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna, which occur once each at the end of Krishna paksha (the last half of the 14th tithi, and the 15th) and at the start of Shukla paksha.

Vishti, or Bhadra, is the one to avoid for auspicious beginnings, and it occurs about eight times a month.

Rahu Kaal by weekday

Rahu Kaal is a daily window of about an hour and a half, ruled by Rahu, traditionally avoided for starting new ventures, signing contracts, buying property or beginning journeys. It is found by dividing the period between sunrise and sunset into eight equal parts and picking the part assigned to that weekday. The table below assumes a day from 6:00 to 18:00, where each part is exactly 1 hour 30 minutes.

The real timing scales with local sunrise and sunset. In winter in northern India, with a day from about 7:00 to 17:45, each eighth is about 80 minutes; in summer, with a day of 13 hours or more, it is longer than 97 minutes. That is why the Rahu Kaal in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai differ, and why you should always look up the time for your own city. The related windows of Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal are calculated in the same way (see our muhurat guide).

Choghadiya

Choghadiya (also Chaughadiya) is a popular system, especially in Gujarat and western India, that divides the daytime and night-time each into eight equal parts (about 90 minutes each for a 12-hour day). Each part has one of seven names, with the sequence starting from the day’s planetary lord:

• Amrit, Shubh, Labh: favourable. Amrit is the best, Shubh suits auspicious work, Labh suits business and gain.
• Char: neutral-to-good, suitable for travel.
• Udveg, Rog, Kaal: unfavourable, generally avoided for new beginnings.

Choghadiya is a quick, practical aid for choosing a time on an ordinary day; for major events a full muhurat is considered more rigorous.

Hora (planetary hours)

The Hora system divides the day, from sunrise to the next sunrise, into 24 planetary hours, each ruled by one of the seven visible planets. The first hora of a day belongs to the day’s lord (Sun on Sunday, Moon on Monday, and so on), and the subsequent hours follow the Chaldean order: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, repeating. For example, on a Sunday, the sequence runs Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and so on. Hours of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury are commonly used for learning, commerce, arts and celebrations; those of Mars and Saturn suit effort-oriented or structured tasks. As with the other windows, horas are based on local sunrise, so they are not clock hours.

Other items in a daily Panchang

• Sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset for your location.
• Hindu month and year: Vikram Samvat and Shaka Samvat, with the name of the lunar month.
• Abhijit muhurat and inauspicious windows such as Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika, Durmuhurtam and Varjyam.
• Festivals, vrats and eclipses falling on the day.
• The Sun’s and Moon’s signs, and sometimes the positions of other planets.

How to read today’s Panchang

1. Set your location. Every timing depends on your sunrise and sunset. A Panchang for a different city can be off by minutes or even by a whole tithi.
2. Read the five limbs. Note today’s tithi (and its paksha), vaar, nakshatra, yoga and karana, with the end time of each, since many change during the day.
3. Check the day’s quality. Is the nakshatra suited to your task? Is the yoga one of the nine to avoid? Is it a Rikta tithi, or is Bhadra running?
4. Find the windows. Choose a time outside Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika, preferably within Abhijit muhurat or a good Choghadiya.
5. Make it personal. Compare the day’s nakshatra with your birth star (Tarabala) and the Moon’s sign with your Moon sign (Chandrabala).
6. Check observances. Look for Ekadashi, Pradosh, Sankashti and festivals for the day you plan.

Today’s Panchang for your location, with Rahu Kaal, Abhijit muhurat and your personalised Tarabala, is available free in the Navagraha app.

Regional variations

Because India follows several traditions, Panchangs differ in details. Some count the lunar month from Amavasya to Amavasya (amanta, followed in the south and west) and others from Purnima to Purnima (purnimanta, followed in much of the north). Calculation methods also vary: Drik Panchangs use modern astronomical calculations, while some Surya Siddhanta-based almanacs retain older formulas. As a result, festival dates can occasionally differ by a day between regions, and the same festival can fall in different named months. It is perfectly normal; follow the tradition of your family or region.

Frequently asked questions

Navagraha provides Vedic astrology for informational and reflective purposes only; it is not a substitute for professional advice.