Tithi, Nakshatra, Rahu Kalam, Muhurta & more — complete guide
"Panchang" is from Sanskrit pancha (five) + anga (limb) — the five limbs of the Hindu calendar day: Tithi, Vaara (weekday), Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana. It is the traditional astrological calendar of practising Hindus, used to fix dates for weddings, griha pravesha, naming ceremonies and other events.
People call it Panchang, Panchangam, Panchangamu, Panjangam, Jantri, Panjika, Jantri, etc. The five elements are the same across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and Bengali panchangs — what differs is how each region treats months and the new year.
These are basic rules for muhurtha. A good muhurtha is fortified by a strong lagna. Lagna shuddhi can nullify doshas arising from these rules.
The panchang may also list Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, Gulika Kalam, Durmuhurtha, Varjyam, Amritkala, Abhijit, lagna table and daily planetary transits.
Every time is computed for the location's own sunrise/sunset and, for USA/Canada, already adjusted for Daylight Saving Time. The sunrise shown is the rise of the middle of the solar disk (used in astrology/muhurta), not the upper-limb sunrise newspapers print. Please add/subtract DST manually for other countries.
A lunar month has two pakshas (fortnights):
Example: Pausha, Shukla Paksha
Lunar month names: Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, Shravana, Bhadrapada, Ashwin, Kartik, Margashirsha, Pausha, Maha, Phalguna.
A lunar year is ~354 days; a solar year ~365 — an 11-day gap. About every 2½ years that gap reaches ~29 days, so an extra lunar month (Adhika Masa) is inserted to re-sync the calendars. When the Sun's sign does not change within a lunar month, that month becomes Adhika Masa. Auspicious muhurtas are generally avoided in Adhika Masa.
The Tamil calendar uses the Sun's sidereal sign as the month. The Sun entering a new sign is a Sankranti.
| Tamil month | Rashi | Tamil month | Rashi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chiththirai | Mesha | Aippasi | Tula |
| Vaikasi | Vrishabha | Karthikai | Vrishchika |
| Aani | Mithuna | Markazhi | Dhanu |
| Aadi | Karka | Thai | Makara |
| Aavani | Simha | Maasi | Kumbha |
| Purattasi | Kanya | Panguni | Mina |
The first two lines of each day are sunrise and sunset. Sunrise 08:01 · Sunset 16:23
Sunrise here is the rise of the middle of the solar disk (used in muhurta), not the upper-limb time newspapers use.
A tithi is a lunar day — the time for the Moon–Sun longitude gap to grow by 12°. It varies from ~19 to ~26 hours. The name follows T: and the time is when it ends. T:Trayodashi 08:18:20
If a tithi ends after midnight but before the next sunrise, the time shows as more than 24 hours — subtract 24 to get the clock time. T:Dwadashi 27:10:11 → ends 3:10:11 AM next day
The Hindu day runs sunrise-to-sunrise, not midnight-to-midnight.
Telugu names: Padyami/Prathama, Vidiya/Dvitiya, Tadiya/Tritiya, Chavathi/Chaturthi — the rest match Sanskrit.
A nakshatra is one of the 27 divisions of the sky (13°20′ each) the Moon passes through — roughly one per day. N:Rohini 09:02:42
Avoid Ashwini on Tuesday, Rohini on Saturday and Pushya on Thursday for griha pravesha, marriage and travel — these combinations form Amrita Siddhi yoga but are inauspicious for these purposes.
Yoga is derived from the sum of Sun and Moon longitudes. Y:Ganda 08:31:32
Avoid: Vyatipata, Vaidhriti, Parigha, Vishkumbha, Vajra, Shoola, Atiganda and Vyaghata.
A karana is half a tithi — two per tithi, hence two K: lines. K:Balava 08:32:33
Avoid Vishti (Bhadra) karana for auspicious ceremonies.
On a day the Sun changes rashi, SN: shows the new sign and entry time. SN:Makara 4:36 This is a Sankranti — e.g. Makara Sankranti is Sun entering Makara (also begins Tamil month Thai).
Muhurta note: avoid the day of an eclipse and 6 hours before/after a sankranti for weddings, griha pravesha, etc. Sankranti time is good for daana and Satyanarayana puja.
MN: shows the Moon changing rashi and entry time. If the Moon stays in one sign all day you'll see "(full)" after the name. MN:Mithuna 20:38
Chandrabala note: count from your moon rashi to the day's moon rashi. Counts of 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11 are good.
Rahu Kalam (Tamil: Raghu kalam) is the rising period of Rahu, considered inauspicious for starting good work. RK:09:03–10:06 Avoid it for muhurta.
Yamagandam (son of Guru) is also considered inauspicious. YM:11:09–12:12 Avoid it for muhurta.
Gulika Kalam (son of Shani / Mandi) — its rising period is inauspicious. GK:09:03–10:06 Avoid it for muhurta.
The common fixed table (e.g. "Sunday 4:30–6:00") assumes sunrise at 6:00 AM and sunset at 6:00 PM everywhere — wrong for almost the whole world. In summer in North America, the Sun can rise at 4–5 AM and set at 8 PM; in winter it rises at 8 AM. The fixed table can be off by an hour or more.
The correct method: divide the day length (sunset − sunrise) by 8 and assign each interval. This site computes Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika precisely for each city's actual sunrise/sunset.
Abhijit is Sri Hari Vishnu's auspicious midday window. AJ:12:30–13:18 Use it when you have no other muhurtha, provided it isn't overlapped by Rahu Kalam, Durmuhurtha or Varjyam. On Wednesday Abhijit coincides with Durmuhurtha and is not used.
Durmuhurtha — one or two short inauspicious windows per day. DM:10:34–11:22, 15:22–16:10 Avoid for good ceremonies.
Varjyam (Vishagatika) is an inauspicious window; there can be more than one per day. Times over 24h mean the next day. V:30:00–31:37 → 6:00–7:37 AM next day Avoid for all muhurthas. Do not perform Annaprasana during Varjyam.
Amritkala is an auspicious window; there can be more than one per day. AK:15:13–16:53 Good for rituals including Annaprasana.
Chogadia checks auspicious time to start work (traditionally travel, now used widely). Good: Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Chal. Avoid: Rog, Kaal, Udyog.
Computed from real day/night length — divide dinamana by 8 for day chogadias, ratrimana by 8 for night chogadias. Not a fixed 6 AM–6 PM split.
Good Vaar: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Good Tithi: 2 (Dwitiya), 3 (Tritiya), 5 (Panchami), 7 (Saptami), 10 (Dashami), 11 (Ekadashi), 13 (Trayodashi — Shukla only), 1 (Prathama — Krishna Paksha only).
Avoid: Rikta tithis 4-9-14 (both pakshas), Krishna 13 & 14, Amavasya, Shukla Prathama.
Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Punarvasu, Pushya, U.Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, U.Shadha, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati.
Avoid your own Janma (birth) nakshatra for all good works.
Tithi: Avoid 1-4-8-9-14 in Shukla Paksha; 4-8-9-13-14-Amavasya in Krishna Paksha.
Nakshatra: Ashwini, Krittika, Rohini, Mrigasira, Magha, P.Phalguni, U.Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, P.Shadha, U.Shadha, Shravana, Dhanishtha, P.Bhadra, U.Bhadra, Revati.
Tithi: All varas are fine. Avoid Rikta 4-9-14, Krishna Trayodashi, Amavasya, Shukla Prathama.
Nakshatra: Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Magha (avoid 1st quarter), U.Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, U.Shadha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati (avoid last quarter).
Vaar: Avoid Sunday & Tuesday (basic rule; fortified lagna removes many doshas).
Tithi: Avoid Shukla 1-4-9-14 and Krishna 4-9-13-14-Amavasya.
Nakshatra: Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Pushya, U.Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, U.Shadha, Shravana, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati.
Good Lagna: Vrishabha, Mithuna, Simha, Kanya, Vrishchika, Dhanu, Kumbha, Mina.
Tithi: 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15. Avoid Amavasya.
Nakshatra: Ashwini, Rohini, Punarvasu, Pushya, U.Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, U.Shadha, Shravana, U.Bhadra, Revati in Shubha lagna: Mithuna, Karka, Simha, Kanya, Vrishchika, Dhanu or Mina.
Avoid: Tuesday, Saturday, Rikta tithis (4-9-14), Krishna 13-14, Amavasya, Adhika Masa, Kshaya Masa, Guru/Shukra Astha (Modhyami).
Nakshatra: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigasira, Pushya, U.Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Anuradha, U.Shadha, U.Bhadra, Revati.
Lagna: Mithuna, Karka, Kanya, Tula, Dhanu, Mina — 8th house empty.
Avoid: Tuesdays, Rikta tithis (4-9-14), Krishna 13-14, Amavasya, Adhika/Kshaya Masa, Guru/Shukra Astha.
Nakshatra: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigasira, Pushya, U.Phalguni, U.Shadha, U.Bhadra, Hasta, Chitra, Anuradha, Revati.
Lagna: avoid Kumbha; 8th and 12th houses empty.
Vaar: Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Nakshatra: Rohini, U.Phalguni, U.Shadha, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati. Sun and Mars in 1st, 10th or 11th house of the muhurtha chart.
Lagna is the rising sign on the eastern horizon at a given time and place — so it requires the city's latitude/longitude. This is why an Indian muhurtha cannot simply be time-shifted for use abroad. Lagna shuddhi removes most evils.
At the time of muhurtha: evil planets (Sun, Mars, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu) should not be in kendra (1/4/7/10); benefics (Mercury, Jupiter, Venus) should be in kendra or trikona (5/9); 8th house empty; for weddings 7th also empty; for griha pravesha 4th empty.
Good lagna for Griha Pravesha: Vrishabha, Mithuna, Simha, Kanya, Vrishchika, Dhanu, Kumbha, Mina.
Count from your birth nakshatra to the day's nakshatra (both inclusive). Avoid counts of 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25.
Birth Swati → today Ashwini = 14th count → not good.
Tarabalam is divided into three Navakam (sets of 9). When bad tara falls in Navakam 1 (Janma), 2 (Vipat) or 3 (Pratyak) or in any Navakam for Naidhana tara, the muhurtha must be discarded. Suitable dosha pariharam can remedy bad tarabala.
See the Tarabalam Chakra ready-reckoner.
Count from your moon rashi to the day's moon rashi. Good if the count is 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11. Additionally, Shukla Paksha treats 2, 5, 9 as good; Krishna Paksha treats 4, 8, 12 as good.
When Chandrabala is weak, remedy: Chandra graha puja, mantra japa and donation of rice. Avoid Ashtama Chandra (8th count). Shukla Paksha gives importance to Chandrabala; Krishna Paksha gives importance to Tarabala.
Add these four numbers and divide by 9: lunar day (tithi number) + weekday (Sun 1, Mon 2 … Sat 7) + nakshatra number (Ashwini 1…Revati 27) + lagna number (Mesha 1…Mina 12).
If the remainder is 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8:
If the remainder is 3, 5, 7 or 0 it is good.
Krishna Dwitiya (2) + Saturday (7) + Mula (19) + Kumbha (11) = 39 ÷ 9 → remainder 3 → good.
Tithis begin and end at different clock times in different places, and the Hindu day runs sunrise-to-sunrise, so the tithi prevailing at the deciding moment can fall on a different civil date abroad.