“Panchang” comes 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, and to forecast events such as eclipses.
People call it Panchang, Panchangam, Panchangamu, Panjangam, Jantri, Panjika and more. These 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.
The panchang may also list Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, Gulika Kalam, Durmuhurtha, Varjyam, Amritkala, Abhijit, the 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. For other countries that observe DST, add/subtract it manually. The sunrise shown is the rise of the middle of the solar disk (used in astrology/muhurta), not the upper-limb sunrise newspapers print.
A lunar month has two pakshas (fortnights):
Example line: Pausha, Shukla Paksha
Both are luni-solar schemes; they differ only in where the month ends:
The lunar month names are: 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, giving 13 months that year. Auspicious muhurtas are generally avoided in Adhika Masa.
The Tamil calendar uses the Sun’s sidereal sign as the month. The Sun entering a sign is a Sankranti (see “SN” below).
| Tamil month | Rashi |
|---|---|
| Chiththirai | Mesha |
| Vaikasi | Vrishabha |
| Aani | Mithuna |
| Aadi | Karka |
| Aavani | Simha |
| Purattasi | Kanya |
| Aippasi | Tula |
| Karthikai | Vrishchika |
| Markazhi | Dhanu |
| Thai | Makara |
| Maasi | Kumbha |
| 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 (the value 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, so it does not line up with the midnight-to-midnight English date. 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 Remember: the Hindu day runs sunrise-to-sunrise, not from midnight.
Telugu names: Padyami/Prathama, Vidiya/Dvitiya, Tadiya/Tritiya, Chavathi/Chaturthi; the rest match the Sanskrit names.
A nakshatra is one of the 27 divisions of the sky (13°20′ each) the Moon passes through — roughly one per day. The name follows N: and the time is when it ends (same >24h rule as tithi). N:Rohini 09:02:42
Avoid Ashwini on Tuesday, Rohini on Saturday and Pushya on Thursday for griha pravesha, marriage and travel — though they form Amrita Siddhi yoga, that combination is not good for these purposes.
Yoga is a combination derived from the sum of Sun and Moon longitudes. The name follows Y: and the time is when it ends. Y:Ganda 08:31:32
Avoid Vyatipata, Vaidhriti, Parigha, Vishkumbha, Vajra, Shoola, Atiganda and Vyaghata.
A karana is half a tithi, so there are two karanas per tithi — hence two K: lines, each with its end time. K:Balava 08:32:33
Avoid Vishti (Bhadra) karana for auspicious ceremonies.
On a day the Sun changes rashi, an SN: line shows the new sign and the time the Sun enters it. SN:Makara 4:36 This is a Sankranti (e.g. Makara Sankranti = Sun entering Makara, which also begins the Tamil month Thai).
Muhurta note: avoid the day of an eclipse and the 6 hours before/after a sankranti for weddings, griha pravesha, etc. Sankranti time is, however, good for daana (donation) and Satyanarayana puja.
An MN: line shows the Moon changing rashi and the time it enters the new sign. If the Moon stays in one sign all day you’ll see “(full)” after the name. MN:Mithuna 20:38
Rahu Kalam (Tamil: Raghu kalam) is the rising period of Rahu, considered inauspicious for starting good work. The line gives the window. RK:09:03–10:06 Avoid it for muhurta.
Yamagandam (Yamaganda, son of Guru) is also considered inauspicious. YM:11:09–12:12 Avoid it for muhurta.
Gulika Kalam (Gulikai / Mandi, son of Shani) — its rising period is inauspicious. GK:09:03–10:06 Avoid it for muhurta.
Abhijit is Lord Vishnu’s auspicious midday window. AJ:12:30–13:18 When you have no other muhurta you can use it — provided it isn’t overlapped by Rahu Kalam, Durmuhurtha or Varjyam. On Wednesday Abhijit coincides with Durmuhurtha, so it is not used that day.
Durmuhurtha marks one or two short windows to avoid for good ceremonies. DM:10:34–11:22, 15:22–16:10
Varjyam (vishagatika) is an inauspicious window; there can be more than one line. Times over 24h mean the next day. V:30:00–31:37 → 6:00–7:37 AM next day Avoid for all muhurtas, and do not perform Annaprasana during this time.
Amritkala is an auspicious window; there can be more than one line. AK:15:13–16:53 Good for rituals including Annaprasana.
The common fixed table (e.g. “Sunday 4:30–6:00”) assumes the Sun rises at 6:00 AM and sets at 6:00 PM everywhere — which is wrong for almost the whole world. In summer the Sun can rise at 4–5 AM and set at 8 PM; in winter it can rise at 8 AM. With a fixed table your Rahu Kalam or Yamagandam can be off by an hour or more, sometimes ending before sunrise.
The correct method: take the day length (sunset − sunrise), divide by 8, and assign each interval. This site computes Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika this precise way for your city’s actual sunrise/sunset.
Chogadia checks an auspicious time to start work (traditionally travel, now used widely). Good: Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Chal. Avoid: Rog, Kaal, Udyog. It must be computed from real day/night length (divide dinamana by 8 for day chogadias, ratrimana by 8 for night) — not a fixed 6 AM–6 PM split. Each panchang here links its city’s chogadia table at the top.
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 only).
Avoid: Rikta tithis 4-9-14 (both pakshas), Krishna 13 & 14, Amavasya, and Shukla Prathama (1).
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 good work.
Tithi: all vaaras are fine; avoid Rikta 4-9-14, Krishna Trayodashi, Amavasya and Shukla Prathama. (Some accept Rikta 4-9-14 but avoid 14 in Krishna paksha.)
Nakshatra: Rohini, Mrigashirsha, Magha (avoid 1st quarter), U.Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, U.Shadha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati (avoid last quarter).
Tithi: avoid 1-4-8-9-14 in Shukla Paksha, and 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.
Vaar: avoid Sunday & Tuesday (basic rule; a fortified lagna removes many doshas — consult an astrologer).
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.
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 a Shubha lagna of Mithuna, Karka, Simha, Kanya, Vrishchika, Dhanu or Mina.
Avoid Tuesday & Saturday, Rikta tithis (4-9-14), Krishna 13-14, Amavasya, Adhika/Kshaya Masa and 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; keep the 8th house empty.
Avoid Tuesdays, Rikta tithis (4-9-14), Krishna 13-14, Amavasya, Adhika/Kshaya Masa and Guru/Shukra Astha (Modhyami).
Nakshatra: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigasira, Pushya, U.Phalguni, U.Shadha, U.Bhadra, Hasta, Chitra, Anuradha, Revati. Lagna: avoid Kumbha; keep 8th & 12th houses empty.
Vaar: Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Nakshatra: Rohini, U.Phalguni, U.Shadha, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, U.Bhadrapada, Revati — with Sun and Mars in the 1st, 10th or 11th house of the muhurta chart.
Count from your birth nakshatra to the day’s nakshatra. Avoid counts of 1-3-5-7-10-12-14-16-19-21-23-25.
Birth Swati → today Ashwini = 14th count → not good.
See the Tarabalam Chakra ready-reckoner and the nakshatra table.
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, the remedy is Chandra graha puja, mantra japa and donation of rice. Avoid Ashtama Chandra (8th).
Lagna is the rising sign on the eastern horizon at a given time and place — so it needs the city’s latitude/longitude. This is a key reason an Indian muhurta cannot simply be time-shifted for use abroad. Lagna shuddhi removes most evils; without it, doshas multiply.
The Sun is always in the 1st house at sunrise, the 10th at midday, the 7th in the evening and the 4th at midnight — for any place on Earth. Good lagna for Griha Pravesha: Vrishabha, Mithuna, Simha, Kanya, Vrishchika, Dhanu, Kumbha, Mina.
Add these four numbers and divide by 9: lunar day (tithi number) + weekday (Sun 1, Mon 2…) + nakshatra number (Ashwini 1…) + lagna number (Mesha 1…).
If the remainder is 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 it is a bad panchaka:
If the remainder is 3, 5, 7 or 0 it is good.
Krishna Dwitiya (2) + Saturday (7) + Mula (19) + Kumbha (11) = 39; 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. See the detailed note: why there is a one-day difference.