How to Read a Hindu Panchang: The Five Limbs Explained

The word panchang (Sanskrit pancha-anga) means "five limbs". A panchang is a daily almanac that records five astronomical quantities derived from the positions of the Sun and Moon: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana. Traditionally these were printed once a year in a booklet; today they are calculated for a specific city and date.

The reason a printed panchang is never the same for two cities is simple: every limb is tied to the Sun and Moon's position, and the moment of sunrise — which starts the Hindu day — depends on where you stand.

A tithi is the time the Moon takes to gain 12 degrees on the Sun. Thirty tithis make one lunar month: fifteen in the bright half (Shukla Paksha, ending at Purnima) and fifteen in the dark half (Krishna Paksha, ending at Amavasya).

Because the Moon's speed varies, a tithi can be shorter or longer than a civil day, and can begin or end at any hour. This is why a panchang lists an end time for each tithi, and why two tithis sometimes touch the same calendar day while one is skipped entirely.

Vara is the weekday, named for the seven classical planets: Ravivara (Sunday), Somavara (Monday), Mangalavara (Tuesday), Budhavara (Wednesday), Guruvara (Thursday), Shukravara (Friday) and Shanivara (Saturday). In the Hindu system the day begins at local sunrise, not midnight, so an event at 3 a.m. still belongs to the previous vara.

The weekday also decides several daily timings, such as which part of the day falls under Rahu Kaal or which Choghadiya slot comes first.

The sky's path is divided into 27 equal nakshatras of 13°20' each. The nakshatra of the day is the one the Moon is passing through. Each nakshatra also has four quarters (padas), which is what naming traditions use to suggest a starting syllable for a newborn.

Nakshatras are used for muhurat selection (some are considered favourable for travel, weddings or a housewarming) and for matching horoscopes.

This is not the exercise practice. Panchang yoga is found by adding the Sun's and Moon's longitudes and dividing the total into 27 parts of 13°20'. Each part is a named yoga — Vishkambha, Priti, Ayushman and so on — and each carries a traditional quality, some considered helpful and a few (like Vyatipata and Vaidhriti) traditionally avoided for new beginnings.

A karana is half a tithi (6 degrees of Moon-Sun separation), so there are 60 in a lunar month. Eleven names are used: seven repeating ones (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti) and four fixed ones (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna). Vishti, also called Bhadra, is the karana most almanacs advise avoiding for auspicious work.

Most panchangs add sunrise, sunset, moonrise and a handful of timing windows. Rahu Kaal, Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda are daily periods traditionally avoided for starting new work; Abhijit Muhurat is a midday window traditionally favoured for it. The Choghadiya table divides the day into eight slots rated from favourable to unfavourable.

• Look up the tithi and nakshatra first — they set the tone of the day.
• Check Rahu Kaal and Choghadiya if you are choosing a time within the day.
• For a specific ritual or fast, check whether the vrat or festival rule uses the tithi at sunrise, at midday or at night — different observances use different rules.

You do not need to memorise all five limbs. Most people read the tithi (for vrat and festival dates), the nakshatra (for naming and matching), and the day's inauspicious windows. Use the panchang for your own city rather than a national one, because a sunrise that differs by even ten minutes moves every window that is measured from it.