Panchang (Panchangam in South India) is the traditional Hindu almanac. The name means "five limbs", after the five pieces of information it gives for each day. Families use it to find festival dates, fasting days and good times for important events.
The five limbs
| Limb | What it is | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | The lunar day (30 in a month) | Festivals, fasts, ceremonies |
| Vara | The weekday | Which planet rules the day |
| Nakshatra | The Moon's star (27 in all) | Suitability of the day for different work |
| Yoga | A Sun and Moon combination (27) | Whether the day is favourable |
| Karana | Half a tithi (11 types) | Fine-tuning; avoiding Bhadra |
Each limb has its own article: tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana.
Why the Hindu day starts at sunrise
In the Panchang the day begins at sunrise, not midnight. The tithi, nakshatra and yoga "of the day" are the ones running at sunrise in your city. This is why two cities can show slightly different Panchangs, and why a festival can fall on different calendar dates in India and abroad.
Amanta and Purnimanta months
India uses two ways of ending a lunar month:
- Amanta: the month ends on Amavasya (new moon). Used in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
- Purnimanta: the month ends on Purnima (full moon). Used in most of North India.
The festivals fall on the same days either way; only the month names around them differ for half of each month.
Other things in a daily Panchang
A full Panchang also shows sunrise, sunset, moonrise, the Moon sign, the season (ritu), the Sun's half-year (Uttarayana or Dakshinayana), the Vikram and Shaka Samvat years, and daily periods to avoid, like Rahu Kaal.
How to read a Panchang entry
Panchangs often show entries like "Dwitiya upto 22:13". This means the Dwitiya tithi is running at sunrise and ends at 10:13 pm, after which Tritiya begins. The same format is used for nakshatra, yoga and karana. If the time is after midnight, many almanacs write it as "upto 25:30" (1:30 am the next day) or add "next day".
Panchang and festivals
Festival dates are set by the tithi at a particular time of day, not always at sunrise. Diwali is set by the tithi at dusk (Pradosh), Janmashtami by the tithi at midnight, and most fasts by the tithi at sunrise. This is why some festivals appear on different dates in different calendars and why Rekha calculates them for your city.