Panchang · Hindu almanac
Panchang: tithi, nakshatra, Rahu Kalam and choghadiya explained
What the Hindu panchang shows and how each part of it is worked out: the five limbs, Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika by weekday, Abhijit, Dur Muhurtam and the day and night choghadiya.
In short
A panchang is the Hindu almanac for one day and one place. It gives the five limbs (pancha anga) of the day: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana. From sunrise and sunset it then works out the times to avoid, such as Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda, Gulika and Dur Muhurtam, and the good times, such as Abhijit muhurta and the Amrit, Shubh and Labh choghadiyas. Because these follow sunrise, the same day's timings differ from city to city.
The five limbs of the panchang
| Limb | What it is | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | The lunar day: each 12° the Moon gains on the Sun. 30 tithis make a lunar month, 15 in the waxing half (Shukla paksha, to Purnima) and 15 in the waning half (Krishna paksha, to Amavasya). | Which festivals fall on a day; Rikta tithis (4th, 9th, 14th) are avoided for new starts |
| Vara | The weekday, from sunrise to the next sunrise, ruled by the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn in turn. | Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda, Gulika, choghadiya and Disha shool |
| Nakshatra | The Moon's star: the 27 nakshatras of 13°20′ each along the Moon's path. | Tara bala for your birth star, the nakshatra class for an activity, Varjyam and Amrit Kalam |
| Yoga | The sum of the Sun's and the Moon's longitudes, in 27 parts of 13°20′, Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. | Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided for new starts |
| Karana | Half a tithi: 11 karanas, 7 that repeat (Bava to Vishti) and 4 fixed ones. | Vishti karana is Bhadra, avoided for new starts |
A limb can change during the day. The panchang names the one running at sunrise and the time the next one starts; Astrojar does the same.
Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika by weekday
Each of the three is one eighth of the daytime, sunrise to sunset; the weekday decides which eighth. The times below are worked from a 6:00 sunrise and 18:00 sunset, so each eighth is 1 hour 30 minutes. With your real sunrise and sunset every window moves: a 6:40 sunrise moves Monday's Rahu Kalam to after 8:00.
| Weekday | Rahu Kalam | Yamaganda | Gulika Kalam | Disha shool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 16:30–18:00 | 12:00–13:30 | 15:00–16:30 | West |
| Monday | 7:30–9:00 | 10:30–12:00 | 13:30–15:00 | East |
| Tuesday | 15:00–16:30 | 9:00–10:30 | 12:00–13:30 | North |
| Wednesday | 12:00–13:30 | 7:30–9:00 | 10:30–12:00 | North |
| Thursday | 13:30–15:00 | 6:00–7:30 | 9:00–10:30 | South |
| Friday | 10:30–12:00 | 15:00–16:30 | 7:30–9:00 | West |
| Saturday | 9:00–10:30 | 13:30–15:00 | 6:00–7:30 | East |
The eight parts of a 6:00 to 18:00 day are 6:00–7:30, 7:30–9:00, 9:00–10:30, 10:30–12:00, 12:00–13:30, 13:30–15:00, 15:00–16:30, 16:30–18:00. Disha shool is the direction the tradition avoids setting out in on that weekday.
Good times and times to avoid
| Window | How it is found | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Rahu Kalam | One eighth of the day; which eighth depends on the weekday | Avoid for new starts |
| Yamaganda | One eighth of the day, by weekday | Avoid |
| Gulika Kalam | One eighth of the day, by weekday | Avoid |
| Dur Muhurtam | One or two of the day's 15 muhurtas, by weekday (Tuesday's second is at night) | Avoid |
| Varjyam | 4 ghatis (a fifteenth of the nakshatra's span) at a set point in each nakshatra | Avoid |
| Bhadra | While the karana is Vishti | Avoid for new starts |
| Abhijit muhurta | The 8th of the day's 15 muhurtas, around local noon; none on Wednesday | Good |
| Amrit Kalam | 4 ghatis at a set point in each nakshatra | Good |
| Vijaya muhurta | The 11th of the day's 15 muhurtas | Good |
| Brahma muhurta | The night's 14th muhurta, ending one muhurta before sunrise | Good for prayer and study |
A muhurta is a fifteenth of the daytime (or of the night), 48 minutes when day and night are 12 hours each; a ghati is a sixtieth of a span. Astrojar's Daily Panchang shows each window with its start and end for your place.
Choghadiya for each weekday
The day and the night are each split into eight choghadiyas. The first of the day depends on the weekday and the rest follow in a fixed order; the eighth is the same as the first. Amrit, Shubh and Labh are good, Char is neutral (good for travel), and Udveg, Rog and Kaal are avoided. With a 6:00 sunrise each day choghadiya lasts 1 hour 30 minutes; the first runs from sunrise.
Day choghadiya (sunrise to sunset)
| Weekday | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Udveg | Char | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg |
| Monday | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Char | Labh | Amrit |
| Tuesday | Rog | Udveg | Char | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog |
| Wednesday | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Char | Labh |
| Thursday | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Char | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh |
| Friday | Char | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Char |
| Saturday | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Char | Labh | Amrit | Kaal |
Night choghadiya (sunset to sunrise)
| Weekday | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Shubh | Amrit | Char | Rog | Kaal | Labh | Udveg | Shubh |
| Monday | Char | Rog | Kaal | Labh | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit | Char |
| Tuesday | Kaal | Labh | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit | Char | Rog | Kaal |
| Wednesday | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit | Char | Rog | Kaal | Labh | Udveg |
| Thursday | Amrit | Char | Rog | Kaal | Labh | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit |
| Friday | Rog | Kaal | Labh | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit | Char | Rog |
| Saturday | Labh | Udveg | Shubh | Amrit | Char | Rog | Kaal | Labh |
Each choghadiya has a ruling planet: Udveg the Sun, Amrit the Moon, Rog Mars, Labh Mercury, Shubh Jupiter, Char Venus and Kaal Saturn.
Tara bala, Chandra bala and Chandrashtama
The panchang is the same for everyone in a city. Two checks make it personal, and both start from your birth Moon. Tara bala counts from your birth nakshatra to the day's nakshatra, in nines: 1 Janma, 2 Sampat, 3 Vipat, 4 Kshema, 5 Pratyak, 6 Sadhana, 7 Naidhana, 8 Mitra, 9 Param Mitra. Vipat (3), Pratyak (5) and Naidhana (7) are avoided.
Chandra bala counts the day's Moon sign from your birth Moon sign: the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th are good. When the Moon is in the 8th sign from your own it is Chandrashtama, about two and a half days each month, avoided for new starts. Astrojar's Planner shows all three for your chart every day.
Sunrise, the lunar month and the samvat
The Hindu day runs from sunrise to sunrise, so a tithi or nakshatra is named for the day it is running at sunrise. Astrojar works out sunrise and sunset for the place you choose, with the Sun's upper edge on the horizon and refraction allowed for.
The lunar month (Chaitra to Phalguna) is given both ways: amanta, ending at the new moon, as in the south and west of India, and purnimanta, ending at the full moon, as in the north. The panchang also gives the Shaka and Vikram samvat years. To choose a good day for an activity from all of this, see shubh muhurat.
Questions about the panchang
What is panchang?
A panchang (panchangam, panjika) is the Hindu almanac for a day and place: its five limbs, tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana, with sunrise, sunset and the good and bad times of the day worked from them.
What are the five limbs of the panchang?
Tithi (the lunar day), vara (the weekday), nakshatra (the Moon's star), yoga (the Sun and the Moon's longitudes added) and karana (half a tithi). Pancha anga means five limbs.
What is Rahu Kalam?
Rahu Kalam (Rahu kaal) is one eighth of the daytime, sunrise to sunset, that the panchang marks for avoiding new starts. Which eighth it is depends on the weekday: the 8th on Sunday, 2nd on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 5th on Wednesday, 6th on Thursday, 4th on Friday and 3rd on Saturday.
Why does Rahu Kalam change from city to city?
Because it is an eighth of the time from sunrise to sunset, and sunrise and sunset change with the place and the season. With a 6:00 sunrise and 18:00 sunset, Monday's Rahu Kalam is 7:30 to 9:00; with a later sunrise it starts later.
What is choghadiya?
Choghadiya divides the day (sunrise to sunset) and the night (sunset to sunrise) into eight parts each. Each part is named Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Char, Udveg, Rog or Kaal; Amrit, Shubh and Labh are good, Char is neutral, and Udveg, Rog and Kaal are avoided.
What is Abhijit muhurat?
Abhijit is the 8th of the day's 15 muhurtas, the one around local noon: the middle of the day, half a muhurta either side. Astrojar, like many panchangs, does not use it on Wednesday.
Is today's panchang free on Astrojar?
Yes. The app's Daily Panchang gives the five limbs, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, the good times and times to avoid, the day and night choghadiya, Disha shool and Chandrashtama, for where you are, free.
Keep learning
- Shubh muhurat How a good day and time is chosen for an activity.
- The 27 nakshatras The Moon's stars, their lords and padas.
- Rashi by date of birth Your Moon sign, the start of Chandra bala.
- Rahu in astrology The shadow planet behind Rahu Kalam's name.
- Hindu festivals 2026 and 2027 Festival dates and the tithi rule behind each.
Sources
- The five limbs, sunrise and sunset, Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda, Gulika, Dur Muhurtam, Abhijit, Amrit Kalam, Varjyam, Bhadra, choghadiya and Disha shool: as computed by Astrojar's Panchang engine, with Lahiri ayanamsa.
- Tithi groups, the avoided yogas and Bhadra: Muhurta Chintamani (Daivajna Rama), ch. 1 (Shubhashubha).
- Tara bala and Chandra bala: as Astrojar's Panchang engine and Planner use them.
This is the traditional reading of the classical texts, given for learning and reflection. It is not a prediction for you, and not medical, legal or financial advice.
Today's panchang for where you are
Sign up free: the app's Daily Panchang gives today's tithi, nakshatra, sunrise, Rahu Kalam, choghadiya and good times for your place, and the Planner adds your Tara and Chandra bala.