Panchang glossary
What the terms on a Hindu calendar mean, with this year's dates and today's timings computed for your city.
- Abhijit Muhurat
Abhijit Muhurat is the eighth of the fifteen daytime muhurtas, about 24 minutes either side of local noon. It is considered auspicious for almost any beginning, except on Wednesdays. - Adhik Maas
Adhik Maas is the extra lunar month added roughly every 32½ months to keep the lunar year aligned with the solar year. It is devoted to Vishnu and not used for auspicious beginnings. - Amavasya
Amavasya is the new moon tithi, when the Moon and the Sun share the same longitude. It closes the amanta month and is the day for offerings to ancestors. - Ayanamsa
Ayanamsa is the angle between the tropical zodiac, tied to the equinox, and the sidereal zodiac, tied to the stars. It is about 24° today and grows by about 50 arcseconds a year. Indian astrology uses the sidereal frame. - Bhadra (Vishti karana)
Bhadra is the period when Vishti karana prevails, roughly eight times a month for about half a tithi each. Rakhi tying, journeys and most beginnings are avoided during Bhadra. - Chaturmas
Chaturmas is the four-month sacred period from Devshayani Ekadashi in Ashadha to Dev Uthani Ekadashi in Kartika, when Vishnu is said to rest. Marriages, griha pravesh and other beginnings are not performed in it. - Choghadiya
Choghadiya divides the day and the night into eight parts each, labelled Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Chal, Udveg, Rog and Kaal. It is the everyday muhurat table used across Gujarat, Rajasthan and the North. - Ekadashi
Ekadashi is the eleventh tithi of each paksha, kept as a fast for Vishnu twice a month. Which day to fast is decided by the tithi at sunrise, with the Dashami overlap rule. - Gandmool nakshatra
Gandmool refers to six nakshatras at the junctions of the zodiac: Ashwini, Ashlesha, Magha, Jyeshtha, Mula and Revati. A birth in them traditionally calls for a Mool Shanti ritual. - Griha Pravesh muhurat
Griha pravesh is the ceremonial first entry into a new home. Its muhurat needs a permitted month, a favourable tithi and nakshatra, an acceptable weekday, and an hour outside Rahu Kaal and the inauspicious choghadiya. - Gulika Kaal
Gulika Kaal is the daily portion ruled by Gulika (Mandi), Saturn's son, one-eighth of the day by weekday. Work begun in it is said to repeat itself, so it is avoided for most events. - Holashtak
Holashtak is the eight-day run-up to Holi, from Phalguna Shukla Ashtami to Purnima, during which auspicious ceremonies are avoided in North India. - Karana
A karana is half a tithi, the time the Moon needs to gain 6° on the Sun. There are eleven karanas; Vishti, better known as Bhadra, is the one to avoid. - Kharmas
Kharmas, or Malmas, is the month when the Sun is in Dhanu (mid-December to mid-January) and, in many traditions, also Meena (mid-March to mid-April). Auspicious ceremonies are paused. - Kundali (birth chart)
A kundali is the map of the sky at the moment and place of birth: the rising sign, the sidereal positions of the nine grahas, and their houses. Hastro draws it in the North and South Indian styles with a navamsa. - Lagna (ascendant)
The lagna is the sidereal sign rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. It fixes the first house of the kundali and changes sign roughly every two hours. - Muhurat
A muhurat is a chosen time for beginning something, picked so that the tithi, nakshatra, weekday and hour are favourable and the prohibited periods are avoided. Hastro computes muhurats per event and per city and shows every reason. - Nakshatra
A nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions, each 13°20′ of the ecliptic, that the Moon passes through in about a day. It sets the day's quality in muhurat and the birth star in a kundali. - Navamsa
The navamsa (D9) is the divisional chart that splits each sign into nine parts of 3°20′, the same width as a nakshatra pada. It is read with the birth chart, especially for marriage and planetary strength. - Paksha
A paksha is a fortnight of the lunar month. Shukla Paksha is the bright half from new moon to full moon; Krishna Paksha is the dark half from full moon to new moon. - Panchak
Panchak is the period of about five days each month when the Moon passes through the last five nakshatras, from Dhanishtha's third quarter to Revati. Certain works are avoided during it. - Pitru Paksha
Pitru Paksha is the fortnight for the ancestors, from Bhadrapada Purnima to Sarva Pitru Amavasya. Shraddha is performed on the tithi of the ancestor's death, and no auspicious beginnings are made. - Pradosh vrat
Pradosh is the twilight period after sunset, and the Pradosh vrat is kept for Shiva on the Trayodashi that prevails then, twice a month. - Purnima
Purnima is the full moon tithi, when the Moon stands opposite the Sun. It closes the purnimanta month and carries many festivals, from Holi to Guru Purnima and Sharad Purnima. - Rahu Kaal
Rahu Kaal is a daily period of about ninety minutes, one-eighth of the day, ruled by Rahu and avoided for new beginnings. Its position depends on the weekday. - Sankashti Chaturthi
Sankashti Chaturthi is the Ganesha fast on the fourth tithi after the full moon, broken after sighting the moon. The day is chosen by the tithi at moonrise. - Sankranti
A sankranti is the Sun's entry into a sidereal sign. The twelve sankrantis mark the solar months; Makar Sankranti, Mesha Sankranti and the Karka and Tula transitions carry festivals. - Tithi
A tithi is a lunar day, the time the Moon takes to move 12° ahead of the Sun. Thirty tithis make one lunar month, and the tithi at sunrise names the Hindu day. - Vaar (weekday)
Vaar is the weekday, the simplest limb of the panchang. The Hindu day runs from sunrise to sunrise, so the weekday changes at dawn, not at midnight. - Yamaganda
Yamaganda is a daily one-eighth-of-day period associated with Yama and avoided for auspicious beginnings, alongside Rahu Kaal and Gulika Kaal. - Yoga (panchang)
In the panchang, a yoga is one of 27 divisions of the combined longitude of the Sun and Moon, 13°20′ each. It is the fourth limb of the five that make up a panchang.