PANCHANG: A GUIDE

Panchang in Hindu Astrology is a sort of  Hindu Almanac. Literally it means  "Five Limbs (parts)". It is an astrological diary that gives useful astrological information required by an astrologer. It is consulted for finding and selecting an appropriate and ++auspicious time for important occasions, ceremonies or actions like marriage, education, travel, starting new business or project, examination, interview etc.  

Basically, Panchang is used to  match the current position of planets with the position of planets in a person's  astrological chart so as to find and if required to  look ahead to find astrologically good  days and times for that person. It is an ancient method to synchronize our actions with good times so as to reduce obstacles and increase our  chances for success. In other words, it helps in knowing what days and times are good for an individual and which ones may cause problems so as to avoid them.

The five parts of Panchang are described below :

1.  Din  (vaar) or Day of the Week2.  Tithi or the Lunar day3.  Nakshatra or the Constellation4.  Yoga5.  Karan

1.   Din (also called Vaar)  (Day of the week): The days of the week along with the ruler planet in the brackets are :

       Sunday (Sun)        Monday (Moon)       Tuesday (Mars)       Wednesday (Mercury)       Thursday (Jupiter)       Friday (Venus)       Saturday (Saturn)

2.  Tithi :

Tithi  (along with Paksha) is the day according to the Hindu lunar Calendar.  The Hindu lunar calendar consists of a dark and a bright fortnight also called paksha). When the moon completes  12 degrees of its movement on the Sun, it  is called a Tithi or Hindu lunar day. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month. Tithis belong to either Shukl paksh (the moon is waxing) or Krishna paksha (the moon is wanning). There are several rituals and festivals associated with Tithis. Most of the festivals fall on the new moon day (amavsaya) or the full moon day (poornma). It should be noted that starting and ending of a Tithi depends upon the degree of the Moon from that of the Sun. Ttherefore a Tithi can start or end at any time in a day. 

The Hindu Tithis are classified into five types:

     a.   Nanda Tithi – bestows happiness and joy          b.  Bhadra Tithi - good stating new work          c    Jaya Tithi -   good for winning over enemies          d.   Rikta Tithi –  not good for any important work, so it is avoided          e.   Poorna Tithi – very good  to complete all jobs 

Shukla Paksha : 15 Tithis starting from New Moon to Full Moon ( Poornima) constitue the Shukla Paksha.

Krishna Paksha: The 15 Tithis starting from the Full Moon to New Moon ( Amavasya) form the Krishna paksha.

Tithis are known by the following  Hindu Names:

Tithi     Nmae            Type

1         Pratipada       Nanda2         Dvitiya           Bhadra3         Tritiya            Jaya4         Chaturthi        Rikta5         Panchami       Poorna6        Shashthi         Nanda7        Saptmi            Bhadra8        Ashtami          Jaya9        Navami           Rikta10      Dashmi           Poorna11       Ekadashi        Nanda12       Dwadashi        Bhadra13       Tryodashi        Jaya14       Chaturdashi     Rikta15       Poornima /        Poorna           Amavasya

3.   Nakshatra:

Nakshatras are the stellar constellations or Lunar mansions. Literally this word means “that which does not decay.”

There are twenty-seven Nakshatras considered in Vedic Astrology. Each one of them has thirteen degree and twenty minutes of the zodiac. Nakshatra can be known with help of degrees of Moon in a particular sign at the time of birth.

The Nakshatras influence the quality of the Rashi in which they are positioned. The sequence of the 27

Nakshatras begins with Ashwini Nakshatra in Mesha Rashi. 

Each Nakshatra has a planetary lord used for Vimsottari Dasa and K.P. calculations. The years assigned to the signs are the Mahadasa durations of Vimsottari Dasa.

  Nakshatras                                                                             Lord    Years

1. Aswini          10. Magha                19.   Moola              ----->     Ketu         72. Bharani         11. Poorvaphalguni   20.  Poorvashadha               Venus     203. Krittika         12. Uttaraphalguni     21.  Uttarashadha                Sun          64. Rohini          13. Hasta                  22.  Sravana                        Moon     105. Mrigasira      14. Chitra                  23.  Dhanista                      Mars        76. Ardra           15. Swati                   24. Satabhisha                   Rahu      187. Punarvasu    16. Visakha               25.  Poorvabhadra              Jupiter     168. Pushyami     17. Anuradha             26. Uttarabhadra                Saturn     199. Aslesha       18. Jyeshta                27. Revati                         Mercury    17

Nakshtra also indicate Yoni, Gan and Nadi of an individual.

    Yoni:

There are 14 Yonis (animal symbols) in Vedic astrology assigned to nakshtras :

Nakshatras                            Yoni

Aswini, Satabhisha                 HorseSwati, Hasta                           BuffaloDhanista, Poorvabhadra           LionBharani, Revati                       ElephantKrittika, Pushyami                  SheepPoorvashadha, Sravana           MonkeyUttarashadha (Abhijit)             MongooseRohini, Mrigasira                    SerpentAnuradha, Jyeshta                  DeerArdra, Moola                          DogPunarvasu, Aslesha                CatMagha, Purvaphalguni             RatChitra, Visakha                      TigerUttaraphalguni, Uttarabhadra                          Cow

    Gana:

   There are 3 Ganas

   1. Deva: Divine

   2. Manuj: Human   3. Rakshas: Demon

Nakshatras assigned to the Ganas:

Nakshatras                                                                            Gan                                                                          Aswini, Mrigasira, Punarvasu, Pushyami, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Sravana, Revati      ---->                     Deva

Bharani, Rohini, Ardra, Poorvaphalguni, Uttaraphalguni, Poorvashadha,Uttarashadha, Poorvabhadra, Uttarabhadra         --->                Manuj

Krittika, Aslesha, Magha, Chitra, Visakha, Jyeshta, Moola, Dhanista, Satabhisha            ---->                  Rakshas

             Nadi:

There are 3 Nadis

   1. Adi:        Vata   2. Madhya: Pitta   3. Antya:    Kapha (or Shleshma)

Nakshatras assigned to the Nadis:

Nakshatras                                                                         Nadi

Aswini, Ardra, Punarvasu, Uttaraphalguni, Hasta, Jyeshta, Moola, Satabhisha, Poorvabhadra                Adi (Vata)

Bharani, Mrigasira, Pushyami, Poorvaphalguni, Chitra, Anuradha, Poorvashadha, Dhanista, Uttarabhadra                                                                   Madhya (Pitta)

Krittika, Rohini, Aslesha, Magha, Swati, Visakha, Uttarashadha, Sravana, Revati                            Antya (Kapha)

       Yoga:

A Yog is obtained from the sum of the Nirayna Longitude of the Moon and Sun and the sum is divided into 27 parts of 13°20' each. The first yog ( Viskumbh) ends when the sum is 13°20'. Second Yog ( Priti) ends when it is 26°40' and so on .

There are 27 yogas, namely:

1. Vishkumbha 2. Priti 3. Ayushman4. Saubhagya  5. Shobhana 6. Atiganda7. Sukarama 8. Dhriti 9. Shoola10. Ganda 11. Vridhi 12. Dhruva13. Vyaghata 14. Harshana 15. Vajra16. Sidhi 17. Vyatipata 18. Vriyana19. Paridhi 20. Shiva 21. Sidha22. Sadhya 23. Shubha  24. Shukla25. Brahma 26. Indra 27. Vaidhriti

  Karana:

Half of Tithi is called `Karna'. A Karna is completed when the Nirayana longitude of the Moon gains every 6° on that of Sun. In each Tithi there are two Karans covering the two halves of the Tithi.

There are 11 karnas in total. Four of them occur just once a month and are called the Fixed Karanas: Kintughna, Chatushpada, Sakuni and Naga.

The other seven are movable Karanas. They follow one another in a fixed rotation: Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti.

Movable Karan         Fixed KaranBava                         SakuniBalava                      ChatushpadKaulava                     NaagTaitila                        KintughnaGara  VanijVishti or Bhadra  

Each of the Karanas is said to have its own influence and interpretation. ‘Vishti’ is considered the most inauspicious karana. No important or new work is done during the period of this karana.

   Rahukalam:

RahuKalam has a very important place in Vedic Astrology as it help in determining the inauspicious time period with in a complete day for starting any new, auspicious or important work.

Though, RahuKalam is calculated with help of Sun-Rise and Sun-Set time. Hence, this is obvious that it will differ from place to place.

Rahu Kalam is one and a half hour time each day of a week distributed at random in the week days.

Since the Rahu Kalam is dependent on the Sun-rise and Sun-set times of your particular location, you must calculate it for any day.

         Yamagandam:

Like Rahu Kalam there are periods known as Yamagandam during which it is considered to be inauspicious to start any important work.