Read a panchang row
Today you’ll learnRecognize vaar, tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana, and distinguish a tithi interval from a civil calendar date.
Vaar · Tithi · Nakshatra · Yoga · Karana
Five labels on one row
A panchang is a traditional calendar, and its name refers to its five parts. A row usually shows vaar (the weekday), tithi (a lunar day), the Moon's nakshatra (one of the 27 divisions from Day 7), yoga and karana. The row names the intervals in progress for the calendar's stated time.
In a panchang, yoga is calculated from the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. This is a different use of the word from a chart yoga, which names a combination of placements. Here you are reading a calendar term, not instructions for a physical yoga practice.
Tithi and karana
A tithi follows the Moon-Sun longitude gap. Use longitudes for the same moment and zodiac setting, and subtract the Sun's from the Moon's. If the result is negative, add 360°, keeping the gap from 0° to less than 360°. Each tithi covers 12°, so a full cycle holds 30 tithis. Tithi 1 runs from 0° to less than 12°, and tithi 2 from 12° to less than 24°.
A karana is half a tithi, so it covers 6° of the same gap. The gap does not reset at midnight, which means a tithi can begin or end at any hour. That is why a tithi is not a civil date, and one date can contain parts of two tithis.
- For a count of 1-30 across the full cycle: tithi number = completed 12° steps + 1
- Karana = 6°, half a tithi
Read the legend before the row
A panchang is prepared for a stated place and time zone, and its times are given in that zone's clock time. Before using a row, check the header for the place and the zone, for example IST (Indian Standard Time).
Next, read the legend that explains what a listed time means. The Rashtriya Panchang explanation describes its listed times as ending moments. So ‘tithi 3 ends 14:20 IST’ tells you when tithi 3 finishes, not when it began. It began when the previous tithi ended.
Worked example
Fictional worked example: Moon 200°, Sun 150°
These longitudes are invented for practice. They are not taken from an ephemeris or from any real date.
- Gap: 200° − 150° = 50°.
- Completed 12° steps: four (48°), with 2° left over.
- Four completed steps put the gap in tithi 5, which covers 48° to less than 60°.
- Karana: the first half of tithi 5 runs from 48° to less than 54°, so 50° is in its first karana.
Your turn
Try it yourself
For invented longitudes at the same moment, Moon 68° and Sun 42°, find the gap and the current tithi number. If a sample row says ‘ends 14:20 IST,’ is that the starting time?
Show the answer
The gap is 68° − 42° = 26°. Two completed 12° steps make 24°, so the gap is in tithi 3, which covers 24° to less than 36°. The listed time is the end of the tithi, not its start. This row is a teaching example, not today's panchang.
One quick check
A sample row lists ‘tithi 7 ends 09:10 IST.’ What does 09:10 tell you?
See the explanation
The row's legend says listed times are ending moments, and IST names the time zone. So 09:10 marks the end of tithi 7. It does not mark the start, and it is not a sunrise time for other places.
Take these three ideas with you
- The five labels are vaar, tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana.
- A tithi covers 12° of the Moon–Sun gap, and a karana covers 6°.
- Check the place, the time zone and whether listed times are endings.