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Panchang: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana

The Panchang (पञ्चाङ्ग, "five limbs") is the traditional Hindu almanac. It describes each day by five elements, all derived from the positions of the Sun and the Moon. Festivals, fasts and muhurta (auspicious timing) are chosen from it. The daily Panchang page shows all five for Mumbai.

1. Vara, the weekday

The vara runs from sunrise to sunrise, not midnight to midnight, and each is ruled by a planet: Ravivara (Sun), Somavara (Moon), Mangalavara (Mars), Budhavara (Mercury), Guruvara (Jupiter), Shukravara (Venus) and Shanivara (Saturn).

2. Tithi, the lunar day

A tithi is the time the Moon takes to gain 12° on the Sun. There are 30 in a lunar month: the fifteen of the bright half (Shukla paksha) end with Purnima, the full moon, and the fifteen of the dark half (Krishna paksha) end with Amavasya, the new moon. Because the Moon's speed varies, a tithi lasts from about 19 to 26 hours. The tithi prevailing at sunrise names the day; when a tithi starts and ends between two sunrises it is "lost" (kshaya), and when it spans two sunrises the day repeats (vriddhi).

3. Nakshatra

The nakshatra holding the Moon, one of 27 sections of 13°20′.

4. Yoga

Add the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and the Moon and divide the circle into 27 parts of 13°20′: each part is a yoga, from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are traditionally the most avoided. (This calendar yoga is different from the planetary combinations in a birth chart, which are also called yogas.)

5. Karana

A karana is half a tithi, 6° of the Moon's gain on the Sun, so there are 60 in a month. Seven movable karanas (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija and Vishti, also called Bhadra) repeat eight times; four fixed ones (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna) fall around the new moon. Vishti is avoided for new beginnings.

Rahu kaal and the other periods

Not one of the five limbs, but printed in every almanac: daytime (sunrise to sunset) is cut into eight equal parts, and one part each day is Rahu kaal, traditionally avoided for starting something new; Gulika and Yamaganda are similar periods. Which eighth it is depends on the weekday; on a Monday Rahu kaal is the second eighth, on a Sunday the last.

Did the lunar days move the market?

Financial astrology often claims that Amavasya is a weak day and Purnima a strong one. Our test H7 compared volatile NSE stocks around each Amavasya with the days around each Purnima from 2016 to 2023: they did slightly better around Amavasya, the opposite of the claim, and the difference was well within chance. Upcoming new and full moons are listed on the planetary events page.

For learning and curiosity, not investment advice.