Panchang Calculator
The panchang is the five-limbed almanac of the Indian tradition: tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga, and karana, all read from the Moon's motion in the sidereal zodiac. This calculator computes all five for any date, in your browser, from the same astronomical engine used by observatory software, and adds the planetary hours (muhurta) of the day with the work each hour favors.
Updated August 23, 2026: five angas computed in the sidereal zodiac (Lahiri ayanamsa 24.08° for 2026) from the astronomy engine in your browser; planetary hours from local sunrise and sunset.
The Five Limbs of the Panchang
The panchang is called the "five limbs" because it counts five things at once, and together they describe the quality of a moment. The tithi is the lunar day: the angle between Moon and Sun divided into thirty parts, fifteen waxing from new moon to full, fifteen waning from full to new. The vara is simply the weekday, but in the tradition the weekday carries its ruling planet, and that planet opens the planetary hours. The nakshatra is the lunar mansion: one of twenty-seven equal divisions of the sidereal zodiac, each with its own character, deity, and planetary lord. The yoga is a combined count of the Sun and Moon's positions, and the karana is half a tithi, the finest measure of the five.
Reading all five together is the traditional way to choose a time. A tithi tells you the general quality of the day; the nakshatra colors the mood; the yoga and karana refine the hours. When several limbs are favorable at once, the moment is considered strong for beginnings; when the hard tithis, the hard yogas (Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha, Vaidhriti), or the harsh karana Vishti line up, the tradition advises waiting, or using the time for clearing rather than starting.
Planetary Hours: The Practical Muhurta
The most practical muhurta is the system of planetary hours. From sunrise to sunset, the day is divided into twelve equal hours; from sunset to the next sunrise, the night is divided into twelve more. Each hour is ruled by a planet in the Chaldean order (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, repeating), and the first hour of the day is always ruled by the planet of the weekday: Sunday opens with the Sun, Monday with the Moon, Tuesday with Mars, Wednesday with Mercury, Thursday with Jupiter, Friday with Venus, Saturday with Saturn.
Each planetary hour carries the work of its planet. The hour of Venus is for love, art, and harmony; the hour of Mercury for writing, commerce, and negotiation; the hour of Jupiter for learning, money, and ceremony; the hour of Saturn for slow, structural, long-term work. The calculator lists all twelve daytime hours with their rulers and their favored work, so a moment can be chosen the traditional way: match the work to the hour.
How to Read Your Panchang
Start with the tithi and its quality. If it is a "very good" tithi (Ekadashi, Purnima), the day supports spiritual work and celebration. If it is "dark" (Amavasya), the day supports rest, silence, and closure. Then read the nakshatra: it describes the mood of the day and the kind of activity that flows. Then check the yoga: if it is a hard yoga, keep important beginnings for another day. The karana is the finest filter for the hour.
The date can be any date in the modern era: the engine computes the positions of the Sun and Moon directly, so the panchang is exact for historical dates as well as today. This makes the calculator useful not only for planning ahead but for checking the quality of a past date, for example the panchang of a birth or an event.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Panchang?
The Panchang (panchanga, "five limbs") is the traditional Indian almanac: the five time elements of a day, calculated from the Moon's motion. They are the tithi (lunar day), vara (weekday), nakshatra (lunar mansion), yoga (a combined solar-lunar count), and karana (half of a tithi). Together they describe the quality of the day and the best uses of its hours.
How is the tithi calculated?
The tithi is the angle between the Moon and the Sun divided by 12 degrees, counted from the new moon. Each tithi is one lunar day (about 24 hours and 50 minutes of real time). The fifteen waxing tithis (Shukla paksha) run from new moon to full moon; the fifteen waning tithis (Krishna paksha) run from full moon back to new moon.
What is a muhurta?
A muhurta is an auspicious moment chosen for beginning something. In daily practice the planetary hours (horas) are the simplest muhurta: the day is divided into twelve hours from sunrise to sunset, and the night into twelve more, each ruled by a planet in the Chaldean order. The calculator lists all twelve daytime hours with the work each planet favors.
Why is the Moon's nakshatra important?
The nakshatra is the lunar mansion the Moon occupies: one of 27 equal divisions of the sidereal zodiac, each with its own character and ruling planet. The nakshatra of the day colors the mood of the day, and the nakshatra of your birth is the Moon sign used throughout Indian astrology.
Does the calculator use the sidereal or tropical zodiac?
The Panchang uses the sidereal zodiac, as the tradition does, with the Lahiri ayanamsa (24.08 degrees for 2026, stated in the method note). The positions of the Sun and Moon are computed directly from the JPL-based astronomy engine in your browser, so the five angas are exact to the minute for any date.
Sources
The five angas follow the standard definitions of the panchang as used in Indian astrology (tithi from the Moon-Sun angle in twelfths of 30°, nakshatra from the sidereal Moon longitude in 27ths of 360°, yoga from the combined sidereal longitude, karana in sixths of the tithi angle). Positions are computed with the astronomy engine (JPL DE421-equivalent accuracy) in the browser, sidereal frame with the Lahiri ayanamsa (24.08° for 2026). Sunrise and sunset are computed for the entered latitude and longitude.