Guide · Instant
How to use Panchang
The day’s five limbs (tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and vara) with exact times for your city, plus Rahu Kaal, Abhijit muhurat, choghadiya and hora.
Open PanchangStep by step
- 1
Check the city
The Panchang opens for your saved city, or the one your device’s time zone suggests. Search for another town, or tap the location button to use where you are now.
- 2
Choose the date
Use the arrows for the previous or next day, or tap the date to pick any day from the calendar.
- 3
Read the five limbs
Each limb shows its name and the exact time it ends, so you can see what changes during the day.
- 4
Plan around the timings
Auspicious times such as Abhijit and Brahma muhurat sit beside the times to avoid, such as Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika.
- 5
Use choghadiya and hora
Switch between day and night to see each period and its quality for starting work, travel or purchases.
What happens behind the scenes
The day begins at sunrise
As in a traditional Panchang, the day runs from sunrise to the next sunrise. Sunrise and sunset are calculated for your city’s exact coordinates and local time zone, including daylight saving abroad.
Tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana
Tithi comes from the angle between the Moon and the Sun (12° per tithi), nakshatra from the Moon’s sidereal position, yoga from the sum of Sun and Moon, and karana is half a tithi. Their end times are found to the minute.
Rahu Kaal and the other periods
Daylight is divided into eight equal parts, and each weekday assigns Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika to fixed parts. Choghadiya and hora divide the day and night in the same way.
Reading your results and tips
Reading your results
- A tithi or nakshatra shown with an end time changes during the day; the one in force at sunrise names the day.
- Avoid starting important work in Rahu Kaal; Abhijit muhurat around local midday is good for most beginnings.
- In choghadiya, Amrit, Shubh, Labh and Char are good; Rog, Kaal and Udveg are best avoided.
Tips
- Save your home city once and the Panchang always opens for it.
- Bookmark the page: today’s Panchang is always free.
Words to know
- Tithi (lunar day)A tithi is a lunar day: the time the Moon takes to move 12° further ahead of the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, 15 in each paksha, and the tithi in force at sunrise names the day.
- Nakshatra (lunar mansion)A nakshatra is one of 27 equal segments of the sidereal zodiac, each 13°20′ wide and named after a star group. The one holding the Moon when you were born is your birth star, or janma nakshatra.
- Rahu Kaal (Rahu Kalam)Rahu Kaal is a daily period of about 90 minutes, one-eighth of the time from sunrise to sunset, that tradition avoids for starting new work. Which eighth it is depends on the weekday.
- ChoghadiyaChoghadiya divides the day and the night into eight periods each, about 90 minutes long. Each is named Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Char, Udveg, Kaal or Rog, and marked good, neutral or best avoided.
- Abhijit muhuratAbhijit muhurat is the 8th of the 15 muhurtas of the day, a window of about 48 minutes centred on local midday. It is considered one of the strongest auspicious times, except on Wednesdays.
- Hora (planetary hour)A hora is a planetary hour. Day and night are each divided into 12 horas, ruled in turn by the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars; the first hora at sunrise belongs to the weekday’s lord.