Panchang (Hindu almanac)
A panchang is the traditional Hindu almanac. It describes each day through five limbs (tithi, vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana) and adds sunrise-based timings such as Rahu Kaal and Abhijit muhurat.
Also known as: Panchangam, Panchanga, Panjika, Jantri
Panchang means ‘five limbs’. For any day and place it gives the tithi (lunar day), vara (weekday), nakshatra (the Moon’s star), yoga (a Sun–Moon combination) and karana (half a tithi), each with the time it ends. Most panchangs also list sunrise and sunset, moonrise, the lunar month, festivals, and the good and difficult periods of the day.
The day in a panchang runs from one sunrise to the next, and the element in force at sunrise names the day. That is why panchangs are local: sunrise changes with your city, and every timing hangs from it. Mainstream Indian panchangs use precise astronomy with the sidereal zodiac and the Lahiri ayanamsa, which matters for the nakshatra and yoga.
Families use the panchang to keep fasts and festivals, plan ceremonies and choose muhurats. A common surprise is that two reputable panchangs can differ by a day over a festival. Usually both are right: they follow different regional rules, such as amanta or purnimanta months, or judge the tithi at sunrise, sunset or midnight.