In one paragraph
Yoga and karana are the fourth and fifth limbs of the Panchang, after the weekday, tithi and nakshatra. A yoga is found by adding the longitudes of the Sun and the Moon; there are 27. A karana is half a tithi; there are 11 names filling the 60 half-tithis of a month. Both are used mainly to refine the choice of an auspicious time, and both come with a short list of periods that are traditionally avoided.
How a yoga is calculated
Add the Sun's longitude to the Moon's longitude and divide the total by 13°20′. The whole number of divisions completed gives the yoga in force. Because the sum runs from 0° to 360° and each division is 13°20′, there are exactly 27 yogas.
Notice the contrast with the tithi. A tithi comes from the difference between the Moon and the Sun; a yoga comes from their sum. The two therefore move independently, and any tithi can combine with any yoga.
These are sometimes called the nitya ("daily") yogas, to distinguish them from the planetary combinations in a birth chart that are also called yogas — Gaja Kesari, raja yoga and so on. The two uses of the word are unrelated.
The 27 yogas
| # | Yoga | Traditional nature |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vishkambha | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 2 | Priti | Favourable |
| 3 | Ayushman | Favourable |
| 4 | Saubhagya | Favourable |
| 5 | Shobhana | Favourable |
| 6 | Atiganda | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 7 | Sukarma | Favourable |
| 8 | Dhriti | Favourable |
| 9 | Shula | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 10 | Ganda | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 11 | Vriddhi | Favourable |
| 12 | Dhruva | Favourable |
| 13 | Vyaghata | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 14 | Harshana | Favourable |
| 15 | Vajra | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 16 | Siddhi | Favourable |
| 17 | Vyatipata | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 18 | Variyana | Favourable |
| 19 | Parigha | Avoided for new beginnings |
| 20 | Shiva | Favourable |
| 21 | Siddha | Favourable |
| 22 | Sadhya | Favourable |
| 23 | Shubha | Favourable |
| 24 | Shukla | Favourable |
| 25 | Brahma | Favourable |
| 26 | Indra | Favourable |
| 27 | Vaidhriti | Avoided for new beginnings |
The yogas that are avoided
Nine of the 27 are traditionally classed as inauspicious for starting something new: Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha, Vaidhriti.
They are not treated equally. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided outright for auspicious ceremonies. For several of the others, many almanacs set aside only the opening portion of the yoga and consider the remainder usable. Practice varies by region, and a full muhurat always weighs the yoga against the tithi, nakshatra and weekday rather than reading it alone.
What a karana is
A karana is half a tithi — the time the Moon takes to gain 6° on the Sun. Every tithi contains two karanas, so a lunar month contains sixty.
There are only eleven karana names. Seven of them are movable and recur in a fixed order eight times through the month. The other four are fixed: each occurs once a month, in a set position around the new moon.
| Karana | Type | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|
| Bava | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Balava | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Kaulava | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Taitila | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Gara | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Vanija | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Vishti (Bhadra) | Movable | Recurs eight times in each lunar month |
| Kimstughna | Fixed | First half of Shukla Pratipada |
| Shakuni | Fixed | Second half of Krishna Chaturdashi |
| Chatushpada | Fixed | First half of Amavasya |
| Naga | Fixed | Second half of Amavasya |
Vishti karana, also called Bhadra
Vishti is the seventh of the movable karanas and the one most people encounter, usually under its other name, Bhadra. It recurs eight times a month and is traditionally avoided for beginning auspicious work — it is the reason a muhurat is sometimes described as starting "after Bhadra ends".
The best-known example is Holika Dahan. The bonfire is lit on the full-moon evening of Phalguna, but only once Bhadra is over, which is why the correct time shifts from year to year and occasionally falls late at night.
How the two are used in practice
For everyday purposes the weekday, tithi and nakshatra carry most of the weight. Yoga and karana are the refinements: once a suitable day has been found, they help choose the better part of it, or rule out a few hours.
A Panchang gives the end time of each, because — like tithis and nakshatras — they do not change at midnight or at sunrise but whenever the Sun and Moon reach the next boundary.
Frequently asked questions
- What is yoga in the Panchang?
- One of 27 divisions found by adding the longitudes of the Sun and Moon and dividing by 13°20′. It is one of the five limbs of the Panchang and is used in selecting auspicious times.
- How many karanas are there?
- Eleven names. Seven movable karanas repeat eight times each through the month and four fixed karanas occur once each, together filling the sixty half-tithis of a lunar month.
- What is Bhadra and why is it avoided?
- Bhadra is another name for Vishti karana, one of the seven movable karanas. It is traditionally considered unfavourable for starting auspicious activities, so important ceremonies are timed to begin after it ends.
- Which Panchang yogas are inauspicious?
- Nine are traditionally classed as inauspicious: Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha, Vaidhriti. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are the two avoided most strictly.
- Is a Panchang yoga the same as a yoga in my birth chart?
- No. A Panchang yoga is a daily value calculated from the Sun and Moon. A birth-chart yoga is a specific combination of planets, such as a raja yoga. They share a name and nothing else.
Work it out for yourself
These tools compute what this guide explains, from real astronomical positions.
- Panchang →Today's yoga and karana with their end times, for your city.
- Muhurat Finder →Auspicious dates for weddings, housewarmings and more.
- Festival Calendar →Festival dates computed from the lunar calendar.
How this guide was written
The reference tables on this page are generated from the same data Astronaad’s calculators run on, so the guide and the tools cannot disagree. Where classical authorities differ, the text says so and names the convention Astronaad follows. Astrology is a traditional system of interpretation: nothing here is medical, legal or financial advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.