What is the Panchang?
The Panchang (पंचांग, “five limbs”) is the traditional Hindu almanac that captures the exact state of the sky for a given day and place. Those five limbs are the tithi (lunar day), nakshatra (the constellation the Moon sits in), yoga, karana and vara (weekday). Together they tell you which activities the day favours — and which times to avoid.
Astronaad doesn’t recycle a generic calendar. Every value is computed live from the real positions of the Sun and Moon using the Lahiri ayanamsa, with sunrise, sunset and each window accurate to the minute for the city you choose.
Inauspicious times to plan around
Three short daytime windows are traditionally avoided for new beginnings: Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal. Each falls in a fixed one-eighth slice of the day that shifts with the weekday. Conversely, Abhijit Muhurat around solar noon is favourable for almost any good start. The board above shows all of these for today and your location.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Panchang?
- Panchang (पंचांग, "five limbs") is the traditional Hindu almanac describing the state of the sky for a given day and place. Its five limbs are tithi (lunar day), nakshatra (the Moon's constellation), yoga, karana and vara (weekday) — all derived from the real positions of the Sun and Moon. Astronaad computes them live from an astronomical ephemeris, accurate to the minute for your exact city.
- What is Rahu Kaal, and why is it avoided?
- Rahu Kaal is a roughly 90-minute window each day, ruled by the shadow-planet Rahu, traditionally considered inauspicious for starting anything important — travel, signing, a purchase or a new venture. It falls in a different one-eighth slice of the daytime depending on the weekday. The board above shows today's exact Rahu Kaal, plus Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal, for your location.
- How is today's tithi calculated?
- The tithi is the angular distance between the Moon and the Sun, split into 30 steps of 12°. As the Moon pulls away from the Sun the tithi advances. Because the Moon's speed varies, each tithi has a precise start and end time — which we compute and show, rather than assuming a fixed calendar day.
- Is this Panchang accurate for my city?
- Yes. Sunrise, sunset and every window are computed for the exact latitude and longitude of the city you enter, using the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa — the standard for Vedic calculations in India. Change the city and all five angas, the muhurat windows and the inauspicious periods recompute for that place.
- What is the auspicious time (shubh muhurat) today?
- The most universally auspicious daily window is Abhijit Muhurat — a short period around solar noon favourable for almost any good beginning (except, by tradition, on Wednesdays). The board highlights today's Abhijit window, and our Muhurat finder scores specific dates for marriage, griha pravesh, vehicle purchase and more.
- What are Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal?
- Like Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal are inauspicious daytime windows tied to the weekday, each in a fixed one-eighth slice of the day. Gulika Kaal in particular is avoided for new beginnings. All three are shown together so you can plan around them.