Pañcāṅga — the reckoning of time
पञ्चाङ्ग
Also written: panchanga · panchang · hindu calendar · tithi nakshatra yoga karana · muhurta · पञ्चाङ्ग
Pañcāṅga means 'five limbs'. An Indian calendar does not record only the date; it records five independent cycles running at once, and their combination is what makes a moment auspicious or otherwise.
| Limb | Measures | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Tithi | The lunar day — each 12° of the moon's separation from the sun | 30 per lunar month, in two pakṣas of 15 |
| Vāra | The weekday and its ruling planet | 7 |
| Nakṣatra | The lunar mansion the moon occupies | 27 (28 with Abhijit) |
| Yoga | The combined longitude of sun and moon | 27 |
| Karaṇa | Half a tithi | 11 kinds — 4 fixed, 7 recurring |
The year
The calendar is lunisolar: months are lunar, the year is solar, and an intercalary month (adhika māsa) is inserted roughly every 32½ months to keep them aligned. The year divides into two ayanas — uttarāyaṇa, the sun's northward course, and dakṣiṇāyana, the southward — and into six ṛtus of two months each: vasanta, grīṣma, varṣā, śarad, hemanta and śiśira.
Muhūrta
A muhūrta is a division of about 48 minutes — thirty in a day and night. Choosing one is the practical purpose of the whole apparatus: the five limbs are weighed together, inauspicious periods are avoided, and certain windows are held always favourable, among them Abhijit, the eighth muhūrta, at midday.
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Last revised 2026-08-16. Corrections are welcome — see how this site is written.