THE PANCHANG

PANCHANG



It can be bifurcated as Panch Anga which means five limbs.  The five elements of Panchanga are useful in timing the events.  The Panchanga is widely used to know the auspicious, inauspicious nature of a particular time period.


Varana (Week Day)


Each week Day has a Planetary Ruler.  The seven Week Days are Ruled by Seven Planets.


Nakshatra


This is derived from the Position of the Moon in the Lunar Mansion.


Tithi 


The Lunar Month is divided in to 30 tithis.  The first fifteen tithis are from the Waxing Moon Phase which is known as Shukla Paksha.  The remaining fifteen tithis are from Waning Moon Phase and it is known as Krishna Paksha.  Full Moon Day is Called as Purnima and the exact Conjunction tithi of Sun and Moon is called "Amavasya" which denotes a Black Lunar Day and considered highly Inauspicious day as per the Vedic Calender.


Karana  


Each tithi is divided into two halves and called as Karanas.  There are only 11 Karanas but repeat to span the full cycle of
60 Karanas.


Yoga  


This is based on the combination of Sun and Moon.  There are 27 Yogas associated with 27 Nakshatras.  This can be calculated by adding the Longitude of the Sun and Moon.  The arrived figure should have an addition of 80.  Multiples of 360 should be subtracted from the arrived figure so that a degree range of 0-360 can be attained.  Based on the degree arrived Nakshatra has to be determined. 


These combinations have to be ascertained on the basis of Indian or Hindu Calender.  This is the basic concept behind the measurement of Time.  Each element of Panchanga has its own significance and offers an assistance in the interpretation of the Horoscope.