Panchang

Before we embark on blogging about Vedic Astrology we wanted to present to you about the Panchang (Panchangam). Panchang is the Sanskrit name that derives from two terms: panchah (5), and anga (parts). The 5 items that a Panchang typically presents are: dina, nakshatra, tithi, yoga, and karana

Two major methods of Panchang exist: Vakya Panchang and Drik Kanidha Panchang. Some astrologers prefer Vakya Panchang while the others prefer Drik Kanidha. RK Astros follows Drik Kanidha Panchang. This page takes you through the 5 items of Panchang in greater detail.

1. Dina in Sanskrit refers to the week day (or simply the day). Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturday are respectively the day lords for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Vedic Astrology considers the Ascending Node (Rahu), and the Descending Node (Ketu) as planets in the horoscopes. Despite being so neither Rahu or Ketu has a weekday allocated for them.

2. Nakshatra in Sanskrit refers to the constellation or the star through which the Moon transits on a given day. The Moon takes approximately a day to transit through a constellation. According to Vedic Astrology there are 27 constellations as listed below:

   1. Ashwini
   2. Bharani
   3. Kirtika
   4. Rohini
   5. Mrigasira (Mirugasirisham)
   6. Adhira (Thiruvadhirai)
   7. Punarvasu (Punarpoosam)
   8. Pushya (Poosam)
   9. Ashlesha (Ayilyam)

   1. Magha
   2. Poorva Phalguni (Pooram)
   3. Uttara Phalguni (Uthram)
   4. Hastha
   5. Chitra
   6. Swati
   7. Vishaka
   8. Anuradha (Anusha)
   9. Jyeshta (Kettai)

   1. Moola
   2. Poorvashada (Pooradam)
   3. Uttarashada (Uthradam)
   4. Shravana (Thiruvonam)
   5. Dhanishta (Avittam)
   6. Sadhabhisha (Sadhayam)
   7. Poorva Bhadra (Poorattadhi)
   8. Uthra Bhadra (Uthrattathi)
   9. Revati

3. Tithi is the relative position (or distance) between the Moon and the Sun. The lunar month is divided into two fortnights i.e., the waxing Moon (Shukla Paksha) and the waning Moon (Krishna Paksha).

   The waxing fortnight begins with the new Moon (Amavasya) and ends in the full Moon (Poornima). The Moon’s progression is indicated in the following order:

   Amavasya (new Moon)
   1. Pratima (Prathamai)
   2. Dwidya
   3. Tritya
   4. Chaturthi
   5. Panchami
   6. Shashti
   7. Saptami

   1. Ashtami
   2. Navami
   3. Dasami
   4. Ekadashi
   5. Dwadasi
   6. Trayodasi
   7. Chaturdasi
   Poornima (full Moon)

   The waning fortnight starts from Poornima and ends in the next Amavasya. The Moon’s deterioration is indicated in the following order:

   Poornima (full Moon)
   1. Pratima (Prathamai)
   2. Dwidya
   3. Tritya
   4. Chaturthi
   5. Panchami
   6. Shashti
   7. Saptami

   1. Ashtami
   2. Navami
   3. Dasami
   4. Ekadashi
   5. Dwadasi
   6. Trayodasi
   7. Chaturdasi
   Amavasya (new Moon)

4. Yoga: In Vedic Astrology we consider the 27 stars listed in the nakshatra section. We have the same number of yogas too. These are also represented as nitya yoga. This is a calculated point arrived by adding the longitude of the Moon and the Sun and dividing them by 13.33 deg if the sum is lesser than 360degrees. If the sum is greater than 360degree then subtract 360 degrees from the sum and divide by 13.33degree. The details of the same could be studied from our YouTube videos.

5. Karana is the subdivision of the tithis. There are 11 karanas in total within which the first 7 karanas repeat 8 times, and the remaining 4 karanas occur only once. The sum of the repetitive and non-repetitive karanas is 60. We know that there are 14 tithis in the waxing and waning fortnights of the Moon. Adding Amavasya and Pournami increases the count to 30. We know a tithi consists of 2 karanas so for a 30 tithi lunar month we need a total of 60 karanas.