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Panchanga — The Five Limbs

Panchanga means "five limbs". The Vedic way of describing the quality of any moment uses five components: Tithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, Karana, and Vara. They are used in muhurta (auspicious timing), naming ceremonies, marriages, and rituals.

1. Tithi (Lunar day)

The Tithi is the "lunar day", computed from the angular distance between the Moon and Sun. Each tithi covers 12° of separation. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month.

• Shukla Paksha (tithi 1–15): waxing Moon — auspicious for outward action.
• Krishna Paksha (tithi 16–30): waning Moon — inner work, sadhana.

Tithi names: Pratipada, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Chaturthi, Panchami, Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dwadashi, Trayodashi, Chaturdashi, Purnima/Amavasya.

2. Nakshatra (Lunar mansion)

The nakshatra in which the Moon currently sits. There are 27 nakshatras, each 13°20′ wide. Each has its own deity and theme. → Full table of 27 nakshatras

3. Yoga (Sky-quality)

Yoga is calculated as (Sun longitude + Moon longitude), divided into 27 named yogas. It describes the overall favorability of the moment. Some (like Vishti, Vyatipata, Vaidhriti) are considered inauspicious; others (Siddhi, Shubha, Brahma) auspicious.

4. Karana (Half-tithi)

A karana is half a tithi (6° each). There are 60 karanas per lunar month, mapped to 11 names — seven recurring (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija, Vishti) and four fixed (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna). Used in fine-grained muhurta timing.

5. Vara (Weekday)

Note: When you compute a kundali on this site, all five limbs are calculated using both the Drik and Surya Siddhanta methods.