Panchangam - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A panchāngam is a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

astrological almanac

Almanac

An almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...

, which follows traditional Indian cosmology

Cosmology

Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...

, and presents important astronomical data in tabulated form. It is sometimes spelled Pancanga, Panchanga, Panchaanga, or Panchānga, and is pronounced Panchānga. Pachangas are used in Jyotisha

Jyotisha

Hindu astrology , also Jyotish or Jyotisha, from Sanskrit , from "light, heavenly body") is the ancient Indian system of astronomy and astrology...

.

In Eastern India, including Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

, Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

, Orisa the Panchangam is referred to as Panjika

Panjika

The panjika , is the Hindu astronomical almanac, published in Maithili, Assamese, Bengali and Oriya. In colloquial language it is called a ‘panji’. In other parts of India it is called a panchangam...

Overview

Panchāngas are published in India by many learned authors, societies, academies, and universities. Different publications differ only minutely, at least for a casual or un-trained reader. They forecast celestial

Celestial Body

Celestial Body is a Croatian film directed by Lukas Nola. It was released in 2000....

phenomena such as solar eclipse

Solar eclipse

As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...

s, forecast weather (rain, dryspells) as well as more mundane occurrences.

The study of Panchāngas involves understanding Rasi phala (also pronounced 'Rashi phala'), the impact of the signs of the zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

on the individual. Astrologers consult the Panchāngam to set auspicious dates for wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

s, corporate mergers, and other worldly activities as per religion.

The actual casting of a Panchānga involves elaborate mathematical work involving high level of spherical geometry and sound understanding of astronomical phenomena, such as sidereal

Sidereal

Sidereal, of the stars, may refer to:* Measurements of time:** Sidereal time** Sidereal day** Sidereal month** Sidereal year* Sidereal period of an object orbiting a star* Sidereal astrology...

movements of heavenly bodies. However, in practice the tabulation is done on the basis of short-cut formulations as propounded by ancient Vedic sages and scholars.

A typical Panchānga may state tabulations of positions of Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

, Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

, and other planets for every day of the year on a fixed place (longitude, latitude) and time of day (in 24-hour format IST). The users calculate the remaining data using the their relative difference from this fixed place and time.

There are several panchāngas that contain information for more than one year. There is one Vishvavijaya Panchānga that is for 100 years.

The theories propounded in the two scriptures, Surya Siddhanta

Surya Siddhanta

The Surya Siddhanta is one of the earliest siddhanta in archeo-astronomy of the Hindus by an unknown author. It describes the archeo-astronomy theories, principles and methods of the ancient Hindus. This siddhanta is supposed to be the knowledge that the Sun god gave to an Asura called Maya. Asuras...

and Grahalaghava formed the basis for the myriad calendars or Panchāngas in the past in different regions of the country - a culturally complex system.

The Grahalaghava was compiled some 600 years ago and Surya Siddhanta was available ages before that. But these had become outdated and did not tally with actual astronomical events and did not tally with each other also. Hence, a committee was appointed by the Government of India with experts in the field drawn from various parts of the country who were involved with preparation of Panchānga in local languages to draw up a reliable Panchānga in which the mathematical calculations provides the positions of grahas (the planets) and nakshatras (constellations) in the sky as they are observed.

Thus, the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

has prepared the National Panchānga or the Indian national calendar

Indian national calendar

The Indian national calendar is the official civil calendar in use in India. It is used, alongside the Gregorian calendar, by The Gazette of India, news broadcasts by All India Radio, and calendars and communications issued by the Government of India.The term may also ambiguously refer to the...

in 1957 (was proposed by Saha and Lahiri in 1952), which is used in predictive astrology

Astrology

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

. The Lahiris Ephemeris published annually is the most widely used English almanac in Vedic astrology apart from the many Panchāngas published in local languages, which are mostly based on the National Panchānga.

Etymology

Accuracy of attributes depending upon Moon's motions were considered most crucial for the reliability of a panchānga, because Moon is fastest among all heavenly entities shown in traditional panchāngas. Tithi, Nakshatra, Rāśi, Yoga, and Karana depend upon Moon's motions, which are five in number. Panchānga is a Sanskrit word, literally meaning "having five limbs". If these five limbs, for example, the five attributes depending upon Moon, are accurate, an almanac is held to be reliable, because other elements are not so difficult to compute due to their slow rates of change.

There are three popular meanings of panchānga:

1. In Vedic astrology

Jyotisha

Hindu astrology , also Jyotish or Jyotisha, from Sanskrit , from "light, heavenly body") is the ancient Indian system of astronomy and astrology...

, meaning "five attributes" of the day. They are:

Tithi
Tithi
In vedic timekeeping, a tithi is a lunar day, or the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between the moon and the sun to increase by 12°. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours. There are 30 tithis in each lunar month, named...

- Ending Moment (EM) of elongation of the Moon, the lunar day , the angular relationship between Sun and Moon ( Apparent Moon minus Apparent Sun). One Tithi equals 12 degree difference between Moon and Sun.
Nakshatra
Nakshatra
Nakshatra is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology. A nakshatra is one of 27 sectors along the ecliptic...

- EM of asterism of the day, that is, the stellar mansion in which Moon is located for an observer at the center of the Earth. One Nakshatra equals 13 degrees:20 minutes. There are 27 Nakshatra in 360 degrees.
Yoga - EM of the angular relationship between Sun and Moon( Apparent Moon plus Apparent Sun). One Yoga equals 13 degrees:20 minutes. There are 27 Yogas in 360 degrees.
Karana
Karana
Karana may refer to:*Karana dance, poses in classical Indian dance*Karana, the main character in Scott O'Dell's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins, who is based on the historical Juana Maria*Karrana, a village in Bahrain...

- EM of half of a Tithi. One equals 6 degree difference between Moon and Sun.
Var weekday
Weekday
Weekday may either refer to only a day of the week which is part of the workweek thus not part of the weekend or to any of the days of the week.-Weekday as a day of the workweek:In most countries the days of the workweek are:# Monday# Tuesday# Wednesday...

the seven weekdays.

Monier-Williams gives "solar day" instead of Rāśi as the fifth limb. Some people enumerate Vār (days of the week) instead. Vār or solar days do not involve intricate computations, unlike EM of Rāśi; however, in the Hindu system the five elements only constitute the five limbs of the Panchāngam.

2. An almanac

Almanac

that contains the astronomical / astrological daily details also came to be called a panchānga because of the importance of five attributes.

3. Panchānga-pūjan, which is a part of Ganesh-Ambika-pūjan.

In Vedic Astrology, the basic tenet of astrology was integrated with celestial events and thus was born various branches of Vedic Astrology and the Panchānga. In simple terms, “ Panchānga” means the Day, Nakshatra (Star), Thithi, Yoga and Karana every day. It is a mirror of the sky. The document used as Panchānga has evolved over the last 5000 years. The theories propounded in the two scriptures, Surya Siddhanta and Grahalaghava formed the basis for the plethora of calendars or Panchāngas in the past in different regions of the country - a culturally complex system.

The five Angas or parts of Panchānga are elaborated in the following paragraphs but before that the composition of the Samvatsara OR Years (60 Years cycle), Varsha or Year and Masa or month are first explained, as these important calendar events are part of every Panchānga. All the components of Panchanga are relevant in Predictive Astrology, Prasna Shastra (electional astrology), etc.

All followers and practitioners of Vedic astrology must necessarily know how to read a Panchānga and in this context it is necessary to know the Terminology used in the Panchānga for different time slots of the Day. Panchāngas are also published in English as Ephemeris - The Lahiris Ephemeris is most widely used, which gives all the details as contained in a traditional Panchānga published in Sanskrit or Hindi and all the regional languages of the country.

There are several forms of reckoning the Varsha or Year based on Solar Entry (Solar Ingress), Lunar entry, Jupiter entry in a sign or the Julian calendar of starting the year from the first of January, but the most widely accepted practice in India is the Samvatsara, a 60 years cycle based on Solar entry. Each zodiacal sign is represented by 5 years starting from Pramadi and the Sixty years are equally distributed in successive order among the 12 signs (Rasis) starting from Mesha (Aries) and ending in Meena (Pisces).

Varsha or the year in astrological parlance is the solar calendar of year and months, which starts with Sun entering Aries (Mesha Rasi) and completing a full circle of the 12 zodiacal signs in a period of 12 months. The reckoning is done in a cycle of 60 years as explained above.

There are two kinds of Lunar months followed in India - the New Moon ending called the Amanta or Sukladi system and the Full Moon ending (covering one Full Moon to the next) called the Purnimanta system. But it is the lunar months Full Moon reckoned), which are reckoned in predictive astrology, and each represents the name of the star on Full moon day of the Solar months. The twelve Lunar months starting from Chaitra along with the names of the Solar months are given below.

No.	Lunar Month	Solar Month
1	Chitta	Chaitra
2	Visaka	Vyshaka
3	Jyeshta	Jyeshta
4	Poorvashada	Ashada
5	Sravana	Shravana
6	Poorvabhadra	Bhadrapadha
7	Aswini	Aswija
8	Kartika	Kartika
9	Mrigashira	Margashira
10	Pushyami	Pushya
11	Makha	Magha
12	Uttaraphalguni	Phalguna

In VedIc astrology, the basic tenets of astrology were integrated with celestial events with Vara or Week day and thus was born the Muhurtha Astrology or Electional Astrology.

Thithi or Lunar day is an important concept in Hindu Astrology. It means lunation. There are thirty Thithis in a Lunar month distributed in the 360 degrees of the Zodiac and each Thithi is completed when the longitude of the Moon gains exactly 12 degrees or its multiple on that of the Sun. By name there are only 15 thithis repeating in the two half’s of the month – Shukla 1 to Shukla 15 (known as Poornima or Full Moon) and Krishna 1 to 15 (known as Amavasya or New Moon). In astrological parlance Thithi has great significance in the fact that each Thithi from 1 to 14 in both Pakshas has what are called Daghda rasis or Burnt Rasis – two rasis for each Thithi except Chaturdasiwhich has four Daghda rasis. But New Moon and Full Moon have no Dagdha Rasis. The Thithis are divided into five groups as under.

Nanda (Ananda or Joyous) thithi - Prathipada (1st), Shasti (6th) and Ekadashi (11th);
Bhadra (Arogya or Mangala or Healthy) thithis on – Dwitiya (2nd), Saptami (7th) and Dwadashi (12th);
Jaya (Victory) Thithi –Tuesday- Tritiya (3rd), Ashtami (8th ) and Trayodashi (13th);
Rikktha (Loss or Nashta) Thitihis – Saturday - Chathurthi (4th) Navami (9th) and Chaturdasi (14th);
Poorna (Sampoorna - Full Moon or New Moon) Thithis –Thursday Panchami (5th), Dashami (10th) and Amavasya (New Moon) or Poornima.

A unique Vedic system is followed in Muhurtha Astrology, Horary Astrology and predictive astrology, which envisages grouping of Nakshtaras (Stars) into nine sub-groups. Each sub-group covers three stars and has a specific name of ‘Tara’ proceeded by a word defining benefic or malefic nature. These are found to be extremely useful in Vedic Astrology which is widely practiced in India. The nine Taras (Stars)by their individual names are elaborated below.

Janma (Birth) Tara – The Janma (birth star) Nakshatra, the 10th from Janma nakshatra also known as Karna nakshatra and the 19th from Janma nakshatra known as Adhana nakshatra constitute this Tara.
Sampat Tara – The 2nd the 11th and the 20th Nakshatras counted from Janma nakshatra constitute this Tara.
Vipat Tara – The 3rd, the 12th and the 21st stars counted from Janma nakshatra constitute this Tara.
Kshema Tara – The 4th, the 13th and the 22nd Nakshatras counted from the janama nakshatra constitute this Tara.
Pratyak Tara – The 5t, the 14th, and the 23rd nakshatras from Janma nakshatra constitutes this Tara.
Sadhaka Tara – The 6th, the 15th, and the 24th nakshatras from Janma nakshatra constitutes this tara.
Nidhana Tara – The 7th, the 16th , and the 25th nakshatras from the Janma nakshatra constitutes this tara.
Mitra Tara – The 8th, the 17th and the 26th nakshatras from Janma nakshatra constitute this tara.
Ati or Parama Mitra Tara – The 9th, the 18th and the 27th nakshatras from Janma nakshatra constitutes this tara.

Usage

The basic purpose of Hindu Panchāngam is to check various Hindu festivals and auspicious time (election- Muhurta). In the Hindu system of election, various element of Panchāngam constitute auspicious and inauspicious moments (Yogas) by combination of weekday-Tithi, weekday-constellation, weekdays-Tithis-constellations. In addition, individual weekdays, Tithis, constellations, Yoga and Karanas have been prescribed for specific activities which fructify during their currency.

For selecting an auspicious moment Panchāngam Shuddhi (purified-time) is fundamental. In addition favourable transits, purified ascendant, absence of malefic yogas, favourable Dasha (Hindu progression), name of doer, propitiations, chanting of Mantras, place of activity, social customs, omens, mode of breathing are also examined.

Overview

Etymology

Usage

See also