Today's Panchang & Rahu Kaal for Your City

What is a Panchang?

Tithi (lunar day)

Each 12° the Moon gains on the Sun completes a Tithi, so a lunar month has 30: 15 in the waxing Shukla Paksha ending at Purnima, and 15 in the waning Krishna Paksha ending at Amavasya. Because the Moon's speed varies, a Tithi lasts roughly 20 to 27 hours. Most fasts and festivals are fixed by Tithi.

Nakshatra (lunar mansion)

The sidereal zodiac is split into 27 Nakshatras of 13°20′. The day's Nakshatra is the one the Moon is passing through; it changes about once a day and is central to muhurat selection.

Yoga

Add the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and Moon and divide the result into 27 parts of 13°20′. Each part is a Yoga, from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are traditionally avoided for auspicious work.

Karana (half Tithi)

Each Tithi has two Karanas of 6°, giving 60 a month. Seven movable Karanas repeat eight times; four fixed ones fill the remaining slots. Vishti, also called Bhadra, is avoided for new beginnings.

Vara (weekday)

The weekday, each ruled by a planet - Sunday by the Sun, Monday by the Moon, and so on. In the Panchang the day changes at sunrise, not midnight.

Moon sign and Sun sign

Not one of the five limbs, but printed in every Panchang: the sidereal signs the Moon and Sun occupy. The Moon changes sign every two and a quarter days; the day it enters a sign decides many daily horoscopes.

How Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal are calculated

The 6 AM to 6 PM column is only the textbook illustration. Real sunrise and sunset move every day and with every city, which is why the tool recalculates them.

Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurta and Choghadiya

Why Panchang times change from city to city - and why you should never convert IST

Tithis, Yogas and Karanas at a glance

How this Panchang is calculated

Sun and Moon positions come from a published astronomical model accurate to well under an arc-minute, converted to the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa used by Indian Panchangs. Sunrise and sunset are taken when the upper edge of the Sun meets the horizon, allowing for atmospheric refraction; moonrise and moonset when the Moon's centre crosses it. Checked against published Panchang timings for New Delhi, New York, London and Sydney, sunrise, sunset, moonrise and Rahu Kaal agree to within a minute and Tithi and Nakshatra endings to within about two minutes. Times are shown in each city's clock time with daylight saving applied - New Delhi today is IST (UTC+5:30). Other cities and dates are calculated in your browser. For your personal Moon sign and Nakshatra, try the Vedic Moon sign calculator, or read more in the astrology blog.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rahu Kaal the same time everywhere?

No. Rahu Kaal is one eighth of the daytime between local sunrise and local sunset, so it depends on where you are and on the date. It is about 90 minutes long only when day and night are equal; in a northern winter it shrinks and in summer it stretches. Choose your city above to see its own Rahu Kaal.

I live in the USA, UK or Australia. Can I convert the IST timings from an Indian Panchang?

Only for Tithi, Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana ending times, which happen at the same instant everywhere. Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika, Abhijit, Brahma Muhurta, Choghadiya, the weekday and which Tithi is current at sunrise all depend on your local sunrise, so an IST time converted to your clock is simply wrong for them. Recalculate for your own city instead.

When does the Panchang day start?

At local sunrise, not midnight. A Panchang day runs from one sunrise to the next, so a Tithi that ends at 2 AM still belongs to the previous day's Panchang. That is why times after midnight carry the next calendar date, for example “up to 2:14 AM, Nov 16”.

Why does a day sometimes show two Tithis, or a Tithi that runs into tomorrow?

A Tithi lasts roughly 20 to 27 hours, so its boundaries rarely line up with sunrise. If one ends and the next begins during the same sunrise-to-sunrise day, both are listed. If a Tithi covers two sunrises it is shown as running through the full night. The same applies to Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana.

What should I avoid during Rahu Kaal?

Traditionally, new beginnings are not started in Rahu Kaal - a journey, a purchase, signing an agreement, a business launch or a ceremony. Work already under way carries on as normal. Yamaganda is avoided in the same way; traditions read Gulika Kaal differently, so follow your family's practice for it.

Why is there no Abhijit Muhurat on Wednesday?

Abhijit is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, centred on local noon, and is widely used as an all-purpose good time. By common Panchang practice it is not taken on Wednesdays, so the tool shows none that day.

What is the difference between Amanta and Purnimanta months?

Both name the same lunar months. Amanta months, used in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, end on the new Moon (Amavasya). Purnimanta months, used across most of North India, end on the full Moon (Purnima). In the Shukla (waxing) fortnight both give the same month; in the Krishna (waning) fortnight the Purnimanta month is one ahead.

Why might another Panchang differ from this one by a minute or two?

Panchangs differ slightly in the exact coordinates used for a city, whether sunrise is taken at the Sun's upper edge or its centre, and how they round to the minute. This tool uses the Lahiri ayanamsa and the upper edge of the Sun with standard atmospheric refraction, the convention of most Indian Panchangs.