Glossary · concept
Panchang
Also written Panchanga · the Vedic almanac
The Panchang (pancha = five, anga = limb) is the traditional Hindu almanac: a daily reading of the sky in five parts.
Those five limbs are Tithi (the lunar day), Vara (the weekday), Nakshatra (the moon’s mansion among the stars), Yoga (a specific sun–moon angle), and Karana (half a tithi). Together they describe not just what day it is but what kind of day — which is why the same Gregorian date can carry a very different texture year to year.
From these five, the tradition derives the day’s auspicious and inauspicious windows — Rahu Kaal, Abhijit Muhurta, the Choghadiya — used to choose a good moment to begin things.
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