Understanding Panchangam, calendar systems, traditions, and sampradayas.
Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्) means "five limbs" in Sanskrit — the five daily elements of the Hindu almanac: Tithi (lunar day), Nakshatra (lunar mansion), Yoga (sun–moon combination), Karana (half-tithi), and Vara (weekday).
Together they describe the quality of each moment for timing religious observances, festivals, muhurtas (auspicious times), and daily life.
Tithi is the lunar day — the time it takes the moon to move 12° ahead of the sun. There are 30 Tithis in a lunar month: 15 in Shukla Paksha (waxing) and 15 in Krishna Paksha (waning). A Tithi can be shorter or longer than a solar day, so sometimes a Tithi repeats (Adhika) or gets skipped (Kshaya) in the calendar.
The ecliptic is divided into 27 Nakshatras (lunar mansions) of 13°20′ each. The moon transits one Nakshatra roughly every 24 hours. Each Nakshatra has a presiding deity, quality, and significance for muhurta selection. Some Nakshatras (Ashwini, Magha, Moola) form Ganda Mool — considered inauspicious for birth.
Yoga is computed from the sum of the sun's and moon's longitudes, divided into 27 equal parts of 13°20′ each. The 27 Yogas range from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti, with varying auspiciousness. Siddha, Amrita, and Shubha Yogas are highly auspicious; Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided for important work.
Karana is half a Tithi (6° of moon–sun separation). There are 11 Karanas — 4 fixed (Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna) and 7 repeating (Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija, Vishti/Bhadra). Bhadra Karana is considered inauspicious for starting new work.
Vara is the weekday — Sunday (Ravivar) through Saturday (Shanivar). Each Vara is ruled by a graha (planet) and carries specific significance for different types of activities. In English locale, the app displays familiar weekday names; in other locales, the Sanskrit names (Somavara, Mangalavara, etc.) are used.
Rahu Kalam is an inauspicious 90-minute period each day ruled by Rahu. It is universally avoided for starting new ventures, travel, or important ceremonies. It falls at different times on different weekdays and varies by location (calculated from local sunrise to sunset).
Abhijit is a short auspicious window around solar noon — roughly the 8th Muhurta of the day. It is considered powerful enough to neutralise many inauspicious combinations. However, it is traditionally omitted on Wednesdays because the Nakshatra Abhijit (outside the standard 27) conflicts with Budha (Mercury), the lord of Wednesday.
Choghadiya (चौघड़िया, "four ghatikas") is a North Indian system that divides daylight and night into eight segments each. Each segment is named after a quality — Amrit, Kaal, Shubh, Rog, Udyog, Char, Labh, and Vaar — determined by the weekday and the segment's position. It is primarily used in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and other North Indian traditions.
Gowri Panchangam is the South Indian equivalent of Choghadiya, used in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam traditions. The day is divided into eight periods named Soram, Visham, Rogam, Amirdham, Uthi, Laabam, Sugam, and Dhanam. Amirdham (nectar), Laabam (gain), Sugam (happiness), and Dhanam (wealth) are auspicious; Soram, Visham, and Rogam are avoided.
Nalla Neram (good time) marks the Gowri auspicious windows that also avoid Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, and Gulika Kalam.
This refers to how month boundaries are defined — not whether the moon matters (it always does for Tithi and Nakshatra).
Solar traditions (Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Malayalam): A new month begins when the sun enters a new rashi (zodiac sign). Month names follow the rashi — Chithirai = Mesha, Vaikasi = Vrishabha, etc.
Lunar traditions (North Indian, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi): A new month begins at the new moon (Amanta system) or the full moon (Purnimanta system). Month names follow the Nakshatra near which the full moon falls.
All traditions use lunar Tithi for religious observances — Ekadashi, Pradosham, Amavasya, Pournami, festivals. The Solar/Lunar label only affects how months are named and counted.
Kollavarsham (or Kolla Varsham) is Kerala's own solar calendar counted from 825 CE, corresponding to a significant historical era. The year currently runs about 825 years behind the Gregorian year. Month boundaries are solar (when the sun enters each rashi), with Kerala month names: Chingam, Kanni, Thulam, Vrischikam, etc.
The Samvatsara is a 60-year named cycle used in Telugu, Kannada, and many South Indian traditions. The current year Vishvavasu (2025–26) is followed by Parabhava (2026–27). Each Samvatsara has a character and significance in the Panchangam. The cycle anchors to the Shaka era and repeats every 60 years.
Tradition is your regional calendar system — which language/state you follow for month names, the era year, new year date, and whether months are solar or lunar. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, North Indian, Bengali, etc.
Sampradaya is your religious lineage — it affects which Ekadashi you observe (Smartha vs Vaishnava), specific festival dates, and muhurta rules. They are independent: a Tamil Iyengar uses the Tamil Solar calendar (tradition) but Vaishnava Ekadashi rules (Shrivaishnava sampradaya). A Kannada Madhwa uses the Kannada Lunar calendar but Madhwa observances.
Ekadashi (11th Tithi) falls twice a month. When Ekadashi Tithi spans two calendar days, Smartha observers fast on the first day, while Vaishnava observers (Madhwa, Iyengar, Gaudiya, etc.) fast on the second (called Vaishnava Ekadashi or Dwadashi Smartha).
This single difference can shift fasting days by one day between communities in the same household.
Both follow Madhvacharya's Dvaita Vedanta philosophy. The primary difference is the administrative lineage (peetha): Udupi Mutt is associated with the eight mathas established by Madhvacharya around the Krishna temple in Udupi, Karnataka, each taking turns in a biennial paryaya system. Uttaradi Mutt is a separate peetha headquartered in Bangalore. They follow very similar Panchangam calculations but may differ on specific festival dates.
Both are sub-schools of the Shrivaishnava tradition founded by Ramanujacharya. Vadagalai (northern school) and Tengalai (southern school) differ on the role of Sanskrit vs Tamil scriptures, the tilak mark worn on the forehead, and some festival observances. For Panchangam purposes they are nearly identical, with minor differences in specific festival timing.
Charts are built from NASA-provided planetary position data, so the positions are astronomically precise — not estimated. We use the Lahiri ayanamsa, the sidereal standard adopted by the Government of India's Calendar Reform Committee.
Construction follows classical Vedic rules: Lagna, the nine grahas, Navamsa (D9), exaltation/debilitation dignities, and the 120-year Vimshottari Dasha.
Ayanamsa is the angular gap between the sidereal (star-based, Vedic) zodiac and the tropical (season-based) zodiac. It is what converts raw planetary positions into Vedic Rashi and Nakshatra. Different schools measure this gap slightly differently, which can occasionally shift a planet near a sign boundary.
Lahiri — the official Government of India standard and the most widely used; our default. Choose this if you are unsure.
Raman — B. V. Raman's value, a few arc-minutes from Lahiri; used by followers of the B. V. Raman school.
Krishnamurti (KP) — used in the Krishnamurti Paddhati system, popular for precise stellar / sub-lord prediction and horary (Prashna) astrology.
Every date is scored on the five limbs of the Panchangam — Tithi, Vara, Nakshatra, and Yoga — derived from NASA-provided Sun and Moon positions, then evaluated against the classical electional rules of Parasara Hora Shastra.
When you add birth details, it applies the traditional Tarabala and Chandrabala tests (plus bride & groom Janma-Nakshatra checks for marriage) — the same factors a purohit weighs.
The Life Report is a single lifelong reading on the Kundali page that ties together your natal chart, the whole-life Vimśottarī daśā timeline, the current gochara (transits), and the year's Varshaphal — read in the classical Parashari sequence. It adds a bhava-by-bhava natal narrative, five life-area assessments (Career, Relationships, Health, Finances, Spirituality) judged by the Phaladeepika three-pillar model, and traditional remedies for afflicted planets.
Every line of prose is composed from the classical effect tables keyed on your actual placements, so different charts read differently — it is not a one-size-fits-all paragraph. The interpretive text is in English by default (the same as the rest of the app's readings) and can be translated into a reviewed language on request, while labels and headings are translated. It is classical guidance for reflection, not a prediction or guarantee.
Varshaphal is the classical Tajika (annual) system of Vedic astrology. Each year a fresh chart — the Varsha Pravesh — is cast for the exact moment the Sun returns to its birth position, and read with its own toolkit: the Muntha, the year-lord (Varshesha) chosen by Panchavargiya Bala, the Tajika yogas (Ithasala, Ishrafa and the rest), the Sahams (sensitive points), the Mudda dasha, and monthly Masa-praveśa charts.
It derives from the Tājika Nīlakanṭhī (Nīlakaṇṭha, 1587), with B. V. Raman's Varshaphal: The Hindu Progressed Horoscope used where the original is terse. The chart is computed from the same NASA-provided positions as the Kundali, so the astronomy is identical across the app.
Tajika yogas describe how two planets exchange light through their aspect in the annual (Varshaphal) chart — the core predictive tool of Tājika astrology. The key pair: Ithasala is an applying aspect (a matter coming to fruition this year, promises kept), and Ishrafa is its separating counterpart (a matter that has peaked and is now passing). Nakta has the Moon broker a result between two planets that do not directly aspect, and Kamboola strengthens an Ithasala in which the Moon takes part.
They derive from the Tājika Nīlakanṭhī (Nīlakaṇṭha, 1587); aspects are qualified by Deeptamsha orbs and classed as applying or separating.
Compatibility uses the standard 36-guna Ashtakoota (eight-fold) Melapak system, baby-name syllables follow the Nakshatra-Pada tradition, and gemstone/Rudraksha guidance follows the Lagna-lord method.
All planetary inputs (Rashi, Nakshatra, Lagna) come from the same NASA-provided calculation engine as the Kundali, so the astronomy is consistent across the whole app.