what is Panchang???

PANCHANG (CALENDAR)



Although it is essential to have the knowledge of arithmetical calculations to understand Indian Astrology, but for the benefit of the common people, astrologers have devised a calendar (Panchang) with the help of which, and simple arithmetical calculations, one can have knowledge about planets, good or bad for him.

It is not necessary for a common man to be an astrologer in order to understand the Panchanga. But for a smooth and systematic running of life, one should know how to interpret 'Phalita'.

Panchang means five organs to understand the Phalita. These five things are –


Tithi (Date)
Nakshatra (Group of stars)
Yoga (an auspicious moment)
Karan (Half of the part of Tithi)
Vaar (days of the week)
TITHI

Tithi is considered as the first phase or portion (Kala) of the 16 phases of the Moon. The 15 days, commencing from Amavasya (the last day of the dark half of a lunar month) to Purnima (Full moon), are called the Tithis of the Shukla-Paksha (brighter phase) and the days commencing from Purnima to Amavasya are called Krishna Paksha (darker phase).

In Indian Astrology, the calculation of the Tithis starts from Pratipada (The first day in each half of the lunar month) of the Shukla-Paksha. They are:
Pratipada.
Dwitiya.
Tritiya.
Chaturthi.
Panchami.
Shashthi.
Saptami.
Ashtami.
Navami.
Dashami.
Ekadasi.
Dwadashi.
Trayodashi.
Chaturdashi.
Purnima.Similarly, in the Krishna-Paksha, starting from Pratipada till Chaturdashi, all the dates are same; the only difference being the fifteenth day which is Amavasya (Moonless night)

These fifteen days have been given five names.


NANDA BHADRA JAYA RIKTA PURNA
1st day 2nd day 3rd day 4th day 5th day
6th day 7th day 8th day 9th day 10th day
11th day 12th day 13th day 14th day 15th-30th
Friday Wednesday Tuesday Saturday Thursday

If the above mentioned days falls on the given Tithis it is considered as auspicious and the work taken in hand in successfully accomplished. For example (if, 1st, 6th 11th falls on Friday, 2nd, 7th, 12th falls on Wednesday etc.)

INAUSPICIOUS DAYS – The following days (Tithis) are considered to be inauspicious, and there is a fear of hurdles, obstructing the accomplishment of the work. The names of these auspicious days have been given as follows:

DAGDHA
VISHA
HUTASHANThe dates are considered to be inauspicious if it falls on the following days

SUN. MON. TUE. WED. THUR. FRI. SAT.
DAGDHA 12th 11th 5th 3rd 6th 8th 9th
VISHA 4th 6th 7th 2nd 8th 9th 7th
HUTASHAN 12th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th


If 12th day and 4th day of the months falls on Sunday and 11th & 6th falls on Monday and 5th & 7th falls on Tuesday respectively, they are considered as inauspicious.

NAKSHATRA (CONSTELLATION) – A group of stars is called Nakshatra. Just as the units used for measuring the distance is miles or kilometers in the same way the space (Akash Mandal) is measured in terms of Nakshatras (group of stars). The whole space has been divided into 27 parts and each part has been given the name of Nakshatra. They are as follows
ASHWINI.
BHARANI.
KRITIKA.
ROHINI.
MRIGASHIRA.
AARDRA.
PUNARVASU.
PUSHYA.
AASLESHA.
MAGHA.
PURVA PHALGUNI.
UTTARA PHALGUNI.
HASTA.
CHITRA.
SWATI.
VISHAKHA.
ANURADHA.
JYESHTHA.
MOOLA.
POORVAASHADHA.
UTTARAASHADHA.
SHRAVANI.
DHANISTHA.
SHATABHISHA.
PURVA BHADRAPADA.
UTTARA BHADRAPADA.
REVATI.The Indian astrologers believe that the combination of the last 15 Ghati of 'Uttarashadha Nakshatra' and the first 4 Ghati of the Shravani Nakshatra i.e. 19 Ghatis in all, constitute the 'Abhijeet Nakshatra' and this particular Nakshatra is considered to be very auspicious to begin a good work. (One Ghatika is equal to 24 minutes)

PANCHAKA NAKSHATRA: The following group of five Nakshatras are considered as having five defects (Panchakadosha). They are Dhanistha, Shatabhisha, Purvabhadrapada, Uttarabhadrapada and Revati.

MOOLA NAKSHATRA: A child taking birth in this Nakshatra, which consists of Jyestha, Aashlesha, Revati, Mool, Magha and Ashwini Nakshatra are not considered as auspicious. Therefore, for the pacification of this 'Moola Nakshatra', some specific rites are performed 27th days after the birth when the same Nakshatra returns. Out of these six Nakshatras, which constitute Moola Nakshatra, Jyeshtha and Moola are called 'Gandant Moola' and Aashlesha is called as 'Sarpa Moola'.

ADHOMUKHA NAKSHATRA: As the name of this Nakshatra implies, works like digging a well, or lying a foundation is considered as auspicious. This particular Nakshatra is itself constituted by Nakshatras. They are: Moola, Aashlesha, Vishakha, Kritika, Purvaphalguni, Purvashadha, Purvabhadrapada, Bharani and Magha

DAGDHA NAKSHATRA: For commencement of any work, this Nakshatra is considered as inauspicious. Therefore, commencing any work in this Nakshatra is prohibited if the days on which, this Nakshatra falls are as under-
Sunday - Bharani
Monday - Chitra
Tuesday - Uttarashadha
Wednesday - Dhanishtha
Thursday - Uttaraphalguni
Friday - Jyeshtha
Saturday - Revati


YOGA (COMBINATIONS)
There are 27 Yogas in all. They are as under
1) VISHAKUMBHA, 2) PREETI, 3) AAYUSHMAN, 4) SAUBHAGYA, 5) SHOBHANA, 6) ATIGANDA, 7) SUKARMA, 8) DHRITI, 9) SHOOLA, 10) GAND, 11) VRIDDHI, 12) DHRUVA, 13) VYAGHAATA, 14) HARSHANA, 15) VAJRA, 16) SIDDHI, 17) VYATIPAATA, 18) VARIYAANA, 19) PARIGHA, 20) SHIVA, 21) SIDDHA, 22) SADDHYA, 23) SHUBHA, 24) SHUKLA, 25) BRAHMA, 26) INDRA, 27) VAIDHRITI.

KARANA Half of the part of a Tithi is called a Karana i.e. There are two Karanas in a Tithi. There are 11 Karanas altogether. They are: 1) BALA, 2) BAALAVA, 3) KAULAVA, 4) TAITIL, 5) GARA, 6) VANIJA, 7) VISHTI, 8) SHAKUNI, 9) CHATUSHPADA, 10) NAAGA, 11) KINSTUGHNA The first 7 of these Karanas are movable (Chara) i.e. it cannot be predetermined as to on which dates, these are going to occur, but the last 4 Karanas are fixed (Sthira), and hence can be predetermined.

VISHTIKARANA is also called 'Bhadra' and commencing any work during this time is prohibited. Bhadra is marked very clearly in every panchanga.

VAAR (DAYS)
There are 7 days i.e. Sunday (Ravivaar), Monday (Somavaar), Tuesday (Mangalvaar), Wednesday (Budhvaar), Thursday (Brihaspativaar), Friday (Shukravaar) and Saturday (Shanivaar). The counting of days begins from the sunrise of the first day to the sunrise of the second day. In astrology, this system is known as 'AHORATRA', which means day and night taken together. Omitting the first letter 'A' and the last three letters 'T','R','A', the word 'HORA' is coined from which, the English word 'HOUR' originated. There are 24 HORAS in all.
Now the question arises, why is the day coming after Sunday is named Monday, Why not other day. To understand this, we will first have to understand the positions of the planets, in the space. In astrology, the respective position of the planets are given as under –

Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon.

Therefore, Saturn is the highest or the farthest planet. Below the Saturn is Jupiter, below Jupiter is Mars, below the Mars is Sun, below the Sun is Venus, below Venus is Mercury, and below Mercury is Moon. All the planets are revolving around the Sun in their respective orbits. Since there are 24 Horas in a day combined with night, therefore, each Hora consists of an hour. The ‘Lord’ of each Hora is a planet from the nearest lower orbit.
The Lord of the first HORA is the Sun. In the beginning of the creation, the Sun was visible first of all and for that very reason, it has been considered as the lord of the first Hora and also the first day has been named after it. The next Hora is named after 'Shukra' (Venus, which is the lord of the second HORA, and whose orbit is just below the Sun. The lord of the third Hora is 'Budha' (Mercury) whose orbit is just below that of Shukra (Venus). The lord of the fourth orbit is the Moon (Chandrama), whose orbit is below that of Venus and so on. In this way, the lord of the 24th HORA is again Mercury and the Moon (Chandrama). The following chart clearly shows the positions of the planets (horizontally) in order, and the days of the week (vertically) in order. From the Hora chart, it is quite clear that the Moon is the lord of the first Hora (Hour) of the second day(Monday), hence the next day after Sunday is called Monday. Similarly, the lord of the first Hora of the third day is Mars (Tuesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fourth day is Mercury (Wednesday), the lord of the first Hora of the fifth day is Jupiter (Thursday), the lord of the first Hora of the sixth day is Venus (Friday) and the lord of the first Hora of the Seventh day is Saturn (Saturday).
Therefore, the name of the days in order are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

GENTLE DAYS: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are considered as the 'gentle' days. These days are considered auspicious for commencing any good work.

CRUEL DAYS: Tuesday, Sunday and Saturday are considered as 'cruel' days. Saturday is considered an auspicious day for undergoing operation. Thursday is considered auspicious for starting education. Wednesday is considered auspicious to start any business.