What is Panchang?

Panchang (also spelled Panchangam) is the Hindu almanac — a five-limbed system of tracking time used for thousands of years across Hindu communities. "Pancha" means five, "Anga" means limb. Together, the five elements form a complete picture of each day's celestial energy.

THE 5 ELEMENTS OF PANCHANG
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Tithi — Lunar Day
One Tithi = 12° angle between Sun and Moon. 30 Tithis per lunar month. Determines auspiciousness of the day, festivals, and vrat dates.
Nakshatra — Lunar Mansion
The Moon's position among 27 lunar mansions (nakshatras), each spanning 13°20'. Determines the quality of the day for specific activities.
Yoga — Luni-Solar Day
Combined longitude of Sun + Moon, divided into 27 equal parts. Some Yogas (Siddhi, Shubha) are auspicious; others (Vishkambha, Atiganda) are to be avoided.
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Karana — Half Tithi
Half of a Tithi. 11 types: 7 moveable (Chara) and 4 fixed (Sthira). Vishti Karana (called "Vinchhudo" in Gujarat) is inauspicious.
Vara — Weekday
Each day of the week is governed by a planet: Sunday (Sun), Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Mars), Wednesday (Mercury), Thursday (Jupiter), Friday (Venus), Saturday (Saturn).

How is Panchang Calculated?

ShubhPanchang uses the Drik Ganita (observational astronomy) method — the same used by drikpanchang.com. This is more accurate than the older Surya Siddhanta tables.

Ayanamsa: Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) — the standard for Vedic astrology, which converts tropical to sidereal zodiac positions. This matches drikpanchang.com exactly.

Gujarati Panchang — What Makes It Different

  • Amanta tradition: Month ends on Amavasya (new moon), unlike North India's Purnimanta where it ends on Purnima
  • Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas) falls the day after Diwali — Kartik Shukla Pratipada
  • Distinctive dialect names: "Agiyaras" not "Ekadashi", "Amas" not "Amavasya", "Poonam" not "Purnima"
  • Uttarayan (Jan 14) is the most celebrated festival unique to Gujarat
  • Bhadarvi Poonam (Ambaji Yatra) is a uniquely Gujarati pilgrimage date

Why Trust ShubhPanchang?

Daily automated validation
Every night we compare against drikpanchang.com and prokerala.com for 5 cities.
100% accuracy
Tithi and Nakshatra match rate vs drikpanchang: 100% across 30-day × 5-city tests.
Open methodology
We explain exactly how we calculate — no black box. Drik Ganita + Lahiri Ayanamsa + Amanta tradition.
Today's PanchangChoghadiyaMuhurat 2026Ekadashi 2026About / Methodology