A "Panchangam" (also spelled "Panchanga" or "Panchang") is a Hindu calendar
and almanac, a traditional system of timekeeping that presents important
dates and calculations in a tabulated form, focusing on the five key
aspects of a day: lunar day (tithi), half-day (karana), constellation
(nakshatra), angles of Sun and Moon (yoga), and solar weekday (vara).
Meaning of "Panchangam":
The Sanskrit word "Panchangam" literally means "having five limbs" or "five
attributes".
Tithi (Lunar Day): The phase of the moon in its orbit around the Earth.
Karana (Half-Day): Half of a lunar day, used to determine auspicious and
inauspicious periods.
Nakshatra (Constellation): The lunar constellation that the moon is passing
through.
Yoga: The angular position of the sun and moon, used to determine
auspicious or inauspicious periods.
Vara (Weekday): The day of the week.
Purpose:
Panchangam is used to determine auspicious timings (Muhurta) for various
activities like marriages, housewarmings, starting new businesses, and
religious ceremonies.
Tithi (the lunar day): According to the Hindu calendar, Tithi is considered
a day. It is the phases of the moon, which completes with every 12 degrees
difference between Sun and Moon. There is a total of 30 tithis in a month.
Generally, every auspicious ceremony is scheduled after consulting for a
good tithi.
Karana: It is half of the Tithi. There are a total of 11 Karanas. Some of
them have good quality and some of them have bad attributes.
Vaar (the day of the week): It is the seven days of the week. Sunday was
known as the day of the Sun, Monday- Moon, Tuesday- Mars, Wednesday-
Mercury, Thursday- Jupiter, Friday- Venus, and Saturday known as the day of
Saturn.
Nakshatra: In Vedic astrology there are a total of 27 Nakshatras in 360
degrees. Nakshatra is calculated by knowing the position of the Moon at the
time of birth.
Yoga: Yoga is derived by adding the longitude of the Sun and the Moon. Some
Yogas are considered as very auspicious whereas others are considered
inauspicious for any good thing or work.
Astrologers calculate the planetary position of a person’s birth chart by
matching with the help of Panchang and look for the good time, which will
be favourable to the person. It is a very traditional way to perform
astrology to guide a person correctly and find success in life.
Thithi: Each Thithi is defined by the relative distance between Sun and
Moon. So to cover the 30 days of a month, we split it into 15 days of each
fortnight calling them Paksha - Shukla Paksha (fortnight of waxing moon)
and Krishna Paksha (fortnight of waning moon). Now splitting 15 days
equally means the angle between Sun and moon has to change by 12 degrees.
This movement takes somewhere between 19 to 26 hours based on various
astronomical occurrences.
Nakshatra: Mentioning a Nakshatra (star) as reference to a day means naming
the star nearest to the Moon. There are 27 nakshatras across the sky.
Considering a complete rotation of the moon around earth as a circle,
dividing 360 degrees into 27 nakshatras gives 13 degrees and 20 mins for
each nakshatra. The moon takes a bit more time to change from one nakshatra
to another.
Now both these Thithi and nakshatra were basic references to days. Slowly
usage of both systems were clubbed to arrive at auspicious and inauspicious
moments. But finally both these systems have become basics of the lunar
calendar and are both referred to simultaneously and both are pretty much
consistent and go hand in hand. But there is no rule as to what needs to be
used when observing birthdays or any other auspicious celebrations. So
basically, it is your choice. It is based on Nakshatra for the Day, Subject
to following conditions The Star should be available (moon should be in the
star) for at-least 8 Nazhikas. i.e. approx 3hrs 10min. After the sun rises.
if this is not the case, then the previous day is observed. If a star
appears 2 times a panchanga month (don't confuse it with Gregorian month),
then the second star is used.
Thithi being only for dead people means that we are trying to do the
rituals on the day the dead person left their physical form. That
particular day is referred to as the Thithi my relative left this world or
his body. In common people's language it has started to sound like Thithi
is only for dead people.
Ramanavami and Krishna Janmashtami are the thithis when they were born.
Also to add Rama was born in Punarvasu Nakshatra and Krishna was born in
Rohini Nakshatra. Just so if you want to follow nakshatra system to
celebrate. Why we celebrate these festivals on thithi- it is again that we
are continuing what was always being done.
KR A HALF BAKED WROTE THAT TITHI FOR DEATH AND NAKSHATRA FOR BIRTH,AS
IF IT IS SET RULES BY SASTRA; IF THAT IS THE BASIS, THEN WHY YOU CELEBRATE
RAMA’S AND KRISHNA’S BIRTH DAYS ON THITHI AND NOT IN THEIR STARS AS SOME
SECT DOES EVEN TODAY? THE INTELLIGENT PRESUMED FOOL SHALL REPLY.
The lunar day at the time of an individual's birth is termed as birth
tithi. The specific lunar month, tithi and nakshatra (Lunar asterism)
always coexist. E.g., on the full moon day of the lunar month of
Margashirsha, the moon is in Mruga nakshatra or a nearby nakshatra. The
tithi and nakshatra at the time of birth of an individual affects the mind
of the individual thereby shaping their personality. By celebrating
birthday on the birth tithi as prescribed by Hindu Dharma and by performing
acts such as aukshan (Ritual of waving a lit lamp in front of an
individual), reciting slokas, obtaining blessings from elders, the
sattvikta of the individual’s subtle body (mind) increases. On the
contrary, by celebrating a birthday as per the Gregorian date of birth,
only the gross body gets somewhat benefited. Celebrating one’s birthday as
per western culture by blowing off candles and by cutting cake does not
reap any spiritual benefit. The regional calendar we refer to for our
day-to-day use mentions the tithi corresponding to each date. This is the
tithi which occurs at the time of sunrise on that date. However, it is not
essential that the tithi that falls during the sunrise will remain
throughout that day. Therefore, when deciding the birth tithi, one should
consider the birth tithi prevalent at the time of the birth of an infant.
For e.g., if ‘navami’ tithi exists till 1 pm on a particular day and a
baby’s birth occurs after 1 pm on that day, then its birth tithi becomes
‘dashami’. The time of the day when a particular tithi ends is given in the
almanac of the particular year or on the obverse pages of the calendar.
KR {THUS, DURING ENGLISH BIRTH DATE OR NAKSHATRA WHICH MAY EXIST
DURING THE WHOLE OR MAJOR TIME OF THE DAY, BUT THITI MIGHT BE SHUKLA WHEN
BIRTH WAS IN KRISHNA, OR THITHI MIGHT BE FOR A FEW HOURS ONLY WHEN WE MIGHT
BE CELEBRATING THE BIRTH DAY LATER THAN BY NAKSHATRA OR DATE. HENCE, WE
CELEBRATE THE GODS’ BIRTHS ONLY ON TITHI AND NOT DURING STAR; BUT IYENGARS
AND KERALA DO IT ON NAKSHATRA WHICH HAS BECOME A CUSTOM, EVEN THOUGH BIRTH
TIME MAY BE NOT EXACTLY AS RELEVANT AS THE DAY OF BIRTH.}
K RAJARAM IRS 3 4 25
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