Panchang today in Jodhpur

Reading a panchang

Tithi

Each 12° of separation between the Moon and the Sun is one tithi — 30 in a lunar month, 15 in each of the bright (Shukla) and dark (Krishna) halves. A day takes the tithi running at sunrise; sometimes a tithi never touches a sunrise (kshaya) and sometimes one spans two (vriddhi).

Nakshatra

The 27 equal lunar mansions of the zodiac, each 13°20′. The Moon crosses about one a day. Muhurat and naming lean on the nakshatra more than anything else.

Yoga

The sum of the Sun’s and Moon’s sidereal longitudes, in 27 parts of 13°20′, from Vishkumbha to Vaidhriti; Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided for auspicious work.

Karana

Half a tithi — usually two in a day. Nothing auspicious is begun in Vishti (Bhadra) karana.

Vara

The Hindu weekday runs from sunrise to the next sunrise, not from midnight.

Rahu kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika

Daylight split into eight parts, one part each by weekday. Tradition avoids them for beginning something new; ordinary work goes on.

Choghadiya and hora

Choghadiya divides day and night into eight parts each; a hora gives the ruling planet of each twelfth of the day. Both are widely used for business and travel.

Every figure comes from our own engine (VSOP87 / ELP, Lahiri ayanamsa), tested against the Swiss Ephemeris; tithi and nakshatra end times are accurate to about 2 minutes.