How we calculate the panchang

By Kulasekhar Mittapalli · Updated Oct 10, 2026

✓ 191/191 accuracy checks matched · See validation ›

Global Panchang works out every time and date for your city, on your device. This page explains the methods we use, and how we check them against leading published panchangams.

Why your city matters

The Hindu day begins at sunrise, and most observances depend on which tithi or nakshatra is in force at a particular moment: sunrise, midday, dusk, midnight or moonrise. Those moments happen at different instants in Dallas, London and Hyderabad, so the same festival can fall on different calendar days. In the Americas and Europe a date is the same as India's or a day earlier; in Southeast Asia and Australia it is the same or a day later. A calendar printed for India cannot be right everywhere, which is why we calculate for your exact location.

The sun: sunrise, sunset and the day's divisions

Sunrise and sunset use the NOAA solar-position formulas for your coordinates, with the traditional panchang convention: the moment the centre of the Sun's disc is seen on the horizon (refraction included), as in priests' printed panchangams. Times are shown in your local time zone including daylight saving time. In Settings you can switch to the astronomical (top-edge) sunrise or to the centre without refraction; Rahu Kalam, muhurtams and other timings follow your choice.

Timings derived from sunrise and sunset

The moon: tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and rashi

Positions of the Sun and Moon come from Astronomy Engine, an open-source astronomy library accurate to well under a minute of arc. Sidereal positions use the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa, the standard in Indian panchangams, as a linear model (23.8634° at J2000, increasing 50.2788″ a year) whose constant is calibrated so that the five 2026 sankranti moments we checked fall within a minute of leading published panchangams. Transition times (when a tithi, nakshatra, yoga or karana ends) are found by searching for the exact moment the angle crosses its boundary, not by interpolating from a table.

• Tithi: the Moon's angle ahead of the Sun, in 12° steps (30 tithis).
• Nakshatra: the Moon's sidereal position in 27 parts of 13°20'.
• Yoga: the sum of the Sun's and Moon's sidereal positions in 27 parts.
• Karana: half a tithi (6° steps), with the four fixed karanas in their traditional places.
• Moon and Sun sign: sidereal position in 30° signs.
• Month: Telugu and English show the amanta (new-moon) month, Hindi the purnimanta (full-moon) month, and Tamil the solar month and day, which starts on the day the Sun enters a new sign if that happens before local sunset.

Fasting days

Festivals

Each festival is defined by its lunar month, its tithi and the time of day that decides it, the way traditional panchangams do: for example Ganesh Chaturthi by Chaturthi at midday, Deepavali by Amavasya at dusk, Janmashtami by Ashtami at midnight, and Vijayadashami by Dashami in the afternoon. Makar Sankranti follows the Sun's entry into Makara; Tamil festivals such as Puthandu, Thai Pongal and Aadi Perukku follow the Tamil solar calendar; Thaipusam, Panguni Uthiram and Karthigai Deepam follow their nakshatra within the Tamil month.

Day quality

The "Day quality" line on the Today screen applies classical panchanga rules (as in Muhurta Chintamani) the same way every day. It describes how a day is traditionally considered for new beginnings; it is not a personal prediction. Each element in force gets +1 (favourable), 0 (neutral) or −1/−2 (avoided), and the day is rated in two halves, sunrise to midday and midday to sunset, at each half's midpoint: a total of 3 or more is Good, 1–2 Mixed, 0 or less Not favourable for new beginnings.

"Good for" suggestions come from the weekday and the nakshatra's class (for example, a fixed nakshatra suits house matters and long-term work). Rahu Kalam and Yamaganda are always listed under Avoid. These are general rules; for a specific event, a personal muhurtam from your priest also considers your own birth star.

Reference validation

The methods above are our own calculation. Separately, we compare the output with leading published panchangams for the same cities and dates. Agreement shows that we apply the same conventions; it is a cross-check, not proof that either source is the absolute truth. Where we could not reproduce a reference date reliably, we leave the observance out rather than guess.

The sample: 2026 dates for New York, Delhi, Berlin and Lancaster (California), wherever reference data was published. 191 of 191 individual checks match. Every row is listed on the accuracy checks page.

Known differences and limits

• Times are shown to the minute (seconds are dropped), in your local time zone using the standard IANA time-zone rules for daylight saving time.
• Close to the poles, where the Sun may not rise or set on some days, sunrise-based timings cannot be calculated and the app says so; the calendar feed is limited to latitudes within 66°.
• Panchangams define sunrise slightly differently, so you may see differences of a few minutes from your family panchangam or temple.
• Traditions differ: Smarta and Vaishnava Ekadashi can be a day apart, and some festivals have regional dates. We show both where it matters.
• Holi and Holika Dahan are not shown yet: in 2026 their date in India depends on Bhadra and a lunar eclipse, which we do not yet model reliably.
• Varjyam and Amrit Kalam: each lasts 4 ghatis (one fifteenth of the nakshatra) and starts a fixed number of ghatis into the nakshatra, by the traditional table (Moola uses the 56-ghati varjyam). Shown in the detailed monthly calendar.
• Guru and Shukra moudhyami (combustion): Shukra while within 10 degrees of the Sun; Guru from 10 degrees before conjunction until 12 degrees after.

Find a muhurtam (draft rules)

For each day in the range, the finder looks for a window inside the Indian day (sunrise to next sunrise for weddings and gruha pravesam, sunrise to sunset for the others) where the nakshatra suits the event, and keeps out Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda, Gulika, Durmuhurtam, Varjyam, Vishti karana, Rikta tithis (Chaturthi, Navami, Chaturdashi), Amavasya, Vyatipata and Vaidhriti yogas, and any Chandrashtamam of the people chosen. Every person chosen must have a tara that is not Vipat, Pratyak or Naidhana. Weddings and gruha pravesam also need a suitable lagna (fixed signs for gruha pravesam and business) and are skipped during Guru or Shukra moudhyami and in adhika masa.

• Wedding: Rohini, Mrigashira, Magha, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati. Not on Tuesday; not in Ashadha, Bhadrapada or Pausha.
• Gruha pravesam: Rohini, Mrigashira, Uttara Phalguni, Chitra, Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati. Not on Sunday or Tuesday; only in Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Kartika, Margashirsha, Magha, Phalguna.
• New vehicle: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Revati.
• Business start: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigashira, Pushya, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati; fixed lagna.
• Naming ceremony: the gentle and fixed nakshatras (Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigashira, Punarvasu, Pushya, the Uttaras, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Revati).
• Aksharabhyasam: Ashwini, Mrigashira, Ardra, Punarvasu, Pushya, Purva Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Purva Ashadha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Revati; Shukla paksha preferred.

Weekday, tithi, paksha, the other inauspicious yogas, janma tara and Chandrabalam lower the score rather than rule a day out. Against a leading published panchangam's 2026 Griha Pravesh list for New Delhi (November–December, 14 dates), the general rules (no people chosen) find 13 of the 14 dates. These are draft rules for review; traditions differ, so please confirm the final muhurtam with your priest.

This is for devotional and informational use. For weddings, griha pravesham and other important muhurtams, please confirm with your priest or a trusted panchangam.

© 2026 Global Panchang. All rights reserved. Calculations use Astronomy Engine (MIT licence). For general information only; it may contain errors and is not religious, astrological or medical advice. Always confirm important dates and muhurtams with your priest or temple. See the disclaimer and terms.