Understanding Panchang
पंचांग को समझना
A book for people who have zerobackground in astronomy or astrology, but want to understand — really understand — what tithi, nakshatra, choghadiya, and muhurta mean, where they come from, and how to read a daily panchang.
How to read this
- Start at the beginning. Each chapter builds on the previous one. If you skip ahead you will hit a word you do not know.
- Take it slow. A chapter a day is plenty. Look at the figure, read the paragraph, look at the figure again.
- Cross-check with the tool. When a chapter introduces a concept, open the daily panchang and find that concept on a real day.
Book 1 — Panchang
14 chapters- —Foreword — Why this bookप्राक्कथन — यह पुस्तक क्यों
Who this book is for, what we will cover, and the difference between astronomy and astrology.
- 1Time and the Skyकाल और आकाश
How the Sun, Moon, and Earth move — and why a single 'day' actually has several different definitions.
- 2Tithi — The Lunar Dayतिथि — चन्द्र दिवस
The 12° Sun–Moon angle, the 30 tithis, Shukla and Krishna paksha, and the Jain udaya-tithi 6-ghati rule.
- 3Vara — The Weekdayवार — सप्ताह का दिन
Why we have seven days, how each is ruled by a graha, and the connection to the hora system.
- 4Nakshatra — The 27 Lunar Mansionsनक्षत्र — 27 चन्द्र-मंडल
How the Moon's monthly path is divided into 27 segments, their symbols, and what each one carries.
- 5Yoga — Sun + Moon Combinedयोग — सूर्य और चन्द्र का संयोग
The 27 yogas formed from the combined longitude of Sun and Moon.
- 6Karana — Half a Tithiकरण — आधी तिथि
The 11 karanas, the four fixed and seven moving, and the role of Bhadra.
- 7Rashi and Nakshatraराशि और नक्षत्र
The 12 rashis, how the 27 nakshatras map onto them, and the idea of padas (quarters).
- 8The Nine Grahasनवग्रह
Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu, Ketu — what each one signifies.
- 9Time Units — Ghati, Pal, Muhurta, Praharकाल-मान — घटी, पल, मुहूर्त, प्रहर
How traditional Indian time units stack up, and how they map to the modern 24-hour clock.
- 10Choghadiya — Eight Periods of Day and Nightचौघड़िया — दिन-रात के आठ काल
Where the seven names come from, how the day and night sequences differ, and how to use them.
- 11Muhurta, Rahu Kaal, and the Daily Time Mapमुहूर्त, राहु काल और दैनिक काल-नक्शा
The 30 muhurtas, Abhijit, Brahma muhurta, Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika.
- 12Auspicious and Inauspicious Combinationsशुभ-अशुभ योग
Tripushkar, Dwipushkar, Amrit Siddhi, Sarvarth Siddhi, Panchak, Bhadra.
- 13How to Read a Daily Panchangदैनिक पंचांग कैसे पढ़ें
A real day, walked through end-to-end using the Pramanik Panchang tool.
Book 2 — Reading a Kundli
Once we are comfortable with panchang, we will move to birth charts — chart types (Lagna, Rashi, Navamsa), the twelve houses, planetary dasha, and how to actually read a kundli.