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Panchang

The Panchang :
The Hindus follow the Panchang which is a spiritual and scientific calendar .It provides a listing of festivals, weather predictions, events, epidemics and personal fortune. The word "Panch" means five and "ang" means aspect.
Panchang is an ancient Indian Calendar system based on Astrological facts. Calculations are done based on the position and movement of the planets, stars and constellations. These are used to determine the most ideal or auspicious time for carrying out various activities like getting married, stepping into a new home, attending work for the first time, etc. The Panchang is also a readymade guide that gives us the dates of important hindu festivals. It gives the exact time when a particular task can be undertaken to reap maximum benefits. It defines a particular time of a day using the five parameters - the day, the tithi, the star, the yoga and the karana corresponding to that day.

Panchang- is it a necessity?
* Any new venture started on an appropriate tithi will fetch prosperity.
* Any deed done on the right day of the week will enhance longevity.
* Any deed done on a day with a favorable star will alleviate a person from all sorts of ill effects.
* Diseases will disappear if deeds are performed at a time with good and beneficial yoga.
* A deed done during good and beneficial karana will help in the achievement of the objective and remove hurdles and impediments.
The Panchang is a tool that can maximize the chances of your efforts yielding positive results and help you achieve your goals. You can use Panchang as a ready reckoner for important days and also to tell you the most ideal time for you to start on your ventures so you get the most out of them.

Constitution of Panchang:
The time between two consecutive risings of the sun is the Solar day .
The time between two consecutive risings of the moon is taken as Lunar Day or Tithi.
The panchang measures time in lunar months whose names reveal the secret path of stars and constellations. The face of the new moon is called "Amavasya" and it ushers in the new month. The first fortnight of the full moon is known as Shuklapaksha or "the bright half" as the moon waxes; while the dark half fortnight of the month is called Krishnapaksha during which the moon wanes. Poornima marks the end of Shuklapaksha.

Months in the lunar year according to the Panchang:
The Hindu calendar usually has 12 months each given the name of the solar month in which it begins. However there may even be 13 months as each month begins with the new moon.
When two moons occur in the same solar month, the two lunar months will both be known by the same name, but will have "adhika" placed before the name of the first month. Occasionally a solar month may occur with no moon., when this happens, the solar month is known as a "ksaya" month.
The twelve months of the lunar year correspond to the following:
۞ Chaitra (March - April)
۞ Vaisakh (April - May)
۞ Jyeshta (May - June)
۞ Aashaadh (June - July)
۞ Shravan (July - August)
۞ Bhadra (August - September)
۞ Ashwin (September - October)
۞ Kartik (October - November)
۞ Margasheersh (November - December)
۞ Paush (December - January)
۞ Maagh (January - February)
۞ Phagun (February - March)
The Days in the Lunar year are:
The Panchang lists four weeks of seven days for a lunar month, identified with planets and gods.

Panchang Name English Name Planet Name of God
Somvar Monday Moon Shiva

Mangalvar

Tuesday Mars

Ganapati, Parvati

Budhvar

Wednesday Mercury Krishna
Guruvar Thursday Jupiter

Dattaguru

Shukravar Friday Venus Lakshmi
Shanivar Saturday Saturn Hanuman
Ravivar Sunday

Sun

Sun God

 

Nakshatra:

The ecliptic is divided into 27 nakshatras, which are variously called lunar houses or asterisms. These reflect the moon's cycle against the fixed stars, 27 days and 7¾ hours. Nakshatra computation appears to have been well known at the time of the Rig Veda (2nd–1st millennium BC).

The starting point for this division is the point on the ecliptic directly opposite to the star Spica called Chitrā in Sanskrit. (Other slightly-different definitions exist.) It is called Meshādi or the "start of Aries". The ecliptic is divided into the nakshatras eastwards starting from this point.

The nakshatra-s with their corresponding regions of sky are given below, following [Basham]'s Appendix: Astronomy. As always, there are many versions with minor differences. The names on the right-hand column give roughly the correspondence of the nakshatra-s to modern names of stars. Note that nakshatra-s are (in this context) not just single stars but are segments on the ecliptic characterised by one or more stars. Hence you will find many stars mentioned for one nakshatra.

 

Ashvinī

β and γ Arietis

Bharanī

35, 39, and 41 Arietis

Krittikā

Pleiades

Rohinī

Aldebaran

Mrigashīrsha

λ, φ Orionis

Ārdrā

Betelgeuse

Punarvasu

Castor and Pollux

Pushya

γ, δ and θ Cancri

Āshleshā

δ, ε, η, ρ, and σ Hydrae

Maghā

Regulus

Pūrva Phalgunī

δ and θ Leonis

Uttara Phalgunī

Denebola

Hasta

α to ε Corvi

Chitrā

Spica

Svātī

Arcturus

Vishākhā

α, β, γ and ι Librae

Anurādhā

β, δ and π Scorpionis

Jyeshtha

α, σ, and τ Scorpionis

Mūla

ε, ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ and ν Scorpionis

Pūrva Ashādhā

δ and ε Sagittarii

Uttara Ashādhā

ζ and σ Sagittarii

Shravana

α, β and γ Aquilae

Dhanishthā

α to δ Delphinis

Shatabhishaj

γ Aquarii

Pūrva Bhādrapada

α and β Pegasi

Uttara Bhādrapada

γ Pegasi and α Andromedae

Revatī

ζ Piscium

 

An additional 28th intercalary nakshatra, Abhijit (alpha, epsilon and zeta Lyrae - Vega - between Uttarasharha and Sravana), is in between Uttarashada and Sravana. Last two (third and fourth) Padas of Uttrashada and first two (first and second) Padas of Sravana are considered to be Abhijith.

The nakshatra in which the moon lies at the time of sunrise of a day is the nakshatra for the day.

 

Vaasara:

There are seven days of the week:
۞ Ravi vāsara (Sunday)
۞ Soma vāsara (Monday)
۞ Mangala vāsara (Tuesday)
۞ Budha vāsara (Wednesday)
۞ Guru vāsara (Thursday)
۞ Shukra vāsara (Friday)
۞ Shani vāsara (Saturday)
There are many other variations of these names, using other names of the celestial bodies of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. In common language, the word 'vaasara' is replaced by 'vaara', so Friday is 'Shukravaara' etc

 

Month and year of the solar calendar:
Now that the days are defined, we shall speak of how the solar calendar reckons its months and year.
As has been previously noted, the sun is observed to travel along the ecliptic. The ecliptic is now divided into twelve parts called rāshi-s, starting from the point of Meshādi defined above and moving eastwards. The names of the rāshis correspond to those in the West, and may indicate a common Sumerian origin. Greek astronomical interchange, as in the Romaka Siddhanta, also led to a degree of homogenization. This table lists the rāshis along with their zodiac equivalents:

 

(Rashi) Saur Maas
(solar months)

Ritu
(season)

Gregorian
months

Zodiac

Mesha

Vasant

(spring)

April/May.

Aries
Vrushabha

May/June.

Taurus
Mithuna

Grishma

(summer)

June/July.

Gemini
Karka

July/Aug.

Cancer
Simha

Varsha

(monsoon)

Aug./Sept.

Leo
Kanya

Sept./Oct.

Virgo
Tula

Sharad

(autumn)

Oct./Nov.

Libra

Vrushchika

Nov./Dec.

Scorpius
Dhanu

Hemant

(autumn-winter)

Dec./Jan.

Sagittarius
Makara

Jan./Feb.

Capricornus
Kumbha

Shishir
(Winter-Spring)

Feb./Mar.

Aquarius

Meena

Mar./Apr.

Pisces

 

The day on which the sun transits into each rāshi before sunset is taken to be the first day of the month. In case the sun transits into a rāshi after a sunset but before the next sunrise, then the next day is the first day of the month. (Minor variations on this definition exist.)
The days are then labeled 1, 2, 3…. till the first day of the next month.
Thus we get twelve months with varying lengths of 29 to 32 days. This variation in length occurs because the earth's orbit around the sun is an ellipse, but also because of some variability in the transit point falling before or after sunrise. The months are named by the rāshi in which the sun travels in that month.
The new year day is the first day of the month of Mesha. Currently, it occurs around April 15 on the Gregorian calendar.
This is the structure of the Hindu solar calendar.