This is an article series. Please read all previous articles before reading this article. The URLs for all previous articles are located in the SPECIAL THOUGHTS section.
Continuing on the topic of Panchaanga, let’s learn to use the “Drik Panchaanga” online portal to look up some useful parameters. You can use either a computer or a handheld smartphone device.
How to find the Tithi for your location:
- Go to the above portal and set your location to wherever you want to look up the data.
- Navigate to the “Month Panchang” page. If you are using a computer, then hover over the menu option “Panchang” and choose “Month Panchang”. If you are using a handheld smartphone device, then you’ll have to touch on what is popularly referred to as the “Burger” Menu (looks like 3 horizontal lines “≡”) and choose “Panchanga” > “Month Panchang”. Now, what you see is the Panchaanga for your location for the current month. If you are helping someone else who’s at a different location, then you can change the location and you’ll see the Panchaanga details for that location. If you would like to see the Panchaanga for a different month, then you can set that in the date field, which appears right next to the location field.
- Click on any day of the month. The astronomical parameters for that day will be displayed in the column to the left (if you are using a computer) or down below (if you are using a smartphone… you’ll have to scroll down to see it). You’ll see details such as Sunrise, Sunset, Moonrise, Moonset, Name of the Samvatsara, Name of the month, the current Paksha, Tithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, Karana, Sunsign and the Moonsign. Some of these need a little more explanation:
Samvatsara shows “Shaka Samvatsara” and “Vikram Samvatsara”. Personally, I do not like to refer to either of these. I usually refer to the current year in the Kaliyuga. When this article is being written, we are in the 5128th year of the Kaliyuga.
Some explanation is needed on how the months are named. There are 2 ways that the months are named, one on the basis of the position of the Sun (as seen from the Earth) and the other on the basis of the position of the Moon (again, as seen from the Earth).
The naming of the month based on the position of the Sun is referred to as Sauramaana. This has already been explained previously, but we’ll review that here again. The Sun entering a particular Raashi (as seen from the Earth) is referred to as Sankramana or Sankraanti. This marks the beginning of a month. From this point until the time when the Sun enters the next Raashi is a Maasa (month). Since Sun is the basis for this month, it is named after the Raashi that the Sun enters. For example, Sun enters Mesha Raashi and the entire month is referred to as Mesha Maasa. The current Sauramaana Maasa is shown in Drik Panchaanga as “Sunsign”.
Next, we’ll look at how the month is named based on the position of the Moon. The Moon takes much less time than the Sun to go around all 12 Raashi-s. As explained earlier, the Raashi-s are comprised of Nakshatra-s. So, the Moon will appear with a different Nakshatra each day. And we also know that the Moon waxes and wanes. So, there is also a convention to name a particular month based on the Nakshatra in which the Moon appears on the Full Moon Day. For example, if the Moon appears with Chitra Nakshatra on the Full Moon Day, then that month is referred to as Chaitra Maasa. Similarly, the month in which the Full Moon appears with Vishaakhaa Nakshatra is referred to as Vaishaakha Maasa. Along the same lines, the names of the remaining 10 months are Jyeshta, Aashaadha, Shraavana, Bhaadrapada, Aashvina, Kaarteeka, Maargashira, Pushya, Maagha, and Phaalguna.
In the Drik Panchaanga online portal, you’ll see 2 different month names. One says “Amanta Month”. This refers to the month that ends on Amaavaasya, i.e., the new moon day. Most people from South India follow Amaanta. The other says “Purnimanta Month”. This refers to the month that ends on Poornima, i.e., the full moon day. Most people from North India follow Poornimaanta. My take is that, as has been explained before, the Moon is symbolic for Jeevaatma, which takes birth, grows, and reaches full adulthood and then starts to decline and finally dies. Since the Moon is merely mimicking the cycle of birth/death that a Jeevaatma goes through, as we can see all around us, philosophically, following the “Amanta Month” seems to make more sense to me.
In summary, we are currently in the 5128th year of Kaliyuga. In Drik Panchanga, the Sunsign tells us the name of the current Sauramaana month, and the Amanta Month tells us the name of the current Chaandramaana month. Paksha tells us whether the Moon is currently waxing or waning. Tithi tells us about the day in the current Paksha. And Nakshatra gives us the name of the Nakshatra that the Moon is/was seen with in the current day. Drik Panchanga also shows the “From day/time” and “To day/time” for both Tithi and Nakshatra. It also shows the name of the Yoga, Karana (half Tithi) and Vaara (day of the week).
Please note: The accepted common standard definition of a day is from midnight to midnight. But the Vedic Panchanga considers a day to be from Sooryodaya to Sooryodaya.
Tithi Nirnaya
So, the Sun and Moon are moving at different paces on different paths. Obviously, they don’t rise and set at the same time. So, even though Drik Panchanga shows the start and end date/time for Tithi, it rarely ever coincides with Sunrise. Sometimes the Tithi ends, and the next Tithi starts, right in the middle of the day. And sometimes, a particular Tithi ends, and the next Tithi starts just very close to sunrise. So, how do we determine the Tithi for a particular day? This is what is referred to as Tithi Nirnaya.
The rule followed is… whatever Tithi lasts up to 4 Ghatika-s after Sooryodaya, at a specified location, is the Tithi for that entire day. For example, on April 10th of a certain year, Sooryodaya happens at 6:30 AM IST, and the Tithi for that day is Panchami up until 9 AM IST, then the Tithi for that entire day in Bengaluru is considered to be Panchami. However, when the date is April 10th and the time is 9 AM IST in Bengaluru, the date in the USA is still April 9th, and the time in the Eastern Time Zone is 11:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). So, in a certain place called Angelina, NY, in the USA, the Tithi is Panchami on April 9th until 11:30 PM EDT, which means the Tithi becomes Shashti past 11:30 PM EDT. Therefore, at Angelina, NY, on April 10th at Sooryodaya, the Tithi is Shashti. From the above example, you can see how the Tithi is Panchami in Bengaluru on April 10th, while it is Shashti for the same date in Angelina, NY. The above is true most of the time. This should explain why the western part of the world ends up celebrating the same festivals a day earlier than the eastern parts of the world. Very rarely they may fall on the same day, but seldom will the Western world celebrate a certain Hindu festival later than the eastern parts of the world.
Vedic Birthday
With the above information, let’s understand how birthdays are observed as per the Vedic Calendar. When a child is born, the following credentials are to be noted:
- The geographic location where the child was born (place of birth)
- The exact calendar date and time of birth at the child’s birth place
- The Raashi that the Sun was in at the date/time and place of birth (Sunsign)
- The Paksha and Tithi at the date/time and place of birth
- The Nakshatra and Raashi (Moonsign) that the Moon was seen with at the date/time and place of birth
For example, suppose someone was born on March 1st, 1970 at 2 PM IST in Bengaluru. Let’s document the above birth parameters for this person. Go to the Drik Panchanga online portal and set the location and date to the above example.
- Geographic location of birth = Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
- Calendar Date/Time of birth = March 1, 1970 at 2 PM IST
- Raashi that the Sun was in at the above date/time and place of birth (Sunsign) = Kumbha. In other words, the above person was born in Kumbha Maasa
- Paksha and Tithi at the above date/time and place of birth = Krishna Paksha, Ashtami Tithi until 7:22 PM.
- Nakshatra and Raashi (Moonsign) at the above date/time and place of birth = Anuraadha until 8:05 AM, which means the Nakshatra at 2:30 PM was Jyeshtaa and the Raashi (Moonsign) was Vrishchika.
With the above parameters, let us now try to determine the birthday for the above person in the Drik Panchanga for the year 2026. Without changing the location, change the date to March 11, 2026. You can see that the Sunsign, the Paksha, the Tithi, the Nakshatra, and the Moonsign are all the same as above. Therefore, the Vedic/astronomical birthday for the above person in 2026 was March 11. Make sense?
Take this as a homework assignment. You know where you were born and on what day at what time. Note down the above-mentioned parameters for yourself on that particular date/time and place of birth. And then determine your birthday according to the Drik Panchanga. Feel free to reach out to me if you need help. You can similarly determine the Panchanga birthdays for all your family members and loved ones. The Panchanga birthday is when all the astronomical bodies line up to the same position they were in back when you were born. And these astronomical bodies have various Devata-s associated with them. And therefore, the Panchanga birthday is the day to offer prayers, do Pooja, Aayushya Homa, and so on to express your gratitude to the ones above for all that they’ve given you in your life. Hope this helps.
Next, we’ll talk in detail about some of the Vrata-s that our great scriptures and our great Rushi-s advise us to do on specific Tithi-s and other astronomical events.
