Module 4 of 5 · Mūlādhyayana

पञ्चाङ्ग-गणना

Pañcāṅga-gaṇanā

The Five Limbs of the Day

~60 min · 1 prerequisite(s)

Tithi, vāra, nakṣatra, yoga, karaṇa — the 5-limb computation that locates any moment in the sacred time-grid.

Viṣaya-sūcī · Topics
  • Tithi — lunar phase index (1–30), derived from (Moon − Sun) longitude
  • Vāra — day of the week (Sūrya-vāra → Ravi, Soma-vāra → Monday, …)
  • Nakṣatra — Moon's mansion (1 of 27)
  • Yoga — sum of (Sun + Moon) longitudes, 27 divisions
  • Karaṇa — half-tithi (60 karaṇas in a synodic month)

1. Saṃkṣepa

साराशं · विषय-विस्तारःSāra-aṃśa · Viṣaya-vistāraSummary — the topic unfolded

The pañcāṅga ('five-limbed') is the daily sacred calendar of the Vedic tradition. Every meaningful muhūrta (electional moment) checks all five limbs. The mathematical foundation: tithi is the angular separation between Moon and Sun in 12° steps (30 tithis = 360° of the synodic Moon cycle); nakṣatra is the Moon's longitude in 13°20' steps; yoga is the sum of (Moon + Sun) longitudes in 13°20' steps; karaṇa is a half-tithi (6° step).

Vāra (weekday) maps to the 7 visible grahas in the Hellenistic-Vedic order: Ravi (Sun), Soma (Moon), Maṅgala (Tuesday/Mars), Budha (Wednesday/Mercury), Bṛhaspati (Thursday/Jupiter), Śukra (Friday/Venus), Śani (Saturday). This day-graha mapping is the substrate of vāra-based remedies and weekday-aligned mantras.

Practical use: /panchang shows you all five limbs for any day-and-place. /ghadi gives you the Vedic-time grid (ghaṭi-pala). /daily integrates these into a daily-practice surface. This is computational, not interpretive — the substrate gives you the data; you choose how to use it.

2. Śāstra-Pramāṇa

शास्त्र-प्रमाण · ग्रन्थ-निर्देशाःŚāstra-pramāṇa · Grantha-nirdeśāḥClassical anchors — textual references
Sūrya SiddhāntaCh. 1–2

Mean and true longitudes of Sūrya and Candra — the inputs to tithi/nakṣatra.

BPHSCh. 75

Gocara-phala — uses pañcāṅga elements for transit interpretation.

Internallib/panchang.ts

Engine implementation of the 5-limb computation.

All anchor references map to chapter structures in our annotated library at /library. We point to topics — the Jyotiṣī interprets, the substrate computes; we do not predict from these texts on your behalf.

3. Abhyāsa

अभ्यासः · प्रयोग-मार्गःAbhyāsa · Prayoga-mārgaPraxis — the path of application

Engine surfaces (substrate compute)

/panchang/daily/ghadi

Exercises

  1. Computation

    Open /panchang for today. Identify all five limbs — tithi, vāra, nakṣatra, yoga, karaṇa. Then open /ghadi and note how the day is divided into 60 ghaṭi and each ghaṭi into 60 pala.

  2. Computation

    Compute the tithi by hand using the rule: tithi-index = floor((Moon-longitude − Sun-longitude) / 12°) + 1. Use the longitudes printed at /chart for any date.

4. Agrima

अग्रिमम् · पथः निरन्तरःAgrima · Pathaḥ nirantaraNext — the continuing path
← Previous · Module 3
ग्रह-स्वभावः
Graha-svabhāva

The 9 grahas — their natural kāraka-roles, gender, tattva, mitra-śatru (friendship-enmity), and behavioural significations from BPHS Ch. 2–7.

Next · Module 5 →
कुण्डली-निर्माणम्
Kuṇḍalī-nirmāṇa

How a Vedic chart is built — sidereal vs tropical reference, the Lahiri ayanāṃśa, ascendant computation, and the houses-vs-signs distinction.

ॐ सरस्वत्यै नमः · ॐ हयग्रीवाय नमः
KAAL Truth #5 · structured study · sources cited · the Jyotiṣī interprets