The core idea
A panchang connects calendrical tradition with calculated positions of the Sun and Moon. Tithi tracks their angular separation; paksha identifies the bright or dark half of a lunar month. An observance uses calendrical rules, while an office holiday depends on a separate notification.
Thirty tithis divide a full relative cycle
| Relative longitude interval | Tithi index |
|---|---|
| 0° ≤ angle < 12° | 1 |
| 12° ≤ angle < 24° | 2 |
| 24° ≤ angle < 36° | 3 |
The five components
Panchang means five limbs: weekday, tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana. IMD’s Rashtriya Panchang explains these astronomical quantities and publishes dated tables. Here yoga is a calendrical quantity derived from longitudes, not the eight-limbed discipline of the Yoga Sutras. A familiar word can therefore mean different things in different contexts. Understanding the definitions is the first step towards reading a table intelligently rather than treating every technical term as a prediction about one’s life.
Sources: IMD: Rashtriya Panchang 2026–27 ↗
A tithi is an angle interval, not exactly 24 hours
A tithi advances when the Moon’s longitude gains another 12 degrees relative to the Sun. Thirty such intervals span 360 degrees. Because the relative angular motion is not constant, a tithi need not last exactly one civil day. It may end during the afternoon or cross into the next date. That is why a Gregorian date and a tithi are not interchangeable labels. Our daily panel shows the entry printed by IMD and its ending times; it does not claim a single tithi remains unchanged until midnight.
Sources: IMD: Rashtriya Panchang 2026–27 ↗
Paksha and regional months
Shukla paksha is the bright half and Krishna paksha the dark half of the lunar month. Regional calendars can differ in month naming and in whether a lunar month is counted from new moon or full moon. A solar calendar uses another organising principle. These differences explain why Indian New Year observances do not all share one date. It is more informative to name the regional tradition than to insist that every calendar must be an incorrectly written copy of a single system.
Sources: IMD: Rashtriya Panchang 2026–27 ↗
Worked example: h. 27-26
The source sometimes carries hours beyond 24 to keep an ending time attached to the entry’s day. For h. 27-26, subtract 24 from 27: the event occurs at 03:26 on the following civil date, in the stated time standard. Do not read it as 27 minutes past an hour. “Ahoratra” indicates continuation through the day-and-night interval in the table. Always retain the source’s reference and time zone; a copied time without these labels can mislead someone arranging a local observance.
Sources: IMD: Rashtriya Panchang 2026–27 ↗
A festival and a notified holiday are different records
A religious observance answers “What is being celebrated, and by whom?” A holiday notification answers “Which specified offices are closed?” The Maharashtra list includes its own public holidays; another state or a central-government office may have a different list. A Sunday festival may be listed differently from an additional working-day closure. Our calendar labels the jurisdiction instead of promising that every school, bank and private workplace is closed. For your own attendance, the applicable institution’s notice is decisive.
Use the calendar with its dates and scope
Choose a date to see the published panchang entry and any selected observances in our collection. If no event appears, that means none is recorded in this selected list, not that no community anywhere has a celebration. The current IMD daily dataset runs from 22 March 2026 to 20 April 2027. Outside that range the website says that data is unavailable instead of repeating an old year’s lunar festivals. Local temple programmes remain useful for the timing and form of a particular celebration.
Sources: IMD: Rashtriya Panchang 2026–27 ↗
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Work through an example
- Convert h. 25-10 into an ordinary clock time and date relation.
- Find the source and jurisdiction for one holiday entry.
- Explain why an empty event list does not establish that no festival exists.
Check your understanding
How many degrees define a tithi interval?
12 degrees of relative longitude between Moon and Sun.
What is h. 25-10?
01:10 on the following civil date, in the source’s time standard.
Does calendrical yoga mean physical exercise?
No. Here it is a calculated astronomical component.
What should happen when the dataset expires?
Show that verified data is unavailable and obtain the next official edition.