How KaalSetu calculates the Panchang
Every timing on this site is computed from astronomical positions for your own coordinates and timezone. Nothing is copied from a printed almanac or a national default location.
At a glance
- School
- Drik Ganita (observation-based), not Surya Siddhanta mean positions
- Ayanamsa
- Lahiri (Chitrapaksha)
- Zodiac
- Sidereal (nirayana)
- Day boundary
- Local sunrise to next sunrise
- Tithi convention
- Tithi running at local sunrise names the day
- Month scheme
- Amanta internally, displayed as Purnimanta / Amanta per region
- Timezone
- IANA zone of the selected city, with DST handled by Luxon
Sun and moon positions
Solar and lunar longitudes come from a high-precision analytical ephemeris (VSOP/ELP-derived series, the same family used by Swiss Ephemeris for the sun and moon), evaluated at the exact Julian Ephemeris Day for the moment in question. Tropical longitudes are then converted to sidereal by subtracting the Lahiri ayanamsa for that instant.
The five angas
- Tithi = floor((Moon − Sun) / 12°) + 1, evaluated at local sunrise.
- Nakshatra = floor(Moon / 13°20′) + 1; pada = quarter within that span.
- Yoga = floor((Sun + Moon) / 13°20′) + 1.
- Karana = half-tithi, mapped onto the 7 movable and 4 fixed karanas.
- Vara = weekday counted from sunrise, not from midnight.
Sunrise, sunset and kaal windows
Sunrise and sunset use the standard −0.833° altitude (refraction plus solar semi-diameter) at your latitude and longitude. The day is then divided into eight equal parts between sunrise and sunset; Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal each take a fixed part depending on the weekday. Abhijit Muhurat is the eighth of fifteen muhurats of the day (roughly local solar noon ± 24 minutes), and Brahma Muhurat is the 96–48 minute window before sunrise. Choghadiya divides day and night into eight parts each, cycling through the planetary lords.
Kshaya, Vriddhi and Adhika Maas
When a tithi never touches a sunrise it is kshaya (lost); when it spans two sunrises it is vriddhi (repeated). Both are detected and labelled rather than silently skipped. A lunar month with two Sankrantis is kshaya maas and one with none is Adhika Maas, which is flagged on the panchang and treated as a blocker for muhurats that classical texts forbid during it.
Muhurat scoring
Each event type carries a weighted profile of favourable tithis, nakshatras, weekdays and months, plus a list of disqualifying doshas — Bhadra (Vishti karana), inauspicious Panchaka, Guru/Shukra Asta (combustion), Kharmas and Adhika Maas. A date is discarded outright if a blocker applies; otherwise it scores against the weighted profile. If you supply a birth nakshatra or moon sign, Tara Bala and Chandra Bala add a personalised layer on top. See the muhurat finder or compare two dates.
Sources and limits
Rules follow Muhurta Chintamani, Dharmasindhu and Nirnaya Sindhu as they are applied in contemporary drik panchangs. Regional sampradayas differ — especially on Ekadashi fasting and Purnimanta vs Amanta month names — so we expose a region selector rather than pretend a single answer exists. For life decisions, treat this as a well-computed reference and confirm with your family purohit. Timings can differ by a minute or two from other drik sources due to sunrise refraction constants and ayanamsa rounding.
Building something with this data? See the public Panchang API and embeddable widget.