Panchang (पञ्चाङ्ग, literally 'five limbs') is the Hindu astronomical almanac used to find auspicious dates and times. The five elements are Tithi (lunar day), Vara (weekday), Nakshatra (lunar mansion), Yoga, and Karana. Get today's panchang for any Indian city below.
TITHI is the angular distance between the Moon and Sun in 12-degree increments. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month — 15 in the bright (Shukla) half from new moon to full, and 15 in the dark (Krishna) half from full back to new.
VARA is the weekday, named after the seven classical planets — Sun (Ravivara/Sunday), Moon (Somavara/Monday), Mars (Mangalavara), Mercury (Budhavara), Jupiter (Brihaspativara), Venus (Shukravara), Saturn (Shanivara).
NAKSHATRA is the Moon's lunar mansion — the section of the sky containing the Moon, divided into 27 segments named after stars like Ashwini, Rohini, and Punarvasu.
YOGA is the angular sum of Sun and Moon positions (also divided into 27 segments), and KARANA is half a tithi. Together these five define muhurta — the auspicious moments for ceremonies.