Panchang means spiritual calendar. Panchang gives one the knowledge of time. Vedas declare that knowledge of Panchang frees a person from all sins and gives salvation unto him.

Benefits Of Panchang

Pancha means five and anga means limbs or attributes. They are five attributes of time, namely: Vara, tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana. Knowledge of Vara bestows longevity Knowledge of tithi bestows wealth Knowledge of nakshatra removes sins Knowledge of yoga cures diseases Knowledge of karana gives success in work Rishis tell us upon waking up; one must recite the panchang to derive the above spiritual benefits.

5 Attributes Of Panchang

1.Vaar means days of the week. Seven days of the week are ruled by the seven planets. Shadow planets, Rahu and Ketu are associated with Tuesday and Saturday.

• Sunday is ruled by Surya( the Sun)
• Monday is ruled by Soma (the Moon)
• Tuesday is ruled by Mangala( Mars)
• Wednesday is ruled by Budha (Mercury)
• Thursday is ruled by Guru (Jupiter)
• Friday is ruled by Shukra (Venus)
• Saturday is ruled by Shani(Saturn)

2.Tithi is the day of the moon phase. There are 14 tithis in between every new moon and full moon 3.Nakshatras are lunar mansions. The path of the moon is split into 27 units and each unit is given a name of a nakshatra. Moon`s position in the zodiac is indicated by the name of the constellation or nakshatra. There are 27 nakshatras. 4.Karana is half of a tithi. There are 2 karanas in each tithi. 5.Yoga is the angle of the sun and the moon determining the auspiciousness of each day. There are 27 yogas. Some of the non- benefic yogas are: Vishkamba, Shoola, Vajra, vyatipada, Vyaghatha, Athiganda, Ganda, parigha, vaidhruthi. A day in panchang means, the time duration from one sunrise to the next sun rise. This duration is about 24 hours.

Uses of Panchang

• Panchang is used for fixing muhurthas (spiritually powerful time periods in each day) for auspicious events, preparation of horoscope, for sankalpa, fixing dates for vrattas and shraddas.
• One can also know about the unfavorable periods in a day through panchang like Rahu kaalam and Yamagandam . They are inauspicious time periods unsuitable for material activities.
• Position of the sun, moon and other planets are also known through panchang.