What is a Panchangam?

People know the meaning of ‘Panchang’ very well. The term ‘Panchang’ or ‘Tamil Panchangam ’ is made of 2 words; Pancha + Anga becomes Panchangam. Pancha means 5, and Angam is the organ or part. So, Panchang stands for the one with 5 parts. A Panchang refers to the Almanac. 

The 5 parts of the Panchang are - Vara, Thithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, and Karana.

So, Panchang is the calendar or almanac designed on the basis of the Hindu system of calculation. One can know about the Vara, Thithi, Nakshatra, Yoga, and Karana every day by referring to the Panchang. 

Now, about the 5 parts of the Panchang, in brief:           

Vara  

Vara is the weekday, and we all know that there are 7 weekdays. There are also 9 important planets, of which the 2, Rahu and Ketu, are shadow planets. And the remaining 7 planets - the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter (Guru), Venus, and Saturn exercise control over Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, respectively.    
Of these Varas, the weekdays, the 4 - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are regarded auspicious days and two-eyed. While Sunday is considered the moderately auspicious, single-eyed day, Tuesday and Saturday are held as inauspicious and sightless, or blind days.

Thithi 

Thithi is the lunar day, which can be of 2 types. These are Shukla Paksha and Krishna Paksha. 

Shukla Paksha, Purva Paksha, and Valarpirai in Tamil – they all carry the same meaning, the bright or waxing phase of the Moon.       

Krishna Paksha, Amara Paksha, and Theipirai in Tamil – these 3 mean the same thing, the dark or waning phase of the Moon.    

The Sanskrit word ‘Shukla’ means white. After the New Moon day of Amavasya, the Moon keeps moving away from the Sun, and in the process, the crescent of the Moon keeps growing in size, day by day. As the Moon that appears white keeps on growing, this phase is called Valarpirai, the growing crescent in Tamil.    

‘Krishna’ is the Sanskrit word for black color. After Pournami, the Full Moon day, the Moon keeps moving towards the Sun, and as a result, the brightness of the Moon keeps diminishing. As the Moon keeps wearing down and reducing, this Moon phase becomes Theipirai, the reducing-crescent in Tamil. 

The day when both the Sun and the Moon are in the same degree is called Amavasya, the New Moon day, and the occasion when they both are opposite to each other, Pournami, the Full Moon day. 

There are 14 thithis in the Moon’s bright phase and 14 in the dark phase. And along with Amavasya and Pournami thithis, the New and the Full Moons days, there are a total of 30 thithis.           

Nakshatra

This is the third aspect of the Panchang. The zodiac is of 3600, and every Nakshatra, the star constellation occupies 130 and 20 minutes of it. There are 27 Natchathirams, and the 9 planets remain their overlords. The star in which the Moon is placed when a baby is born becomes the Janma Nakshatra, the birth star of the child.

Nakshatras play a crucial role in deciding the fortunes of an individual. Just as a person gets status as per his position or role, the planets transiting through different stars give different results.        

Yoga  

The fourth part of the Panchang is Yoga. The word means conjunction. Yoga is only the total distance between the Sun and the Moon from a particular point in the sky. These Yogas are 27 in number and are called Nama Yogas.     

Subha, the Auspicious Nama Yogas 

Priti, Ayushman, Soubhagya, Shobhana, Sukarma, Vriddhi, Harshana, Vajra, Siddhi, Variyaa, Siva, Siddha, Sadhya, Shubha, Subrama, Bramha, and Aindhira are the auspicious Subha Nama Yogas.     

Asubha, the Inauspicious Nama Yogas

Vishkamba, Adhikanda, Drithi, Soola, Ganda, Dhruva, Vyaakaadha, Vyatipata, Pareeka, and Vaithruthi are the inauspicious Asubha Nama Yogas.     

Karana

Karana is the fifth aspect of the Panchang. A Karna is one-half of a Thithi. There are 11 Karanas in all, and these are of two types, Sara Karanas and Sthira Karanas. Every Karana has a different overlord, who is known as the Karana Natha.    

Reading the Panchang based on these 

You can learn about the suitable time for undertaking important activities in your daily life from the Panchang, and also find out the good Muhurat time for performing auspicious functions and celebrations in your life. 

This section can be useful to you for knowing about the good periods of time in day-to-day life, and also about Rahu Kalam and Yama Kandam, the inauspicious durations that should be avoided for important activities. 

This could also help you to be aware of the Chandrashtama days when the Moon in your 8th House can create confusion in your mind, and act with caution.    

You can also know from this about the auspicious Muhurat days, the festive occasions celebrated traditionally, and also about the days suitable for observing austerities like Vrat and fasting. 

You might also learn about special occasions like Pournami, the Full Moon day, Amavasya, the New Moon day, Krithigai Vrat, Sankatahara Chaturthi, Giri Valam days, when people circumambulate the sacred mountains, Shivaratri, etc. in advance, and prepare yourselves for observing them. 

Further, you may also become aware of the special days when celestial phenomena like eclipses occur.