How the timings on this site are calculated

Everything on this site is computed, not compiled by hand — which is why it is available for thousands of places and for any date.

• Sunrise and sunset are calculated for the coordinates of each town, for the moment the Sun’s upper edge appears on a level horizon with standard atmospheric refraction.
• Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, Gulikai and the Gowri Panchangam are eighths of the daytime (or night) measured from those local times.
• Hora uses twelfths of the day and of the night.
• Abhijit Muhurtham is the eighth of fifteen equal daytime muhurtas, centred on local noon; by tradition it is not used on Wednesdays. Brahma Muhurtham is the second-last muhurta of the night before sunrise.
• Tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana come from precise positions of the Sun and Moon, reduced to the sidereal zodiac with the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa — the Thirukanitha or Drik Ganita method, the same standard used by India’s national calendar.
• The Tamil date follows the Sun’s sidereal ingress into each sign, with the before-sunset rule used in Tamil Nadu.
• Chandrashtama is shown for the rasi that currently has the Moon in its eighth sign.

Differences from printed almanacs

Expect agreement to within a minute or two with other Drik-based sources. Almanacs that follow the older Vakya system can differ by considerably more in tithi and nakshatra end times, and temples sometimes follow those. Observance days in the monthly calendar are marked by simple stated rules and are a guide, not a ruling. For important ceremonies, follow your family tradition and consult your priest or astrologer.