Glossary

The five limbs of the Hindu calendar — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and vaara (weekday). Literally "five limbs".

Lunar day. One tithi equals 12° of angular separation between the Moon and the Sun. There are 30 tithis per lunar month — 15 in shukla paksha (waxing) and 15 in krishna paksha (waning).

Lunar mansion. The ecliptic is divided into 27 equal parts of 13°20′ each. The Moon spends approximately 24 hours in each nakshatra.

The third panchang limb, based on the sum of the longitudes of Sun and Moon. Twenty-seven yogas in all — some auspicious (Siddhi, Dhruva), some inauspicious (Vyatipata, Vaidhriti).

Half a tithi. Each tithi contains two karanas. There are 11 types — 7 movable and 4 fixed. Vishti (also called Bhadra) is regarded as inauspicious.

Day of the week. Each is ruled by one of seven graha — Ravi (Sun), Soma (Moon), Mangala (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn).

Half a lunar month. Shukla paksha (waxing Moon) runs from Amavasya to Purnima; Krishna paksha (waning Moon) runs from Purnima to Amavasya.

Lunar month — approximately 29.5 days. Twelve months make a year. The Hindu month names are: Chaitra, Vaishakha, Jyeshtha, Ashadha, Shravana, Bhadrapada, Ashvin, Kartika, Margashirsha, Pausha, Magha, Phalguna.

Intercalary month — a 13th month inserted approximately every 32–33 lunar months to align the lunar year with the solar year. Also called Purushottama Maasa.

New-moon day — the last day of a lunar month, when Sun and Moon are at the same longitude. Considered auspicious for ancestral rites (tarpana, shraddha).

Full-moon day — the last day of shukla paksha. Important for vrats such as Satyanarayan, Guru Purnima and Sharad Purnima.

The 11th tithi in either paksha. Highly auspicious for Vishnu vrat — approximately 24 ekadashis per year.

The chaturthi (4th tithi) of krishna paksha — observed as a Ganesha vrat, with the fast broken after moonrise.

Angular difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs. In 2026 the Lahiri Ayanamsa is approximately 24°15′.

The standard ayanamsa adopted by the Government of India's Calendar Reform Committee in 1955. It uses the star Chitra (Spica) as the reference point.

The tropical zodiac — used in Western astrology and based on the vernal equinox.

The sidereal zodiac — used in Vedic astrology, based on fixed star reference points.

A planet's precise computed longitude at a given moment.

The rashi (zodiac sign) rising on the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. The first house of the birth chart (ascendant).

A chart reference where the Moon's sign is treated as the first house. Used as a complement to the birth-lagna reading.

One of the 12 zodiac signs — Mesha, Vrishabha, Mithuna, Karka, Simha, Kanya, Tula, Vrishchika, Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha, Meena. Each spans 30°.

One of the 12 "houses" of a birth chart, each governing a domain of life (self, wealth, family, happiness, children, health, etc.).

An auspicious time slot chosen for important activities. Classically one muhurta equals 48 minutes; the day has 30 muhurtas.

A division of the day-period and night-period into 8 segments each, marking auspicious/inauspicious sub-intervals. The seven names are Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Char, Rog, Kaal and Udveg.

The 48-minute period centred on solar noon, regarded as the most auspicious time of the day. Excluded on Wednesdays and for southward travel.

The period beginning roughly 96 minutes before sunrise — considered ideal for meditation, study and spiritual practice.

The 48-minute period after sunset, auspicious for Shiva worship. When this falls on trayodashi tithi it is observed as Pradosha vrat.

A fixed 1.5-hour inauspicious segment of the day (one of the 8 day-segments), which shifts by weekday. New ventures are traditionally avoided.

Another inauspicious 1/8 segment of the day analogous to Rahu Kaal, ruled by Yama.

A 1/8 day-segment ruled by Gulika (son of Saturn), considered inauspicious. The slot shifts by weekday.

Another name for Vishti karana — a half-tithi traditionally avoided for auspicious activities.

The most malefic among the inauspicious yogas. Auspicious activities are entirely avoided, though it is considered favourable for ancestral rites.

An inauspicious yoga — auspicious activities are traditionally avoided.

The period spanning five nakshatras (Dhanishtha to Revati) during which certain activities — southward travel, gathering wood, roofing — are traditionally avoided.

The presence of Mars in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th house of a birth chart. The native is called "Manglik".

A configuration where all seven major grahas lie on one side of the Rahu–Ketu axis.

The 7.5-year transit of Saturn through the 12th, 1st (natal Moon-sign) and 2nd houses from one's natal Moon.

In kundali matching, the situation when both partners belong to the same nadi (Adi, Madhya or Antya) — traditionally regarded as a dosha.

A dosha in kundali matching arising from certain rashi-house positions between the partners' Moons.

In the Vimshottari dasha system, the principal period ruled by a planet. Total cycle is 120 years, individual periods range 6–20 years.

A sub-period within a mahadasha. Each mahadasha contains 9 antardashas representing the influence of other planets.

Action or duty; the accumulated impressions of past actions that influence the present life.

Righteousness, duty, the path of a moral life. In Vedic astrology associated with the 9th house.

A religious vow involving prescribed observances — fasting, prayer and ritual conduct.

Formal worship of a deity — involving mantras, lamps, incense and offerings (naivedya).

A sacred Vedic utterance, literally meaning "instrument of thought" — used in worship and meditation.

A geometric sacred diagram representing a deity or planetary energy, used in worship and meditation.

An ancestral rite of offering water and sesame to one's forebears. Performed primarily on Amavasya and during Shraddha-paksha.

A fire ritual where offerings are made into a sacred fire — a central form of purification and worship.

Clockwise circumambulation around a deity or temple — a gesture of reverence and devotion.

A gemstone recommended in astrology, worn to mitigate planetary doshas.

A bead sacred to Shiva, associated with different deities by the number of "mukhi" or faces (typically 1 to 21).

The number of natural ridges on a rudraksha bead — 1, 2, 3 etc. Five-mukhi is the most common.

The naming ceremony of a newborn, traditionally performed on the 11th or 12th day after birth.

The ceremony of feeding a child solid food (typically khichdi) for the first time, around 6 months of age.

The first ritual head-shaving of a child.

The sacred-thread ceremony — investing a boy of the dvija communities with the yajnopavita.

The marriage ceremony — one of the sixteen samskaras of Hindu tradition.

The ceremony of first entry into a new home, accompanied by muhurat selection and vastu-puja.

In Patanjali's ashtanga yoga, the eight stages of self-discipline, meditation and absorption.

Yogic breath control — the fourth of the eight limbs of yoga.

Liberation; final release from the cycle of birth and death. The highest of the four purusharthas of Hindu philosophy.