Tithivaar: frequently asked questions

From the positions of the Sun and Moon at sunrise in your city, using standard astronomical formulas and the Lahiri ayanamsa used by Indian panchangs. Tithi is the Moon's angle from the Sun in 12° steps, nakshatra is the Moon's position in 13°20' steps, yoga is the sum of the Sun and Moon, and karana is half a tithi. Sunrise is when the upper edge of the Sun appears, with refraction.

Tithis start and end at any time of day, so the tithi 'of a date' depends on the city and on the rule used. We show the tithi at your city's sunrise and when it ends. Festivals and vrats follow their own rules (for example, Ekadashi by Vaishnava rules or Sankashti by moonrise), so a date can differ by a day from a printed calendar.

Rahu kaal is one-eighth of the daytime, considered unfavourable for starting new work. The day from sunrise to sunset is divided into eight parts; Rahu kaal is the 8th part on Sunday, 2nd on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 5th on Wednesday, 6th on Thursday, 4th on Friday and 3rd on Saturday. Because it depends on your sunrise, it changes by city and season.

Choghadiya divides the day and the night into eight periods each, named Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Char, Udveg, Kaal and Rog. Amrit, Shubh and Labh are good for starting work; Char is good for travel; Udveg, Kaal and Rog are avoided. It is widely used in Gujarat and Rajasthan for short, everyday muhurats.

Lists give the same dates to everyone. We also check your tara bala (your birth nakshatra against the day's nakshatra) and chandra bala (the day's Moon from your Moon sign), and remove Kharmas, Bhadra, Adhik maas and Venus or Jupiter combust days that many lists ignore. You get 3-5 dates with time windows and the reason for each.

The daily panchang, choghadiya and vrat dates are free and unlimited. One muhurat search a day is free. A 30-day pass (₹99 / $3) gives unlimited muhurat searches and revisions. No auto-renewal.

Yes. Choose your city (New York, London, Toronto, Dubai, Singapore and more) and the panchang is calculated for your local sunrise. For places with daylight saving, add the current offset to the city in the muhurat finder, e.g. 'New York (UTC-4)'.

It shortlists good dates by tithi, nakshatra, Kharmas, combustion and your Moon. A wedding muhurat also fixes the lagna (the rising sign at the time of the pheras) for both families; please confirm the final time with your pandit.

No. It is a fraction of the day between sunrise and sunset, so it depends on your city's sunrise. The same weekday rule gives different clock times in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, and different times in summer and winter.

Many families avoid starting a journey in Rahu kaal if they can choose the time. If you can't, tradition doesn't forbid it; people usually say a short prayer and go.

The classical Rahu kaal is for the daytime. Some almanacs also give a night Rahu kaal using the night from sunset to the next sunrise, but most families only watch the daytime one.

Labh (profit) and Amrit are the favourites for business; Shubh is also good. Avoid Rog, Kaal and Udveg, and check that the period isn't in Rahu kaal.

Char is considered good for travel and for things that involve movement. For a fixed event like a griha pravesh, Amrit, Shubh or Labh are preferred.

The order depends on the weekday, and the clock times depend on that day's sunrise and sunset in your city, so the times change daily.

Traditionally no - Kharmas (Sun in Dhanu or Meena) is avoided for griha pravesh, marriage and mundan. If you must move, many families shift belongings and do the formal griha pravesh puja on the next good date.

Tuesday is avoided in almost all traditions for griha pravesh. Thursday and Friday are the most popular choices.

It depends on family custom. Many do a simple puja on a good day without a full muhurat; others choose a date the same way as for an owned home.

Vaishnava rules skip an Ekadashi that has Dashami before sunrise (in arunodaya) and fast the next day. Most household calendars use the tithi at sunrise.

The tithi of a date is the tithi at that city's sunrise. Near a tithi change, one city's sunrise can fall before it and another's after it.