How We Calculate

Every time and date on Prakamyam is calculated by our own astronomical engine, on our server, for the place you choose. Nothing is copied from another website. This page explains how the numbers are produced, how we check them, and where they can legitimately differ from other panchangams.

The astronomy

• Sun: position from the NOAA solar position algorithm.
• Moon: longitude from the lunar theory in Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, Chapter 47 (its principal periodic terms).
• Sidereal zodiac: Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa, the standard used by the Government of India's Rashtriya Panchang. Nakshatra, rashi and Sankranti depend on it.
• Sunrise and sunset: the moment the upper edge of the Sun meets a flat horizon, allowing for normal atmospheric refraction, at sea level. Hills, buildings and your altitude can shift what you see by a minute or two.
• Location: 1,587 Indian towns and cities, or your device's location if you allow it. All times are in Indian Standard Time.

The panchang rules

• A panchang day runs from sunrise to the next sunrise. The tithi, nakshatra, yoga and karana shown for a day are the ones running at sunrise, with the time each one ends.
• Lunar months are named in both systems: Amanta (month ends at Amavasya, used in South and West India) and Purnimanta (ends at Purnima, used in the North). An Adhik month is named after the month it precedes, for example Adhika Jyeshtha in 2026.
• Rahu Kaal, Gulika Kaal and Yamagandam divide daylight into eight equal parts using the traditional weekday order. Night Gulika follows the classical rule of counting from the fifth weekday.
• Abhijit Muhurat is the 8th of the 15 daytime muhurtas, so its length follows the length of the day.
• Durmuhurtam uses a published weekday table that we cross-checked against live panchangam references.
• Varjyam uses the traditional starting ghati for each nakshatra. For four nakshatras (Ardra, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Mula) published sources disagree, so we show no time rather than guess. The page says so on those days.
• Bhadra (Vishti karana) is placed on earth, in heaven or in the netherworld by the Moon's sign, following the classical verse. Only Bhadra on earth is marked as traditionally avoided.
• Festival and vrat dates follow each observance's own rule (for example, Shivaratri by the tithi at midnight, Ekadashi with its parana window), not simply the tithi at sunrise.

How we check the numbers

• Every timing page is tested to show the same minute as the main Panchang page for the same place and date.
• Tithi dates are compared with independent published tables. For example, all 25 Ashtami dates of 2026 match, with begin and end times within one to three minutes.
• Sankranti moments are compared with published values. A past error in our ayanamsa rate was found this way and corrected.
• When a check finds a problem, we fix the engine, not just the page, and record the fix in the code.

Why another panchang may differ

Differences of one to three minutes are normal between well-made panchangams. They come from slightly different astronomical models, sunrise definitions (centre or edge of the Sun, altitude) and ayanamsa values. Larger differences usually come from a different tradition or rule, such as Amanta versus Purnimanta months, or regional rules for when a festival is kept. For family ceremonies, your family priest or local panchangam is the final word.

Rashiphal

Our daily rashiphal follows the classical gochara (transit) method: each graha's house is counted from the Moon sign, judged by the traditional table of favourable houses, and adjusted for vedha (obstruction) and combustion. Each transit's strength also follows its murthi (form): at the moment a graha enters a sign, the Moon's position counted from your Moon sign makes that whole stay golden, silver, copper or iron, as described in P.V.R. Narasimha Rao's Vedic Astrology: An Integrated Approach. When the Moon was too close to a sign boundary at that moment for the form to be certain, we leave it out rather than guess. Because it is written for everyone who shares a Moon sign, it is general by nature and cannot reflect a personal birth chart. We keep its language calm: no predictions of harm, and no paid remedies.

Found a difference?

Tell us the page, the place and the date, and what your reference shows. We check every report against the astronomy and correct the engine when we are wrong.

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