What Is Panchang And How Can It Guide Your Daily Life?

A Panchang or Panchanga is a Sanskrit name for a Hindu calendar plus almanac, which is a traditional way of timekeeping, followed across India and countries like Nepal. This almanac is basically consulted almost every day in a Hindu households, for daily life decisions, in the form of the Daily Panchang as well as for special occasions like marriage, births & deaths. The main purpose of a Hindu Panchang is to keep track of the large number of Hindu festivals and other auspicious as well as inauspicious moments, which can then guide the person in his day-to-day life.

Basics of Panchang

1.   As per the Vedic Astrology, a day is guided by five different attributes, which are –
2.    Tithi (the lunar day),
3.    Nakshatram (the given position of the moon with respect to an observer on the earth)
4.    Yog (the angular relationship between sun and moon)
5.     Karana or cause (Half of a Tithi; One Karana is equal to 6-degree difference between moon and sun)
6.   Var (each of the 7 weekdays)
   
   A combination of these five important attributes makes the Panchang or Daily Panchang, which astrologers, priests, or even knowledgeable commoners can read, analyse and draw inferences from. In India, there are several authors and institutions that publish different Panchangs. The basis of these different Panchangs is the same – Vedic Astrology. However, considering the fact that the moon changes its position with respect to other planetary bodies every moment, the Panchang for Today may not be the same as for tomorrow or the day before today. A Panchang is mainly a Hindu calendar consulted basically for a Muhurat (an auspicious moment) for important life decisions.

Accuracy of Panchang

The calculations in Panchang are highly accurate, even more so than the traditional horoscopes. It tells you about the best days meant for every life activity, be it birth, death, marriage, construction of a house, major investments, job interviews or travel. With the help of the five basic attributes of Vedic Astrology, a Panchang can convey the day, hour or moment most auspicious or inauspicious for your purpose. Therefore, owing to its multi-faceted relevance for every aspect of life for a typical Hindu family, Panchang has become an integral part of the Hindu way of living, across the sects and communities. It requires a basic knowledge of arithmetic calculation to be able to read the Panchang. However, there is no need to feel intimidated because after decades of research and precise calculation, authors have worked out the current form of this almanac so that the common man can benefit from it. Having said that, an in-depth reading of this document remains the exclusive domain of a trained, expert astrologer, also known as a “Shastri”.

International Recognition for Panchang

Noted American author William James has said, “From the Vedas, we learn a practical art of surgery, medicine, music, house building under which mechanized art is included. They are encyclopedia of every aspect of life, culture, religion, science, ethics, law, cosmology and meteorology.” Another renowned historian and author Emmelin Plunket writes in his work “Calendars and Constellations”, “They were very advanced Hindu astronomers in 500 A.D. Vedas contain an account of the dimension of Earth, Sun, Moon, planets and the galaxies.” The Indian Panchang is an extension of all the good work that has been achieved over the millennia by our astrologers, priests, authors and researchers of Vedic Astrology.

This ancient way of timekeeping in a tabulated form serves through all your life, reflecting key details about the time on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. The elder members in a Hindu household wouldn’t dream of venturing into any life-changing activity without consulting the Panchang first. A regular consultation of this work bears fruits for the past, present as well as the future of your life.