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Guides · astronomy and Jyotish

Learn how the sky and the Panchanga work

Short, calculated explainers on the building blocks of Vedic astrology. Each one shows a worked example from the same code the live tools run, says which part is astronomy and which part is tradition, and links to the tool where you can try it.

Explainers

Explainer Tithi: the lunar day Why a tithi lasts 20 to 27 hours, how it is calculated from the Moon and Sun, and what a skipped tithi is. Read about tithi → Explainer Nakshatra: the lunar mansions The 27 divisions of the sidereal zodiac, their padas and lords, and why the ayanamsha moves their boundaries. Read about nakshatras → Explainer Yoga and karana Two Panchanga limbs that are easy to confuse: one from the sum of Sun and Moon, one from half a tithi. Read about yoga and karana → Explainer Rahu Kaal The daylight-eighths method behind Rahu Kaal, and why the window moves with your city and the season. Read about Rahu Kaal → Explainer Rahu and Ketu The lunar nodes in astronomy and in Jyotish: where the Moon’s path crosses the Sun’s, and why eclipses happen there. Read about Rahu and Ketu → Explainer Apparent retrograde motion Why planets seem to move backwards for a while, with the coming retrograde windows calculated. Read about retrograde motion →

Tools and guides

Tool · Panchanga Today’s Panchang Tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise and hora for 37 cities, recalculated for any date from 1900 to 2100. Open the Panchang → Tool · Kundli 3D Kundli Build a sidereal birth chart in your browser and open it layer by layer: houses, signs, nakshatras, grahas and aspects. Build a 3D Kundli → Tool · Timing Vimshottari Dasha Calculate your periods from birth details, and see how the 120-year cycle starts from the Moon’s nakshatra. Calculate your dasha → Guide Vedic astrology, explained What Jyotish calculates, what is astronomy and what is tradition, and how the pieces fit together. Read the guide → Observatory Why do planets seem to move backwards? An interactive 3D solar system with lessons on retrograde motion, the lunar nodes, true sizes and distances. Open the Observatory →

How to read these guides

  • Worked examples are calculated for a stated city and moment — usually 12:00 in Bengaluru on 20 October 2026 — never typed by hand.
  • Tradition is named as tradition. Meanings and recommendations belong to the traditions that hold them; the guides explain what is calculated.
  • Method and limits are on every page. The full settings and their checks are on the homepage method notes.

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