Yoga and Karana, the two most overlooked elements of the panchangam

Five limbs, not just two

Panchangam literally means "five limbs". Most people know tithi and nakshatra. But yoga and karana are equally important, and far more often overlooked.

The five limbs are: tithi (lunar day), nakshatra (the Moon's stellar mansion), yoga (combined position of Sun and Moon), karana (half a tithi), and vara (weekday). Together, they describe the astrological character of the day. A complete panchangam reading requires all five.

Yoga, what it is and how it is calculated

Yoga is an astronomical measure: the sum of the Sun's and Moon's sidereal longitudes (their positions relative to the fixed stars). The combined value is divided into 27 equal parts of 13°20' each. Each part has a name, there are 27 yogas in total.

Because yoga depends on planetary positions, it is the same everywhere in the world at the same instant. Whether you are in Chennai or London, today's yoga is identical. It typically changes once per day and lasts 22–26 hours.

The 27 yogas

The nine inauspicious yogas fall at positions 1, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, and 27 in the cycle. They are especially relevant for muhurtam, choosing auspicious times for important events such as weddings, house purchases, and business launches.

Karana, half a tithi

Karana is half a tithi. Since there are 30 tithis in a lunar month, and each tithi has two halves, that gives 60 karanas per lunar month. But there are only 11 different types, they are reused in a cyclic order.

The 11 types fall into two groups: 7 movable (chara) karanas that cycle repeatedly, and 4 fixed (sthira) karanas that appear only once per lunar month.

The 7 movable karanas

The 4 fixed karanas

Why Vishti (Bhadra) karana is avoided

Of all 11 karanas, Vishti (also called Bhadra) is the only one consistently considered inauspicious. It appears 8 times per lunar month, as the 7th karana in each cycle of the movable karanas, and is avoided for new beginnings.

The other 6 movable karanas are considered auspicious or neutral. The 4 fixed karanas are traditionally less favourable, but since they appear only once per month, they rarely affect practical planning.

How yoga and karana are used in practice

Yoga and karana matter most for muhurtam, choosing auspicious times for important events. A panchangam consultant will typically filter out inauspicious yogas and Vishti karana before selecting a time.

For daily use, they are less critical than Rahu Kalam and Gowri Nalla Neram. But for weddings, business launches, house purchases, and other milestones, yoga and karana can be deciding criteria.

• Weddings: inauspicious yogas and Vishti karana are always avoided.
• Business launches: many consultants recommend Siddhi or Siddha yoga.
• Daily routine: yoga and karana typically have no influence, they apply mainly to new beginnings.
• Religious ceremonies: the temple panchangam always includes yoga and karana.

Yoga and karana are the same everywhere

Because yoga and karana depend on the positions of the Sun and Moon in space, not on local sunrise or sunset, they are identical everywhere in the world at the same instant. This is an important difference from Rahu Kalam and Gowri Nalla Neram, which depend on local sunrise.

The only thing that changes is the local clock time at which a yoga or karana starts and ends. The element itself is the same, Chennai and London always have the same yoga and karana.