Sunrise is where the panchangam day begins. It is not midnight: the vara, the tithi that names the day, and every period computed from the day's eight parts are all reckoned from sunrise. Because sunrise depends on latitude, longitude and the date, a panchangam is always computed for a specific place.

Why the location matters

Sunrise in Hyderabad and sunrise in Vijayawada differ by several minutes, and sunrise in Hyderabad and in Delhi by considerably more. Every timing derived from sunrise inherits that difference — Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, Gulika Kalam, Durmuhurtham, Abhijit Muhurtham and the day's division into eight parts all move with it.

This is why a panchangam printed for one city cannot simply be read in another, and why the times published on this site are computed for Hyderabad and Indian Standard Time. It is also why the difference is largest for the timings nearest sunrise and sunset and smallest around solar noon.

What is reckoned from it

Three things in particular follow from the sunrise time, and all three are things people get wrong when they read a timing off a general calendar instead of a local almanac.

  • Which tithi names the day: conventionally the one current at sunrise.
  • Which vara is running: the weekday changes at sunrise, not at midnight.
  • The day's eight equal parts, from which the inauspicious periods are placed.

Where the general rule stops

Sunrise itself is defined slightly differently between almanac traditions — the first limb of the Sun appearing, or the centre of the disc, with or without a refraction correction. The variants differ by a few minutes, which is immaterial for most purposes and not immaterial for a window computed to the minute.

Every timing on this page is computed for Hyderabad and Indian Standard Time. For a consequential date, confirm the window with the Purohit conducting the ceremony rather than acting on a published table.

Written and reviewed by the AnugrahaSidhi editorial team. Last substantive review: . How we source and correct this material is set out in our editorial policy.