Panchang · Panchak · Thanjavur

Next Panchak begins Wed, 18 Nov, 5:27 pm

Panchak is the Moon’s passage through the last five nakshatras. Below are the Panchak periods of the next four months, and what the texts say about them.

City

October 2026 to February 2027

Times in IST. Panchak begins and ends with the Moon’s position, so these instants are the same in every city; only the clock time changes with the city.

Thu, 22 Oct, 8:23 am → 25 Oct, 7:21 pm
Panchak beginning on a Thursday (no named type in the texts)^†
82 hr 58 min
Wed, 18 Nov, 5:27 pm → 22 Nov, 5:54 am
Panchak beginning on a Wednesday (no named type in the texts)^†
84 hr 27 min
Wed, 16 Dec, 1:01 am → 19 Dec, 3:57 pm
Panchak beginning on a Wednesday (no named type in the texts)^†
86 hr 56 min
Tue, 12 Jan, 7:06 am → 15 Jan, 11:50 pm
Agni Panchak · begins on a Tuesday^†
88 hr 44 min
Mon, 8 Feb, 12:55 pm → 12 Feb, 5:41 am
Raja Panchak · begins on a Monday^†
88 hr 46 min

† Practice varies. The custom of naming a Panchak by its weekday, and what the names mean, differ between almanacs; this page counts Panchak from the second half of Dhanishta, as most almanacs do.

See also: Panchak (glossary) · Nakshatra · Muhurta finder · Bhadra

Understand

What Panchak is

Panchak is the time the Moon spends in the last five nakshatras, from the second half of Dhanishta to the end of Revati (Dhanishta padas 3 and 4, Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati). That is the Moon’s passage through Kumbha and Meena: about five days, once every 27 to 28 days.

What the texts say

Muhurta texts such as the Muhurta Chintamani give a tradition of putting off five things during Panchak: gathering wood or grass, making a cot, laying a roof, travel to the south, and performing a cremation without an added rite (five effigies of kusha grass). Other undertakings are judged by the usual muhurta rules.

The names of Panchak

Almanacs name a Panchak by the weekday it begins on: Roga from Sunday, Raja from Monday, Agni from Tuesday, Chora from Friday and Mrityu from Saturday; one beginning on a Wednesday or Thursday has no special name. These are traditional names; almanacs do not agree on what each signifies.

How this is calculated

The Moon’s apparent position from NASA JPL’s DE421 ephemeris, less the Lahiri ayanamsa. Panchak begins the instant the Moon passes 306°40′ (Dhanishta pada 3) and ends at 360° (the end of Revati). The instant is the same in every city.