Yoga: the combined sidereal longitudes
Take the apparent geocentric ecliptic longitude of the Sun and of the Moon for one instant. Subtract the selected ayanamsa from each to put both on the same sidereal origin. Add the resulting longitudes, wrap the sum into a 360° circle, and divide by 13°20′. The whole-number segment, zero through twenty-six, identifies the Yoga. An ending occurs when the sum crosses the next sector boundary. The national Rashtriya Panchang explanation defines this sum and the 27 equal sectors; its name list begins with Viskumbha and ends with Vaidhriti.
This tool uses the site’s explicitly approximate Lahiri ayanamsa, derived from J2000 offset and precession, with the locally bundled Astronomy Engine positions. The name can differ near a boundary when another almanac uses a different sidereal origin or ephemeris. A Yoga in the panchanga is a calendar element, not the physical alignment of three bodies and not an automatic interpretation of a person or event.
Karana: half of a Tithi
The same Moon and Sun longitudes answer a different question. Subtract the Sun’s longitude from the Moon’s and wrap the difference into 0°–360°. Each 6° interval is one Karana; 60 half-Tithi intervals make a lunar cycle. Since the same ayanamsa would be subtracted from both bodies, it cancels from this difference. Karana therefore does not change when the sidereal origin changes, although the calculated ending instant can still vary with the ephemeris or apparent-position convention.
The first half of waxing Pratipad is Kimstughna. Seven moving names then repeat from the second half of waxing Pratipad through the first half of waning Chaturdasi: Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanij, Vishti. The last three halves are Sakuni, Chatuspada, and Naga before the cycle returns to Kimstughna. This assignment follows the fixed and cyclic sequence stated by the Positional Astronomy Centre; the name table supplies its spellings. The names are labels for intervals, not a claim that a specific action will succeed.
Sunrise labels and every ending
The first table samples both elements at each calculated local sunrise. The other two tables list every Yoga or Karana ending within the selected local civil month. A Karana can pass between two successive sunrises and never appear as either day’s sunrise label. Its ending still appears in the event table. A daily cell also shows the next ending after its sunrise even if that instant falls in the following month, so the row remains interpretable on a month boundary.
For an illustration, the official 20 September 2026 daily Panchang names Saubhagya at sunrise with Yoga ending at 15:23 IST, and Kaulava with Karana ending at 17:52 IST. The tool’s Delhi-default calculation should land close to those clock readings. The national publication uses its adopted central station and its own ayanamsa and ephemeris; the model here uses Delhi coordinates and an approximate Lahiri setting. A small difference is expected rather than silently being treated as a matching convention.
Clock and precision limits
Sunrise depends on latitude, longitude, date, and the solar-rise model. A changeover is geocentric and has one UTC instant regardless of location. The selected month is defined by local civil midnights under one user-entered UTC offset. A region that changes legal clock offset during the month needs a proper time-zone conversion of the listed UTC instants; the fixed offset cannot express that transition. Neither the tool nor this guide determines festival dates or regional observance rules.
The code samples both interval indices every two hours and bisects each detected change to within fifteen seconds. Displayed minutes are truncated. Comparisons with a printed panchanga require the same date, place for sunrise, clock convention, sidereal origin, ephemeris, and definition of the reported endpoint. The daily panchanga calculator shows all five limbs at one sunrise or chosen instant, while the monthly Tithi calendar focuses on 12° lunar-day intervals.
Common questions
Do Yoga and Karana change at the same time?
Usually not. Yoga follows a 13°20′ step of the sum of two sidereal longitudes; Karana follows a 6° step of their difference. Their boundary moments can occasionally be close, but the formulas remain different.
Does Karana use the Lahiri ayanamsa?
No. A common sidereal offset cancels from Moon minus Sun. Yoga does use the selected ayanamsa because it adds the two sidereal positions.
Can a Karana be missing from the sunrise table?
Yes. It can begin and end between two local sunrises. The separate event list includes its ending.