Some queries and unsolicited answers on timings in astrology Karanam L. Ramakumar

India

Recently just before Vinayaka Chaturthi (Ganesh Chaturthi) festival, one of

my acquaintances inquired to know the starting time of Chaturthi Tithi on August

23, 2009. August 23, 2009 was Vinayaka Chaturthi festival day. It seems one

Panchangam (P-I) gave 10:06 AM (IST) as the start time of Chavithi while another

Panchangam (P-II) gave the start time as 6:57 AM (IST). Both the Panchangams

are calculated for Rajahmundry city in Andhra Pradesh. As Chavithi was through out

that day it really did not matter for celebrating the festival. But it did incite me to

verify. Two more interesting observations were made by the acquaintance:

(i) Panchangam (P-I) mentioned that 31-8-2009 was Dwadasi Tithi day and on 1-

9-2009 it was Sunya Tithi for Rajahmundry. The second Panchangam (P-II)

exactly reversed the observations, again for Rajahmundry!! (31-8-2009 it was

Sunya Tithi and 1-9-2009 it was Dwadasi Tithi day).

(ii) Panchangam (P-I) mentioned that 13-9-2009 had two Tithis (Tithi Dwayam)

namely Navami and Dasimi while the second Panchangam (P-II) mentioned

that 14-9-2009 had two Tithis namely Dasimi and Ekadasi.

It may be mentioned that the prevailing Tithis at a particular time of the day

are critical for performing Shraddha (offering of worship and food to one’s departed

parents and forefathers, normally done once a year).

It is not my intention to pass judgment as to which of the Panchangams is

correct. But it would be interesting to know what is the correct status.

Chavithi duration on 23-8-2009

As the relative distance of Chandra from Ravi is a measure of Tithi, it is easy

to calculate the same. This relative distance should not also depend on Ayanamsa.

In fact Tithis should be same whether we use Sayana longitudes or Nirayana

longitudes. Let us tabulate the Nirayana longitudes for Ravi and Chandra on 23rd

and 24th August 2009 at 5-30 IST on both the days. Let us also list Sunrise and

Sunset timings on these two days for three different places in India (Time zone + 5-

30 from GMT)

It is clearly seen that depending on the place even for the same time zone,

the sunrise and sunset times change. But the longitudes of Ravi and Chandra

remain same for a given time irrespective of the place. So the relative distance

between Ravi and Chandra should also remain the same. The relative distance of

Chandra from Ravi on 23-8-2009 is

(161-19) – (126-7) = 35-12.

Nirayana Longitudes of Ravi and Chandra

Longitudes at 5:30 IST Place Date Sunrise (IST)

Sunset (IST) Ravi Chandra

23-8-2009 4-59 17-50 6¬7 11ª19 Shillong 25N35, 91E53 24-8-2009 4-59 17-49 7¬5 25ª15

23-8-2009 5-48 18-23 6¬7 11ª19 Rajahmundry 17N00, 81E46 24-8-2009 5-48 18-22 7¬5 25ª15

23-8-2009 6-22 19-01 6¬7 11ª19 Mumbai 19N01, 72E51 24-8-2009 6-23 19-00 7¬5 25ª15

Remembering that for every 12 degrees, Tithi changes, it is apparent that at

5:30 IST on 23-8-2009, the prevailing Tithi is Suddha Tadiya. Tadiya lasts between

the relative distance of 24 to 36 degrees. So for Chavithi to commence, still 48 arc

minutes should be traversed. Time taken to traverse this distance is given by

(00-48)/(12-58-09) x 24 hours = 1.4823 hours or 1 h- 29 m

Recalling that the longitudes of Ravi and Chandra are at 5-30 IST, on 23-8-

2009 Tadiya ends at 5:30 + 1-29 = 6-59 AM very near to the time given in P-II.

If we calculate the longitudes of Ravi and Chandra at the Sunrise times of a

place, then even though ending time of the Tithi does not change, the duration of

the Tithi can change. For example, in Shillong, as the Sunrise time on 23-8-2009 is

4-59 IST, the duration of Tadiya on that day is (6-59)-(4-59) = 2 Hrs. In Mumbai

the duration is only 37 minutes.

We can show that even if use Sayana longitudes from Swiss ephemeris we do get

the same ending time for Tithis. So all Panchangams should give the same ending

times for Tithis for a given time zone.

Sayana Longitudes of Ravi and Chandra (from Swiss ephemeris) at 5-30 IST

Date Ravi Chandra

23-8-2009 000-00’ª52’’ 50«3’

24-8-2009 000-58’ª43’’ 190«9’

Sunya Tithi issue

Now let us deal with the Sunya Tithi issue on 31-8-2009 or 1-9-2009. For

computing Shraddha Tithi, we should know the duration of the day on that day for

the place where shraddha is to be performed. For this we need sunrise and sunset

times.

The relevant data at 5-30 IST for Rajahmundry is as follows:

Date Sunrise

(IST)

Sunset

(IST)

Duration of the

day

Ravi Chandra

30-8-2009 5-49 18-18 12-29 12¬53 10}40

31-8-2009 5-49 18-17 12-28 13¬51 22}28

1-9-2009 5-50 18-16 12-26 14¬49 4ƒ16

2-9-2009 5-50 18-16 12-26 15¬47 16ƒ6

How to determine shraddha tithi

Shraddha is performed during the later half of the day during aprahana kala.

It is necessary that the Shraddha Tithi should prevail for major duration of aprahana

kala. The Aprahana kala is the 4/5th part of the day. The Shraddha is performed

during aparaahna kaala of the day, after completing the madhyahna sandhya. The

aparaahna is the fourth part of daytime, among the five, and they are: praatah,

sangavah, madhyaahna, aparaahna, saayaahna

1. Find out the duration of the day for the date

Duration of the day (DD) = sunset-sunrise for the place where Sharaddha is

to be performed

2. Divide DD into 5 equal parts to get duration of each ‘kaala’ time.

3. Find out the time at which the 3/5th part of the day starts. Add this to the

Sunrise time. That time so obtained is the beginning of aparaahna kaala.

4. Add the duration of ‘kaala’ time to the beginning of aparaahna kaala to get

the ending time of aparaahna kaala.

5. Now check the Tithi of the day if it prevails during the aparaahna kaala.

6. If the Tithi prevails during this period, it is the shraddha Tithi. If the Tithi

prevails on two successive days, repeat the above steps for the other day

also to check if the same Tithi prevails during that day. If the Tithi prevails

during both days then according to Sastras, the first day is called Sunya Tithi

day and the next day is the Tithi proper. Now a days some Panchangas

consider the day as the Shraddha day when the Tithi prevails more during the

aparaahna kaala period.

On 31-8-2009, duration of the day is 12h-29m. Divide this 5 to get the duration of

aparaahna kaala. (12-29)/5 = 2h-30m.

3/5th of this time is (12-29) x 3/5 = 7-30.

Add this to Sunrise time for the place. In this case the place is Rajahmundry.

Beginning of aparaahna kaala = (5-49) + (7-30) = 13h-19m and lasts for the next

2h-30m ending at 15h-49m.

Now let us find out the Tithi on 31-8-2009 at 5-30 IST.

Tithi in 31-8-2009 =(262-28)-(133-51) = 128-37.

Remembering that for every 12 degrees, Tithi changes, it is apparent that at

5:30 IST on 31-8-2009, the prevailing Tithi is Suddha Ekadasi. Ekadasi lasts

between the relative distance of 120 to 132 degrees. So for Dwadasi to come, still

30-23’ arc should be traversed. Time taken to traverse this distance is given by

(30-23’)/(100-50’) x 24 hours = 7h- 30 m

Recalling that the longitudes of Ravi and Chandra are at 5-30 IST, on 31-8-

2009 Ekadasi ends at 5:30 + 7-30 = 13-00 IST. Dwadasi starts at 13-00 IST on 31-

8-2009.

On 1-9-2009, the Tithi is Dwadasi and the ending time of Dwadasi is

(5-30) + (40-33’)/(100-52’) x 24 hours = (5-30) + (10-00) = 15-30 on 1-9-2009

Please notice that as Dwadasi prevails during apraahna kala on two

successive days, Sastras mention that the second day should be treated as the

shraddha Tithi day and not the first one. So P-II depicts correctly the status.

However, during aparaahna kaala on 31-8-2009, Dwadasi lasts for the whole

period whereas on next day it falls short by 10 minutes. So some Pundits are of the

opinion that the Dwadasi Tithi is on 31-8-2009 and not on 1-9-2009.

Tithi Dwayam issue

Nirayana Longitudes of Ravi and Chandra at 5-30 IST

Date Sunrise

(IST)

Sunset

(IST)

Ravi at 5-30

IST

Chandra at 5-30

IST

13-9-2009 5-51 18-7 26¬27 8Ð14

14-9-2009 5-51 18-6 27¬26 22Ð28

15-9-2009 5-51 18-5 28¬24 6˜54

16-9-2009 5-51 18-4 29¬23 21˜29

Using the usual method of calculations we get the following information:

1. On 13-9-2009, at 5-30 IST it was Navami Tithi, which ends at 16-45 IST. So

on that day it is only Navami Tithi during aparaahna kaala.

2. On 14-9-2009, at 5-30 IST it was Dasimi Tithi, which ends at 14-21 IST.

aparaahna kaala starts at 13-12 IST and lasts until 15-38 IST. So on 14-9-

2009, it was also Dasimi Tithi during aparaahna kaala. Please note that

Dasimi Tithi ends during aparaahna kaala. During this aparaahna kaala the

next Tithi namely Ekadasi begins.

3. On 15-9-2009, at 5-30 IST it was Ekadasi Tithi, which ends at 11-41 IST.

Notice that Ekadasi Tithi ends much before the start of aparaahna kaala. So

on 15-9-2009 the Tithi during aparaahna kaala it is Dwadasi and NOT

Ekadasi.

As Ekadasi is prevailing during aparaahna kaala on 14-9-2009, one performs

Ekadasi shraddha Tithi on that day. Thus we have two shraddha Tithis namely

Dasimi and Ekadasi on 14-9-2009, which is what P-II mentions.

For Amavaasya Tarpanam also similar procedure is followed.

Excerpts from two Panchangams

Panchangam –I (P-I) Panchangam-II (P-II)

Date Tithi at Sunrise

Ending time of

Tithi

Tithi for Sraddha

Ending time of

Tithi

Tithi for Sraddha

22-8-2009 Suddha Vidiya 11-48 Tadiya 9-22 Tadiya

23-8-2009 Suddha

Tadiya

10-06 Chavithi 6-57 Chavithi

24-8-2009 Suddha Chavathi

8-50 Panchami 5-12 Panchami

30-8-2009 Suddha

Dasimi

11-6 Ekadasi 10-21 Ekadasi

31-8-2009 Suddha

Ekadasi

12-57 Dwadasi 12-57 Sunya

Tithi

1-9-2009 Suddha

Dwadasi

15-00 Sunya Tithi 15-31 Dwadasi

2-9-2009 Suddha

Triodasi

17-02 Triodasi 17-54 Triodasi

12-9-2009 Bahula Ashtami

16-12 Ashtami 18-51 Ashtami

13-9-2009 Bahula

Navami

13-59 Navami +

Dasimi

16-45 Navami

14-9-2009 Bahula

dasimi

11-38 Ekadasi 14-20 Dasimi

+

Ekadasi

15-9-2009 Bahula Ekadasi

9-12 Dwadasi 11-40 Dwadasi

Literature cited

L. D. S. Pillai, “Panchang and Horoscope: Or the Indian Calendar and Indian

Astrology”, Asian Educational Services, India (1996)

K.V. Soundara Rajan, “Concise Classified Dictionary Of Hinduism”, Concept

Publishing Company, India (2001)