New Numerology API

Panchang and calendar

Karana in Vedic astrology

A karana is half a tithi: the time it takes the Moon to gain 6 degrees on the Sun. There are 60 in a lunar month, drawn from 11 names. Seven repeat in a cycle, and four fixed ones fall once a month around the new moon. Vishti, also called bhadra, is avoided for new starts.

Updated

More terms in Panchang and calendar

© API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com). "Glossary day arc". All rights reserved. Not to be copied or reused.12345678SunriseNoonSunsetOne day, from sunrise to sunset

Karana: how the API computes it

The API finds the karana from the same gap between the Moon and the Sun that sets the tithi (the lunar day). It uses steps of 6 degrees, so every tithi has two karanas (PA-03). Seven of the 11 names repeat in a fixed cycle: Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti. They fill the month eight times over, 56 karanas in all.

The other four are fixed and come once a month, around the new moon. Shakuni, Chatushpada and Naga come at the end of the dark half. Kimstughna comes in the first half of the new month's first tithi.

Vishti is the one tradition avoids, and its stretch of time is called bhadra. GET /v1/panchang/daily returns the karana at sunrise with its number, start and end. The changes list shows every karana until the next sunrise, usually two or three.

The bhadra band in the same response uses the same Vishti times, so the two never disagree. On Oct 1, 2026, in New York, the karana at sunrise was Gara, which ended at 1:55 p.m.

Get it from the API

Panchang at the birth moment. Here is the call to API for Astrology (apiforastrology.com) for our sample, John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York.

POST /v1/panchang

# John Doe, born Aug 15, 1990, 10:30 AM, New York
curl -X POST "https://apiforastrology.com/api/astrology/v1/panchang" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ASTROLOGY_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"year":1990,"month":8,"day":15,"hour":10,"minute":30,"second":0,"latitude":40.7128,"longitude":-74.006,"timezone":"America/New_York"}'
Answer (long lists shortened)200 OK
{
  "tithi": {
    "index": 25,
    "name": "Dashami",
    "paksha": "krishna",
    "completion_percent": 64.9975
  },
  "yoga": {
    "index": 14,
    "name": "Harshana",
    "completion_percent": 0.1278
  },
  "karana": {
    "index": 50,
    "name": "Vishti",
    "completion_percent": 29.9949
  },
  "vara": {
    "index": 4,
    "name": "Wednesday",
    "lord": "Mercury"
  },
  "vedic_vara": {
    "index": 4,
    "name": "Wednesday",
    "lord": "Mercury",
    "before_sunrise": false
  },
  "note": "`vara` is the civil weekday; `vedic_vara` runs sunrise to sunrise and is what the vara lord is read from",
  "nakshatra": {
    "name": "Mrigashira",
    "lord": "Mars",
    "pada": 1
  },
  "meta": {
    "ayanamsa": "lahiri",
    "ayanamsa_value": 23.7260727,
    "julian_day": 2448119.10483,
    "ephemeris": "JPL DE440s",
    "node": "true",
    "timezone": {
      "source": "zone",
      "offset_hours": -4,
      "zone": "America/New_York",
      "abbreviation": "EDT",
      "dst": true,
      "dst_hours": 1,
      "ambiguous_resolved_by_fold": null,
      "note": "read from the IANA tz database at this instant, so daylight saving and historical offset changes are included"
    }
  }
}

Where the API returns it

POST/v1/panchangPanchang at the birth moment
GET/v1/panchang/dailyDaily panchang for a date and place, no birth data
GET/v1/panchang/monthPanchang calendar for a month, with festivals and fasts
POST/v1/reading/dailyDaily reading for a chart
GET/v1/rashi/{sign}/todayDaily reading for a Moon sign, no chart

What the API reference says

Each line is quoted from the reference page of the endpoint named above it.

  • GET /v1/panchang/month · Panchang calendar for a month, with festivals and fastsEach row has the tithi (lunar day), nakshatra (lunar mansion), yoga and karana running at sunrise, and when each one ends.

The 11 karanas

  • Bava
  • Balava
  • Kaulava
  • Taitila
  • Gara
  • Vanija
  • Vishti
  • Shakuni
  • Chatushpada
  • Naga
  • Kimstughna

Feature page: Panchang and muhurat. Who uses it: Publishers and media. The classical rules the API follows are in the rulebook.

How we check the numbers

Every value here starts from planet positions worked out from NASA JPL planet data (DE440). We test them against NASA JPL Horizons, NASA's planet position service. On 25,571 positions from 1850 to 2149, the Sun and planets agree within 0.001 arc seconds. The Moon agrees within 0.011. On 2,000 random birth charts, the rising sign agrees with Swiss Ephemeris within 0.004 arc seconds. An arc second is 1/3,600 of a degree. A practicing astrologer reviews the rules behind these answers. See how we test.

Related terms

Free tools

See it with your own details

Runs on the same API call. Enter your details and see the answer in your browser.

All free tools

  • Today's panchang

    Tithi (lunar day), nakshatra, sunrise, rahu kaal and the choghadiya (good and bad parts of the day) for your own city.

    See today's panchang

From the blog

Astrology API

Get these values from the API

Create a free test key and call any endpoint on this page. Or try a request in the API reference first.

Get a free API keyOpen the API reference

Your first answer

John Doe, New York

POST /v1/planets200 OK
  • RisingVirgoHast
  • SunCancerAshlesha
  • MoonTaurusMrigashira
  • MarsAriesKrittika

Real API output. A free test key gets the same answer.

  1. 01

    Test key: 1,000 test calls a month to build with

  2. 02

    Free plan: 2,000 live calls a month, no card needed

  3. 03

    Open rules: every rule is published, so you can check any answer