LUNAR DAY OR TITHI -- AN IMPORTANT PART OF PANCHANG

अर्काद्विनिसृज: प्राचीं यद्यात्यहरह: शद्री।

तच्चान्द्रमानमंद्गौस्तु ज्ञेया द्वादद्गाभिस्तिथि:॥ {सूर्य सिद्धांत--मानाध्याय, श्लोक-13}

A Tithi is a lunar day After the conjunction of Sun & Moon the time taken by Moon to go ahead of Sun by 12 degree is the period of 1 tithi. The average time of a tithi is 23H 37M 28S

Tithis vary in duration from approximately 19 to 26 hours, according to the movement of the Moon. Each tithi has a name, a ruling planet, and can be used in Muhurta (picking a proper time).Amavasya is when the Sun and Moon's longitude is the same again.

Formula to calculate tithi :

Longitude of Moon –Longitude of Sun

12

13 Apr 2014

Longitude of Moon 5s- 3-49

Longitude of Sun 11s 29-10

(153-49)- (359-10)

12

Adding 360 to longitude of Moon153.49+360=513.49

:. (513-49)- (359-10)

12

Quotient =12 so tithi on 13 april 2014 is 12+1 i.e. triyodashi

Tithis

Tithi   Phase difference between Sun & Moon

Tithi	Shukla Paksh	Krishna Paksh
Prathma or Pratipada	12°×1=12°	180° + 12°×1=192°
Dvitiya	12°×2=24°	180°+12°×2=204°
Tritiya	12°×3=36°	180°+12°×3=216°
Chaturthi	12°×4=48°	180°+12°×4=228°
Panchami	12°×5=60°	180°+12°×5=240°
Shashthi	12°×6=72°	180°+12°×6=252°
Saptami	12°×7=84°	180°+12°×7=264°
Ashtami	12°×8=96°	180°+12°×8=276°
Navami	12°×9=108°	180°+12°×9=288°
Dashami	12°×10=120°	180°+12°×10=300°
Ekadashi	12°×11=132°	180°+12°×11=312°
Dvadashi	12°×12=144°	180°+12°×12=324°
Trayodashi	12°×13=156°	180°+12°×13=336°
Chaturdashi	12°×14=168°	180°+12°×14=348°
Poornima or Aamavasya	12°×15=180°	180°+12°×15=360° or 0°

The lunar days (tithis) of both the bright and dark half of the month are below:

Day	Tithi	Quality	Deity
One	Pratipada	One Giving Rise	Agni
Two	Dwitiya	Auspicious	Ashwini Kumar/Brahma
Three	Tritiya	Strength & Power	Gauri - Wife of Shiva
Four	Chathurthi	Negative	Ganapati
Five	Panchami	Laxmi/Wealth	Naga
Six	Shasti	Fame	Kartika-Mars
Seven	Saptami	Friendly	Surya - Sun
Eight	Ashtami	Conflict	Shiva/Matrgana
Nine	Navami	Agressive	Durga
Ten	Dashami	Soft	Yama - the God of Death/Diks - Godesses of the Ten Directions
Eleven	Ekadashi	Happiness	Vishwedeva/Kuber/Vayu
Twelve	Dwadashi	Fame	Vishnu
Thirteen	Trayodashi	Victory	Kamdeva/Dharma
Fourteen	Chaturdashi	Agressive	Shiva/Rudra
Fifteen/Full Moon	Purnima	Soft	Soma
Thirtieth	Amavasya	Inauspicious	Pitris

The rulership of the tithis is based on the days of the week;

Planet	Tithi	Tithi
Sun	1	9
Moon	2	10
Mars	3	11
Mercury	4	12
Jupiter	5	13
Venus	6	14
Saturn	7	15
Rahu	8	0

Tithis are also broken down into five groups given below:

The Tithis are divided into five groups:

   1. Nanda (Ananda or Joyous) tithis -  Prathipada (1st), Shasti (6th) and Ekadashi

(11th) bestows happiness and joy

   2. Bhadra (Arogya or Mangala or Healthy) tithis -  Dwitiya (2nd), Saptami (7th)

and Dwadashi (12th) good for stating new work

   3. Jaya (Victory) Tithis -Tuesday Tritiya (3rd), Ashtami (8th ) and Trtayodashi

(13th) good for winning over enemies

  4. Rikkta (Loss or Nashta) Tithis - Saturday Chathurthi (4th), Navami (9th) and

Chaturdasi (14th)  not good for any important work, so it is avoided

  5. Poorna (Sampoorna - Full Moon or New Moon) Tithis -Thursday Panchami

(5th), Dashami (10th) and Amavasya (15th)(New Moon) or Poornima (15th) very

good  to complete all jobs

Nanda	Fire	1, 6, 11	Friday
Badra	Earth	2, 7, 12	Wednesday
Jaya	Akash	3, 8, 13	Tuesday
Rikta	Water	4, 9, 14	Saturnday
Purna	Vayu	5, 10, 15	Thursday

HereTrittya tithi (3rd ) is ruled by Mars but as it is Jaya (ruled by akash/Jupiter) so it will bring two people together, as akash is the binding force (that keeps the jiva in the body). Ekadasi tithi (11th ) is ruled by Mars and it is Nanda (ruled by fire-Mars) so the fighting is very strong. Mars is passionate, energetic, and creates conflict, it is not good for marriage, though it is good for war and leadership.

When certain Tithis line up with specific Varas (days) they are considered auspicious and therefore work on those days is accomplished successfully.

If Pratipat (1st ), Shashti (6th ), or Dwadashi (12th ) fall on a Friday, it is considered auspicious

Types of Tithi
There are several types of Tithi. To know the auspicious Tithi one must know about them.

A-Khand Tithi (undivided)
When one Tithi continues from sunrise to sunset, it is called "A-Khand (undivided) Tithi"
Khandit Tithi (divided)
When any Tithi ends before sunset it is called "Khandit (divided) Tithi"
Kshaya Tithi (destructive)
If there are three Tithi in one day, it is called  (Tithi is destructed) .....  Not good

Example of vridhi tithi :

9April 2014

Time of sunrise on 9 april2014: 6.08

Time of sunrise on 10 april2014: 6.06

.	Longitude of Moon	Longitude of Sun
10 april 2014 at 5.30am	3s-24-51-57	11s-25-59-30
9April 2014 at 5:30 am	3s-12-57-05	11s-25-00-14
Motion in 24 nours	0s-11-54-52	0s-00-59-16
Motion in(6.08-5.30) 38 min	0s-00-18-56	0s-00-01-47
10 april 2014 at 6:08	3s-25-09-53	11s-26-01-17
09 april 2014 at 6:08	3s-13-15-54	11s-25-02-26

Tithi on 9 April 2014 :( (463-16-54)- (355-02-26)

                            12

Q=9

Tithi = Q +1 = 9+1=10 (Dashmi)
So tithi in progress=Dashmi

Tithi on 10 April @sunrise :

(475-09-53)- (356-01-36)

  12

Q = 9

Shows dashmi Tithi still in progress (Tithi Vridhi)

According to Mansagri :

“A person born in Shukla Paksha is elegant like full Moon, wealthy, industrious, well read in shastras, efficient and learned”: 

On the contrary, an individual born in Krishna Paksha is “cruel, harsh in speech, hates women, dull-witted, earns livelihood with the help of others and has a big family.” It is observed that the culmination of progress in an individual’s life is directly related to the tithi on which the birth takes place in Shukla Paksha from the New Moon until the Full Moon. On the other hand, those born in Krishna paksha seem to have difficulty in adjusting themselves in their environment and subject to other indications in the horoscope, are not as successful.Krishna Paksha people born in wealthy families in many cases end up in poverty or lose their authority and power, unless there are other strong favourable Yogas to sustain them in life.

Anju Anand

To be conti………