A karana is half a tithi, the unit of the Hindu lunar calendar covering half of the twelve-degree separation between Sun and Moon. There are eleven: four fixed karanas, Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna, that occur once per lunar month, and seven movable ones, Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garija, Vanija and Vishti, that repeat in rotation across the month. They are used in muhurta, the selection of auspicious times, alongside tithi, nakshatra and yoga in the panchanga, the traditional almanac; Vishti in particular is widely held inauspicious and avoided for beginning new undertakings.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingHalf a tithi, and one of the five limbs (anga) of the pancanga almanac: eleven in all, four fixed and seven movable. 1 Size of the Traditional Set Comparison
Cultural Origin Learn More
The half-tithi
A karana is half a tithi, the unit covering half of the twelve-degree separation between Sun and Moon, so that there are two karanas to each tithi and sixty in a lunar month. There are eleven karanas in all: four fixed ones (the sthira karanas) that occur only once each per lunar month, around the new moon, and seven movable ones (the chara karanas) that repeat in rotation through the month.
The karana is one of the five limbs of the panchanga, the Hindu almanac, and is consulted in electional astrology for the suitability of a moment for particular undertakings.
Use in the almanac
Each karana has a name and a character, favouring or disfavouring certain kinds of action, and the karana of a given moment is read alongside the tithi, nakshatra, yoga and weekday in choosing an auspicious time (muhurta). The fixed karanas around the new moon carry special significance.
The atlas gives each karana its place in the cycle and its traditional associations. The tithis the karanas divide, and the nitya yogas they accompany in the panchanga, are treated in their own categories.
Browse By
Karanas
Sources
1. The Indian Calendar
Robert Sewell and Sankara Balkrishna Dikshit, Swan Sonnenschein, 1896View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Hindu units of time
WikipediaWikipedia lead sectionQuote, Wikipedia lead section
Hindu units of time are described in Hindu texts ranging from microseconds to trillions of years, including cycles of cosmic time that repeat general events in Hindu cosmology.
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.