Tithi calculator by date of birth

Find the janma tithi (birth tithi) from the date, time and place of birth: the lunar day with its paksha, how far into it the birth fell, and when it began and ended. The result also gives the yoga, the karana, the vara and the Moon’s nakshatra. No time? It lists every tithi of the day.

Date, time and place of birth

Date of birth

Time of birth

Place of birth

UTC offset at the place of birth

Time not known (show the whole day)

A tithi lasts about a day, so on most days the tithi changes at some hour; the birth time decides which one applies. Use the clock time on the birth record. Choosing a city sets its usual UTC offset; change it if summer time or India’s war time (UTC+06:30, 1941–45) was in force.

What a tithi is

A tithi is a lunar day: the time the Moon takes to gain 12° on the Sun. At the new moon (amavasya) the Moon and the Sun stand together; as the Moon pulls ahead, each further 12° of its lead begins a new tithi, so the 360° of a lunar month hold 30 tithis. The Moon’s speed varies, so a tithi can last anywhere from about 20 to 27 hours. It is not tied to midnight or sunrise and can begin at any hour.

The month falls into two pakshas of fifteen tithis each. Shukla paksha शुक्ल पक्ष, the bright, waxing half, runs from the new moon to the full moon (purnima); Krishna paksha कृष्ण पक्ष, the dark, waning half, runs from the full moon back to the new moon. The tithis in both halves share their names, from Pratipada (the first) to Chaturdashi (the fourteenth); the fifteenth is Purnima in the bright half and Amavasya in the dark half.

The 30 tithis

The 30 tithis of a lunar month and the Moon’s lead over the Sun in each
Shukla paksha (waxing)	Moon ahead by	Krishna paksha (waning)	Moon ahead by
1. Pratipada प्रतिपदा	0°–12°	16. Pratipada प्रतिपदा	180°–192°
2. Dwitiya द्वितीया	12°–24°	17. Dwitiya द्वितीया	192°–204°
3. Tritiya तृतीया	24°–36°	18. Tritiya तृतीया	204°–216°
4. Chaturthi चतुर्थी	36°–48°	19. Chaturthi चतुर्थी	216°–228°
5. Panchami पञ्चमी	48°–60°	20. Panchami पञ्चमी	228°–240°
6. Shashthi षष्ठी	60°–72°	21. Shashthi षष्ठी	240°–252°
7. Saptami सप्तमी	72°–84°	22. Saptami सप्तमी	252°–264°
8. Ashtami अष्टमी	84°–96°	23. Ashtami अष्टमी	264°–276°
9. Navami नवमी	96°–108°	24. Navami नवमी	276°–288°
10. Dashami दशमी	108°–120°	25. Dashami दशमी	288°–300°
11. Ekadashi एकादशी	120°–132°	26. Ekadashi एकादशी	300°–312°
12. Dwadashi द्वादशी	132°–144°	27. Dwadashi द्वादशी	312°–324°
13. Trayodashi त्रयोदशी	144°–156°	28. Trayodashi त्रयोदशी	324°–336°
14. Chaturdashi चतुर्दशी	156°–168°	29. Chaturdashi चतुर्दशी	336°–348°
15. Purnima पूर्णिमा	168°–180°	30. Amavasya अमावस्या	348°–360°

A tithi is written with its paksha, for example Shukla Panchami (the fifth of the bright half) or Krishna Ashtami (the eighth of the dark half); Purnima and Amavasya need no paksha. The ayanamsa plays no part, because only the difference between the Moon and the Sun counts.

Janma tithi and the panchang tithi

The janma tithi is the tithi running at the moment of birth, and that is what this calculator reports. A printed panchang works differently: it names the tithi that is running at sunrise and lets it stand for the whole civil day. So a panchang can show Shukla Dashami for a date while a child born that evening was born in Shukla Ekadashi. The same convention explains two oddities of the calendar: a tithi that begins after one sunrise and ends before the next never touches a sunrise and is skipped in the panchang (a kshaya tithi), while a long tithi that spans two sunrises is listed on two days.

The time matters because the tithi changes at a different hour every day. On a typical day the Moon spends part of the day in one tithi and the rest in the next, so a date alone is not enough. Without the time, the calculator shows each tithi of the date with the hour it began.

One day across a new moon

On 11 January 2024 (IST) the Moon caught up with the Sun at about 17:28, within a minute of NASA’s time for the new moon (11:57 UT, which is 17:27 IST). A child born that morning was born in Amavasya, the last tithi of Krishna paksha; a child born that evening in Shukla Pratipada, the first tithi of the new month. The karanas that day were Chatushpada (from 00:00), Naga (from 06:53), Kimstughna (from 17:28), the last two of the old month and the first of the new one.

How the yoga is found

The yoga, or nitya yoga, is a different kind of reckoning: instead of the gap between the Moon and the Sun it takes their sum. The sidereal longitudes of the two (here with the Lahiri ayanamsa) are added, and the total, taken round the 360° circle, is divided into 27 equal parts of 13°20′, the same size as a nakshatra. Each part is one yoga. A yoga lasts a little less than a day, about 20 to 25 hours, because the sum moves at the Moon’s speed plus the Sun’s.

The 27 yogas and the sum of the sidereal Sun and Moon in each
Yoga	Sun + Moon	Yoga	Sun + Moon	Yoga	Sun + Moon
1. Vishkambha विष्कम्भ	0°00′–13°20′	10. Ganda गण्ड	120°00′–133°20′	19. Parigha परिघ	240°00′–253°20′
2. Priti प्रीति	13°20′–26°40′	11. Vriddhi वृद्धि	133°20′–146°40′	20. Shiva शिव	253°20′–266°40′
3. Ayushman आयुष्मान्	26°40′–40°00′	12. Dhruva ध्रुव	146°40′–160°00′	21. Siddha सिद्ध	266°40′–280°00′
4. Saubhagya सौभाग्य	40°00′–53°20′	13. Vyaghata व्याघात	160°00′–173°20′	22. Sadhya साध्य	280°00′–293°20′
5. Shobhana शोभन	53°20′–66°40′	14. Harshana हर्षण	173°20′–186°40′	23. Shubha शुभ	293°20′–306°40′
6. Atiganda अतिगण्ड	66°40′–80°00′	15. Vajra वज्र	186°40′–200°00′	24. Shukla शुक्ल	306°40′–320°00′
7. Sukarma सुकर्मा	80°00′–93°20′	16. Siddhi सिद्धि	200°00′–213°20′	25. Brahma ब्रह्म	320°00′–333°20′
8. Dhriti धृति	93°20′–106°40′	17. Vyatipata व्यतीपात	213°20′–226°40′	26. Indra इन्द्र	333°20′–346°40′
9. Shula शूल	106°40′–120°00′	18. Variyana वरीयान्	226°40′–240°00′	27. Vaidhriti वैधृति	346°40′–360°00′

How the karana is found

A karana is half a tithi: 6° of the Moon’s lead over the Sun, so there are 60 karanas in a lunar month and two in every tithi. Eleven names cover them. The month opens with the fixed karana Kimstughna किंस्तुघ्न, the first half of Shukla Pratipada. Then the seven movable (chara) karanas follow in a fixed order, eight times over:

Bava बव
Balava बालव
Kaulava कौलव
Taitila तैतिल
Gara गर
Vanija वणिज
Vishti विष्टि, also called Bhadra

That fills the 2nd to the 57th karana, which ends with the first half of Krishna Chaturdashi. The last three are fixed (sthira) karanas: Shakuni शकुनि, Chatushpada चतुष्पद and Naga नाग, the second half of Krishna Chaturdashi and the two halves of Amavasya. A karana usually lasts 10 to 13 hours.

The vara and sunrise

The vara is the weekday, each named after its ruling planet: Ravivara रविवार (Sunday), Somavara सोमवार (Monday), Mangalavara मंगलवार (Tuesday), Budhavara बुधवार (Wednesday), Guruvara गुरुवार (Thursday), Shukravara शुक्रवार (Friday), Shanivara शनिवार (Saturday). In the Vedic tradition the day runs from one sunrise to the next, so a birth between midnight and sunrise belongs to the previous day’s vara: a baby born at 04:00 on a Saturday morning is counted as born on Shukravara. The calculator gives the weekday of the date you enter and leaves the sunrise rule to you, because sunrise depends on the exact place and season.

Nakshatra and pada calculator: the birth star with its ruling planet and name syllable.
Rashi calculator by date of birth: the Moon sign and the first letter for a name.
Gandmool nakshatra calculator: whether the birth star is one of the six junction nakshatras.
Tarabalam calculator: the tara of a day’s nakshatra counted from the birth star.
The 27 nakshatras explained.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my tithi by date of birth?

Enter the date, time and place (or UTC offset) of birth in the calculator above. It works out how far the Moon was ahead of the Sun at that moment and names the tithi, with its paksha, how much of it had passed, and when it began and ended. The same calculation gives the yoga, the karana and the Moon's nakshatra.

What is a janma tithi?

The janma tithi, or birth tithi, is the lunar day in which a person was born: one of the 30 tithis of the lunar month, such as Shukla Panchami or Krishna Ashtami. In many families it is the date by which a birthday is kept in the Hindu calendar, and it is one of the five elements (panchang) of the moment of birth.

How is a tithi calculated?

A tithi is 12° of the Moon's lead over the Sun. At the new moon the two are together and the 1st tithi, Shukla Pratipada, begins; when the Moon is 12° ahead the 2nd begins, and so on, until the full moon at 180° ends the 15th, Purnima. The second fifteen, Krishna Pratipada to Amavasya, cover 180° to 360°. Because only the difference between the Moon and the Sun counts, the tithi is the same in every ayanamsa.

Why is the tithi in the panchang different from my birth tithi?

A printed panchang names the tithi that is running at sunrise and lets it stand for the whole civil day. The janma tithi is the one running at the moment of birth. A tithi lasts roughly 20 to 27 hours, so on most days it changes at some hour, and a birth after that hour is in the next tithi even though the calendar still shows the earlier one.

What are yoga and karana in a birth chart?

They are two more panchang elements. The yoga (nitya yoga) comes from adding the sidereal longitudes of the Sun and the Moon and dividing the total into 27 parts of 13°20′, from Vishkambha to Vaidhriti. The karana is half a tithi, 6° of the Moon's lead over the Sun: 60 karanas in a lunar month, made of Kimstughna, the seven movable karanas Bava to Vishti repeated eight times, and Shakuni, Chatushpada and Naga.

What is the vara of a birth before sunrise?

In the Vedic tradition the day, and so the vara (weekday), runs from sunrise to sunrise rather than midnight to midnight. A child born at 03:00 on a Tuesday by the clock is therefore counted as born on the Monday's vara, Somavara. The calculator shows the weekday of the date entered and reminds you of this rule; it does not compute sunrise, which needs the exact place.

How accurate is this tithi calculator?

The Sun and Moon positions are checked against JPL Horizons, and the tithi changes against NASA's new and full moon times, which they match to within a minute or two. That is also the accuracy of the time given for a tithi, karana or yoga change. The tool warns when a birth is within an hour of a change, because then an error in the recorded time matters more than the calculation does.

Can I use it without a birth time?

Yes. Tick 'time not known' and it lists every tithi, karana and yoga of that date with the local time each one began, so you can see whether the whole day falls in one tithi or which hours belong to which.

Are my birth details saved?

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent. The details appear in the page address only if you open or copy the share link.