Disclaimer: For Information Only, Please Ask Your Priest
Panchang USA gives general information about the Hindu calendar, festivals, muhurat and the rites for ancestors. It is for information and education only. For any date, time, ritual or decision that matters to you, please ask your own priest (pandit, purohit or jyotishi) and the elders of your family. Their guidance is final, not this website.
Last updated November 5, 2026.
Information only
Nothing on this site is religious, astrological, legal, medical, financial, travel or other professional advice, and using it does not create a priest–client or any other professional relationship. The site does not use your horoscope (kundali) anywhere. It cannot tell what is right for your family or for your own situation.
Rules and customs differ
Hindu practice is not the same everywhere. It differs by region, language, community and sampradaya, by family tradition, by school of thought (for example Smarta and Vaishnava reckoning of Ekadashi), and by the printed or online Panchang a priest follows. Some of the choices that change the answer:
- Month names: Purnimanta (North India) and Amanta (Gujarat, Maharashtra, the South) count the dark half of a month differently, so the same day can carry two month names. We show both.
- The day: we begin the day at sunrise and name it by the tithi at sunrise (the udaya tithi). Other traditions begin the day at midnight or use another point.
- Ayanamsa: we use the Lahiri (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa. Other ayanamsas give slightly different nakshatras, rashis and Sankranti times.
- A tithi that spans two days: which day is observed depends on the festival and on the tradition. We apply one rule per festival and say so on the page; yours may apply another.
- Time windows: the exact length and position of Pradosh, Brahma muhurta, Aparahna, Abhijit and similar windows are defined differently by different texts.
- Local and family custom often overrides all of the above, and that is as it should be.
We show the rule we used. Other rules are also valid. Where they matter, the page says so.
How the dates and times are worked out
They are calculated for the city you choose, from astronomical positions, with the Lahiri ayanamsa and the sunrise-based convention, and shown to the minute. They can differ from a printed Panchang or another website by a minute, and for a festival occasionally by a day. See How we calculate.
Muhurat and the lists of good days
The muhurat pages apply general rules from commonly cited sources: the nakshatra, tithi, weekday and month, and the periods to avoid (such as Rahu Kalam, Bhadra, Panchak, eclipses, Chaturmas and Kharmas). This is a first filter, not a personal muhurat. It does not look at your horoscope, at compatibility for a marriage, at planetary periods (dashas) or at your family’s custom. Your priest may accept a day that is not listed and reject a day that is. Please confirm with your priest or jyotishi before you fix a date, book a venue, make a purchase or travel.
Rites for ancestors
Tarpan, Shraddha, Pind Daan and Pitru Paksha practice differs widely by family, community and place: who performs the rite, on which day, with which items, mantras and order. The guides give general information only, and the Shraddha tithi finder applies one rule (the tithi that covers the afternoon, Aparahna) that some families do not follow. Please ask your family priest and elders before you perform any rite, and especially for a rite that cannot be repeated.
Festival and vrat guides
The dos and don’ts, fasts, offerings and stories describe common practice in a general way. If you fast, or if you have a health condition, take medicine, are pregnant or are caring for a child or an older person, please talk to your doctor first. Take ordinary care with lamps, fire, camphor and incense, and follow the rules of your building and city.
Sacred places, travel and temples
Opening times, fees, dress codes, registration, crowd control and seasons change, and parts of this information may be out of date. Please check with the temple, the local authority or an official source, and with a priest, before you travel or book a ritual. Take care near rivers, ghats and crowds.
Regional and other calendars
The regional calendar pages describe how those calendars work; they do not calculate their dates. Please use the calendar of your own community for them.
Accuracy and changes
We work hard to be accurate, we check our calculations against reference software and published calendars, and we correct mistakes when we find them. The written guides are compiled from published sources and checked against them; they have not been certified by any religious authority. Errors can still happen, and the content may change without notice. If you find one, please tell us at [email protected].
Email reminders
Reminders are a convenience. An email can be late, filtered or wrong. Please do not rely on a reminder alone for any date that matters; confirm it with your priest or family.
The advertisement
The advertisement on this site is for Prem Tax and Accounting Corp, a tax practice owned by the owner of this site. It is not part of the Panchang content and is not religious advice.
Responsibility
You use the information at your own judgment. To the fullest extent the law allows, this site and its owner are not responsible for decisions made, or for losses of any kind, because of what the site says or leaves out. This page is a plain-language statement and does not replace the Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy.