Panchang in Diffa, Niger Thu 7 Apr 2011

The Moon gains on the Sun about 12° a day. Each 12° of lead is one tithi: 36°–48° is the 4th, Shukla Chaturthi. A day takes the tithi in force at its sunrise, 06:02 here. Tritiya ended at 22:01 Wed, before it. Chaturthi ends at 23:37, when the lead reaches 48°. The lead passed 0° at the new moon of 3 Apr, so the Moon is waxing: Shukla paksha.

The night of Wed 6 Apr ran from sunset 18:21 Wed to sunrise 06:02, 11 h 41 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 46 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 06:02 to 18:21, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 32 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 18:21 to 06:01 Fri, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 27 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The fixed stars divide the Moon's path into 27 nakshatras of 13°20′, each in 4 padas of 3°20′. Krittika spans 26°40′–40°00′; the Moon entered its pada 2 at 30°. It leaves at 20:13, for Rohini.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 353° + 32.8° = 385.8°, one full turn and 25.8°. Past the turn, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, it gives the yoga: 13°20′–26°40′ is the 2nd, Priti. It ends at 07:38, then Ayushmana.

A karana is half a tithi: 6° of the Moon's lead, so the first half of Chaturthi is Vanija and the second Vishti. Vanija runs until 10:52, when the lead reaches 42°; Vishti until 23:37.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 06:02 to 06:01 Fri, so the hours after midnight still belong to Guruwara.

An amanta month runs from new moon to new moon and takes its name from the rashi the Sun is in at the new moon that begins it: Meena gives Chaitra. The Sun enters Mesha on 14 Apr, inside the month. The next new moon, 3 May, finds it in Mesha and begins Vaishakha.

A purnimanta month runs from full moon to full moon, so its waning half comes first. It shares its name with the amanta month that its second half falls in: the new moon of 3 Apr, with the Sun in Meena, began Chaitra. This Shukla paksha reads Chaitra in both counts.

A samvat year begins with Chaitra, the month whose new moon finds the Sun in Meena: 3 Apr 2011, 15:32 Sun. Since then the Sun has moved 3.5° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2068; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1933.