Panchang in Diffa, Niger Tue 14 Jul 2015

Shiva’s worship centres on nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Chaturdashi runs from 02:20 on Tue 14 Jul to 02:08 on Wed 15 Jul, so only Tuesday night’s nishitha (23:53–00:37 Wed) falls within it. No text giving Masik Shivratri’s time was found; nishitha is Tithika’s convention.

Masik Shivratri: every date in Diffa

The Moon gains on the Sun about 12° a day. Each 12° of lead is one tithi: 336°–348° is the 29th, Krishna Chaturdashi. A day takes the tithi in force at its sunrise, 05:50 here. Trayodashi ended at 02:20, before it. Chaturdashi ends at 02:08 Wed, when the lead reaches 348°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 2 Jul, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

A day takes the tithi in force at its sunrise.

New Delhi · IST

Sunrise here, 05:32, came before Trayodashi ended at 06:50: this day reads Trayodashi.

Diffa · UTC+1

Sunrise here, 05:50, came after Trayodashi ended at 02:20: this day reads Chaturdashi.

The night of Mon 13 Jul ran from sunset 18:40 Mon to sunrise 05:50, 11 h 10 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 44 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 05:50 to 18:40, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 36 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 18:40 to 05:50 Wed, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 23 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′. Mrigashira spans 53°20′–66°40′; the Moon entered its pada 4 at 63°20′. It leaves at 08:35, for Ardra.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 87.4° + 65.2° = 152.6°. The sum, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, gives the yoga: 146°40′–160°00′ is the 12th, Dhruva. It ends at 18:35, then Vyaghata.

A karana is half a tithi: 6° of the Moon's lead, so the first half of Chaturdashi is Vishti and the second Shakuni. Vishti runs until 14:11, when the lead reaches 342°; Shakuni until 02:08 Wed.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 05:50 to 05:50 Wed, so the hours after midnight still belong to Mangalawara.

A month normally holds one sankranti, the Sun's entry into a new rashi. From 16 Jun 15:05 Tue to 16 Jul 02:24 Thu the Sun stayed in Mithuna, entering Karka at 16 Jul 23:32 Thu, after the new moon. A month with no sankranti is Adhika Ashadha, before Ashadha itself.

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 16 Jul, with the Sun in Mithuna, begins Ashadha (Adhik). Until then this Krishna paksha reads Ashadha (Adhik) here, and Ashadha (Adhik) in the amanta count.

A samvat year begins with Chaitra, the month whose new moon finds the Sun in Meena: 20 Mar 2015, 10:36 Fri. Since then the Sun has moved 112° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2072; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1937.