Panchang in Pāthardi, Maharashtra Thu 17 Dec 1998

Shiva’s worship centres on nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Chaturdashi runs from 00:31 on Thu 17 Dec to 02:32 on Fri 18 Dec, touching nishitha on both nights. The Nirnayasindhu takes the night it holds more of: Thu 17 Dec. No text giving Masik Shivratri’s time was found; nishitha is Tithika’s convention.

Masik Shivratri: every date in Pāthardi

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, 06:55 here. Trayodashi ended at 00:31, before it. Chaturdashi ends at 02:32 Fri, when the lead reaches 348°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 3 Dec, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

The night of Wed 16 Dec ran from sunset 17:54 Wed to sunrise 06:55, 13 h 1 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 52 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 06:55 to 17:54, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 22 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 17:54 to 06:56 Fri, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 37 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′. Anuradha spans 213°20′–226°40′; the Moon entered its pada 2 at 216°40′. It leaves at 20:11, for Jyeshtha.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 241° + 219.9° = 460.9°, one full turn and 100.9°. Past the turn, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, it gives the yoga: 93°20′–106°40′ is the 8th, Dhriti. It ends at 17:14, then Shula.

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 13:34, when the lead reaches 342°; Shakuni until 02:32 Fri.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 06:55 to 06:56 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: Vrishchika gives Margashirsha. The Sun enters Dhanu on 16 Dec, inside the month. The next new moon, 19 Dec, finds it in Dhanu and begins Pausha.

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 19 Dec, with the Sun in Dhanu, begins Pausha. Until then this Krishna paksha reads Pausha here, and Margashirsha in the amanta count.

A samvat year begins with Chaitra, the month whose new moon finds the Sun in Meena: 28 Mar 1998, 08:43 Sat. Since then the Sun has moved 257.6° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2055; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1920.