Panchang in Sevan, Gegharkunik, Armenia Fri 13 Aug 1971

Krishna’s birth is celebrated at nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Ashtami runs from 03:53 on Fri 13 Aug to 02:03 on Sat 14 Aug, so only Friday night’s nishitha (00:44 Sat–01:25 Sat) falls within it. Every reading takes that day.

Janmashtami: every date in Sevan

The Moon gains on the Sun about 12° a day. Each 12° of lead is one tithi: 264°–276° is the 23rd, Krishna Ashtami. A day takes the tithi in force at its sunrise, 06:07 here. Saptami ended at 03:53, before it. Ashtami ends at 02:03 Sat, when the lead reaches 276°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 6 Aug, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

The night of Thu 12 Aug ran from sunset 20:02 Thu to sunrise 06:07, 10 h 5 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 40 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 06:07 to 20:01, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 44 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 20:01 to 06:08 Sat, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 15 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′. Bharani spans 13°20′–26°40′; the Moon entered its pada 3 at 20°. It leaves at 15:04, for Krittika.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 116.2° + 21.5° = 137.7°. The sum, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, gives the yoga: 133°20′–146°40′ is the 11th, Vriddhi. It ends at 20:34, then Dhruva.

A karana is half a tithi: 6° of the Moon's lead, so the first half of Ashtami is Balava and the second Kaulava. Balava runs until 14:55, when the lead reaches 270°; Kaulava until 02:03 Sat.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 06:07 to 06:08 Sat, so the hours after midnight still belong to Shukrawara.

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: Karka gives Shravana. The Sun enters Simha on 17 Aug, inside the month. The next new moon, 21 Aug, finds it in Simha and begins Bhadrapada.

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 21 Aug, with the Sun in Simha, begins Bhadrapada. Until then this Krishna paksha reads Bhadrapada here, and Shravana in the amanta count.

A samvat year begins with Chaitra, the month whose new moon finds the Sun in Meena: 26 Mar 1971, 23:23 Fri. Since then the Sun has moved 134.2° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2028; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1893.