Panchang in Sevan, Gegharkunik, Armenia Wed 1 Jan 2003

Shiva’s worship centres on nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Chaturdashi runs from 04:11 on Wed 1 Jan to 02:07 on Thu 2 Jan, so only Wednesday night’s nishitha (00:34 Thu–01:32 Thu) falls within it. No text giving Masik Shivratri’s time was found; nishitha is Tithika’s convention.

Masik Shivratri: every date in Sevan

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, 08:23 here. Trayodashi ended at 04:11, before it. Chaturdashi ends at 02:07 Thu, when the lead reaches 348°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 19 Dec, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

The night of Tue 31 Dec ran from sunset 17:42 Tue to sunrise 08:23, 14 h 41 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 58 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 08:23 to 17:43, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 10 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 17:43 to 08:23 Thu, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 50 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′. Jyeshtha spans 226°40′–240°00′; the Moon entered its pada 3 at 233°20′. It leaves at 17:18, for Mula.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 256.4° + 234.7° = 491.1°, one full turn and 131.1°. Past the turn, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, it gives the yoga: 120°00′–133°20′ is the 10th, Ganda. It ends at 11:48, then Vriddhi.

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 15:07, when the lead reaches 342°; Shakuni until 02:07 Thu.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 08:23 to 08:23 Thu, so the hours after midnight still belong to Budhawara.

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, 3 Jan, 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 3 Jan, 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: 13 Apr 2002, 00:21 Sat. Since then the Sun has moved 257.6° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2059; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1924.