Panchang in Sevan, Gegharkunik, Armenia Thu 13 Aug 2009

Krishna’s birth is celebrated at nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Ashtami runs from 12:26 on Thu 13 Aug to 11:15 on Fri 14 Aug, so only Thursday night’s nishitha (01:44 Fri–02:25 Fri) falls within it.

Janmashtami: every date in Sevan

The Moon gains on the Sun about 12° a day. Each 12° of lead is one tithi: 252°–264° is the 22nd, Krishna Saptami. A day takes the tithi in force at its sunrise, 07:08 here. Shashthi ended at 13:02 Wed, before it. Saptami ends at 12:26, when the lead reaches 264°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 6 Aug, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

The night of Wed 12 Aug ran from sunset 21:01 Wed to sunrise 07:08, 10 h 7 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 40 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 07:08 to 21:00, 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, 21:00 to 07:09 Fri, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 16 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 2 at 16°40′. It leaves at 23:03, for Krittika.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 116.5° + 17.7° = 134.2°. The sum, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, gives the yoga: 133°20′–146°40′ is the 11th, Vriddhi. It ends at 03:48 Fri, then Dhruva.

A karana is half a tithi: 6° of the Moon's lead, so the first half of Saptami is Vishti and the second Bava. Vishti ended at 00:48, when the lead reached 258°; Bava runs until 12:26.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 07:08 to 07:09 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: Karka gives Shravana. The Sun enters Simha on 16 Aug, inside the month. The next new moon, 20 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 20 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 2009, 20:05 Thu. Since then the Sun has moved 134.4° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2066; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1931.