Panchang in Shkodër, Shkodër County, Albania Thu 26 Jan 2017

Shiva’s worship centres on nishitha, the midnight muhurta. Chaturdashi runs from 23:27 on Wed 25 Jan to 00:31 on Fri 27 Jan, touching nishitha on both nights. The Nirnayasindhu takes the night it holds more of: Thu 26 Jan. No text giving Masik Shivratri’s time was found; nishitha is Tithika’s convention.

Masik Shivratri: every date in Shkodër

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, 07:00 here. Trayodashi ended at 23:27 Wed, before it. Chaturdashi ends at 00:31 Fri, when the lead reaches 348°. The lead passed 180° at the full moon of 12 Jan, so the Moon is waning: Krishna paksha.

The night of Wed 25 Jan ran from sunset 16:47 Wed to sunrise 07:00, 14 h 13 m. Cut into 15 muhurtas of 56 m, its 14th is Brahma Muhurta, the one before the last.

Daylight here, 07:00 to 16:48, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 13 m. Their names follow a fixed order that starts from the weekday, and each name is counted good, neutral or bad.

The night here, 16:48 to 06:59 Fri, splits into 8 choghadiyas of 1 h 46 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′. Purva Ashadha spans 253°20′–266°40′; the Moon entered its pada 3 at 260°. It leaves at 16:02, for Uttara Ashadha.

Add the Sun's and the Moon's places among the stars: 282.4° + 262° = 544.4°, one full turn and 184.4°. Past the turn, cut into 27 parts of 13°20′, it gives the yoga: 173°20′–186°40′ is the 14th, Harshana. It ends at 11:08, then Vajra.

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 12:03, when the lead reaches 342°; Shakuni until 00:31 Fri.

A Hindu day runs from one sunrise to the next, not midnight to midnight. This one runs 07:00 to 06:59 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: Dhanu gives Pausha. The Sun enters Makara on 14 Jan, inside the month. The next new moon, 28 Jan, finds it in Makara and begins Magha.

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 28 Jan, with the Sun in Makara, begins Magha. Until then this Krishna paksha reads Magha here, and Pausha in the amanta count.

A samvat year begins with Chaitra, the month whose new moon finds the Sun in Meena: 7 Apr 2016, 13:23 Thu. Since then the Sun has moved 288.4° round the stars. Vikram Samvat numbers that year 2073; Shaka Samvat numbers it 1938.