Panchang
Tithi
The lunar day, its paksha, and when it gives way to the next tithi.
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What a Tithi Is
A tithi is a lunar day: the time it takes the Moon to move 12 degrees ahead of the Sun. A lunar month has 30 tithis, split into two fortnights called pakshas, and most Hindu festivals, fasts and anniversaries (such as shraddha) are fixed by tithi rather than by calendar date.
The free Tithi calculator on GyaaniJyotish shows the tithi for your city and date, its paksha and when it ends, with no sign-in.
How to Read the Tithi
The Tithi entry in the Panchang panel is highlighted on this page. It shows three things:
- The tithi name, such as Panchami or Ekadashi.
- The paksha in brackets: Shukla for the waxing fortnight, Krishna for the waning one.
- Ends, the date and time the tithi gives way to the next.
The header shows the lunar month, which together with the tithi and paksha names a festival day, for example Kartika Krishna Amavasya.
The 30 Tithis
Each paksha has 15 tithis. The first fourteen carry the same names in both halves, and the fifteenth is different:
| Number | Tithi | Number | Tithi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pratipada | 9 | Navami |
| 2 | Dwitiya | 10 | Dashami |
| 3 | Tritiya | 11 | Ekadashi |
| 4 | Chaturthi | 12 | Dwadashi |
| 5 | Panchami | 13 | Trayodashi |
| 6 | Shashthi | 14 | Chaturdashi |
| 7 | Saptami | 15 (Shukla) | Purnima, full moon |
| 8 | Ashtami | 15 (Krishna) | Amavasya, new moon |
Because the Moon's speed varies, a tithi can last anywhere from about 19 to 26 hours. Occasionally a tithi begins after one sunrise and ends before the next, so it never touches a sunrise and is called a kshaya (lost) tithi. At other times one tithi spans two sunrises and is called a vriddhi (extended) tithi.
Common Questions
Which tithi counts for a fast or festival?
For most observances, tradition takes the tithi that is in force at sunrise as the tithi of the whole day. Some festivals instead follow the tithi at a particular time, such as midnight for Janmashtami or evening for Pradosh, so regional calendars can differ by a day.
Why does the end time matter?
If a tithi ends in the morning, the rest of the day belongs to the next tithi. Rituals tied to a tithi, such as breaking an Ekadashi fast, are timed around these changes.
Is the tithi the same in every city?
The tithi changes at the same moment everywhere, but the local clock time differs by time zone, and the tithi at sunrise can differ between cities because sunrise does. Choose the city where you are observing the day.
Can I find out the tithi I was born on and what it means?
Yes. Your birth tithi appears in your free Kundli, and GyaaniJyotish AI astrologers can explain its traditional meaning by chat in ten Indian languages; voice is available in English, Hindi and Tamil.