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Today's Karana
The half-tithi in force right now, when it began and ends where you are, today's sequence, and when the next Vishti (Bhadra) karana falls.
Calculating…
Times are for the place above, in its local time zone, calculated from the positions of the Sun and Moon (sidereal, Lahiri ayanamsa) — usually within a minute or two of a printed Panchang for the same city.
Today, sunrise to sunrise
Every karana that touches today's Panchang day, with the exact moments it begins and ends.
Coming up
The next karanas, with start and end times for your place.
Calculated as half the current Tithi at this instant — see our full Karana reference for all 11 names.
See the full Today's Panchanga (all 5 elements), or learn what Karana means.
What a Karana actually is
A Karana is simply half a Tithi — where a Tithi spans 12° of lunar elongation from the Sun, a Karana spans exactly 6°, so every Tithi contains two Karanas back to back. Across a full lunar month of 30 Tithis, that gives 60 Karana slots — but only 11 Karana names exist, because 7 of them ("movable," or Chara Karanas) repeat in a fixed cycle to fill 56 of those slots, while the remaining 4 ("fixed," or Sthira Karanas) each appear exactly once, always in the same position near the new moon.
All 11 Karanas
| Type | Karanas | Occurs |
| Movable (Chara) | Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija, Vishti* | Repeat in cycle, 8 times each across the month |
| Fixed (Sthira) | Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, Kimstughna | Exactly once each, near Amavasya |
*Vishti (also called Bhadra) is traditionally considered inauspicious for beginning new undertakings — Muhurta calculations commonly flag and work around it.
How the eleven karanas fill sixty slots
Each tithi has two halves, so a lunar month has 60 karanas. Only eleven names are needed. The four fixed (sthira) karanas each occur once a month, around the new moon; the seven movable (chara) karanas repeat eight times in order to fill the other 56 slots.
The first karana of the lunar month, just after the new moon.
Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija, Vishti — the cycle of seven, eight times over.
The last half-day before Amavasya.
"Four-footed" and "serpent" — the new-moon karanas.
Vishti, better known as Bhadra
The seventh movable karana, Vishti, is popularly called Bhadra and is avoided for auspicious beginnings. It occurs eight times a month and decides the timing of two well-known rites: Holika Dahan is lit only after Bhadra has ended on Phalguna Purnima, and on Raksha Bandhan many families wait for Bhadra to pass before tying the rakhi. The "Coming up" table above shows when the next Vishti begins and ends for your city.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Karana?
Half of a Tithi — the fourth Panchanga element. A Tithi spans 12° of lunar elongation, so a Karana spans exactly 6°, meaning two Karanas occur within every Tithi.
How many Karanas are there?
11 named Karanas — 7 movable (Chara) that repeat across the month, and 4 fixed (Sthira) that each occur only once, always near Amavasya.
What's the difference between movable and fixed Karanas?
The 7 movable Karanas cycle repeatedly to cover 56 of the month's 60 half-Tithi slots. The 4 fixed Karanas each appear exactly once, always in the same position relative to Amavasya.
Why is Vishti Karana considered inauspicious?
Vishti, also called Bhadra, is traditionally avoided for starting new or auspicious activities. Many Muhurta calculations specifically flag Vishti Karana periods to be worked around.