Hindu Calendar Posted On-Line for 180 Cities Worldwide
BY: STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Jan 17, KAUAI, HAWAII (SUN) — Himalayan Academy, publisher of Hinduism Today and HPI, is pleased to announce the posting of the Hindu calendar calculated for 180 cities worldwide for both 2006 and 2007 (the Hindu new year beginning in April). These panchangams are primarily used for the sankalpa (declaration of intent, time and place) in ceremonies and they contain the five essential elements for future muhurthas (auspicious timing). They do not contain all of the planetary position data needed for a complete horoscope. Most South Indian festivals are listed. The panchangam must be calculated for the specific location of the ceremony, as the various timings are dependent upon the specific latitude and longitude.
The introduction says: "Vedic Calendar is no ordinary calendar or almanac. It is far more complex than the simple Gregorian calendar normally used in the West and far more useful. It is patterned after the traditional panchangams used throughout Sri Lanka and South India which employ the Nirayana (sidereal) zodiacal system. Panchanga, a Sanskrit word, means "five limbs," which refers to the fact that every panchangam includes the five basic elements of tithi (lunar day), nakshatra (the constellation the moon is aligned with), karana (half-day), yoga (a particular angle of the sun and moon) and vara or vasara (solar weekday).
Panchangams furnish other astronomical information which is extensively used by astrologers, as well as the times of all forthcoming religious events. Most modern panchangams, such as Vedic Calendar, also include Gregorian (Western) calendar information, which has been adopted as the unified world standard."
