paṃcāṃga – The five limbs of time

He who studies the Panchanga, Tithi, Vara, Nakshatra, Yoga and Kara of every day becomes free from all sins. Knowledge of the Tithis brings prosperity. Knowledge of the Vara prologs life. Knowledge of the Nakshatra causes destruction of sins. Knowledge of Yoga gives immunity from disease. Knowledge of Karana leads to success in all endeavors. The Panchanga bestows five kinds of blessings.

– Kala Prakashika

The above quote from the classic JyotiSa text beautifully encapsulates the significance of pancāṃga. Nothing more anyone can add as to why pancāṃga has been an eternal and integral part of the sanātana dharma over the centuries.

The pancāṃga literally translated to “Five limbs” and is almost instinctively and implicity associated with “Five limbs of time”. They said limbs are,

1. Vara
2. Tithi
3. Karana
4. Naskhatra
5. Yoga

These limbs of time are in turn mapped to the five elements that underly all of existence. It is therefore through these five limbs that the mind is believed to experience existence. e.g. Vara being associated with Fire is an indicator of our longevity and vitaly.

The table summarizes some of the key characteristics of each of the elements of the pancāṃga.

pancāṃga	Graha	Diety	Tattva	Indicator of
Vara	Mangal/Surya	Surya	Fire	Longevity Vitality
Tithi	śukra/Chandra	Devi	Water	Prosperity Emotions Relationships
Karana	budha	Ganesha	Earth	Success Material stability
Nakshatra	śani	Shiv	Air	Attitude Behavior
Yoga	guru	Vishnu	Ether	Immunity Health Resillience

The native’s Vara lord is in most cases the Bhukti lord of father when the native was born.

Tithis

The tithi is ruled by the śukra and chandra both of which are watery planets and is additionally associated with the water element. Therefore tithi is all about and nothing but emotions and feelings. It is all about how we relate to the world, our outlook towards to the people in our lives, the way we treat them and therefore in turn the way we value relationships.

Tithi	Tattva	Rājasa	Tamasa	Satva
Nanda	Mangal/Surya	1	6	11
Bhadra	śukra/Chandra	2	7	12
Jaya	budha	3	8	13
Rikta	śani	4	9	14
Purṇa	guru	5	10	15

Each tithi has an innate and unique modus operandi when it comes emotions. Certain tithis are more susceptible to problems than others. The below listed tithis can be challenging and therefore should be handled with care. The tithi shows the type of challenge that can arise and the placement of Chandra and the sambandha/s it forms indicate where and with whom the said challenge is likely to play out.

1. ekādaśi – can cause anger issues and / or addiction – mitigate by fasting.
2. trayodāśi – can cause money trouble – workshiping – mitigate by worshipping Brihaspati.
3. kriśna caturdaśi and amāvasyā – can cause immoral behavior (Tara absconds with conceives a child) – mitigate by worshipping Lord Śiva and / or fasting. The small upside for women born on Amavasya is that, given the gensis of the story, they are almost certainly likely to have children in their lifetime.

Moonlight is the Divine torch that guides us all through the dark nights. The new moon or amāvasyā is the only day of the month when the torch doesn't lite up. Natives born on amāvasyā therefore can be among the less fortunate few that don't benefit fully from Divine torches called parents and in extreme cases go on to experience lack of compassion in all relationships in their lifetime. The parents might be missing in action by choice or compulsion or might not be present at all. In worst of the cases, the child might suffer abuse from the parents. Natives born in the first half of the amāvasyā might have a mother in absentia whereas those born in the second half might experience it more so with the father. The silver lining for these souls is to find solace in mother nature. Spending time in nature can to an extent make up for the missing nurturing and care.
One could therefore deduce that natives with a fuller or full moon are therefore more likely to have loving parents and happier life when it comes God granted protection and counsel.