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Karana

How eleven karanas fill sixty half-tithis

A karana is half a tithi, so a lunar month holds sixty. See how seven repeating names and four fixed ones cover them, and why Vishti recurs.

01 · Sixty slots, eleven names

Seven names repeat eight times; four names appear once.

A karana is half a tithi, 6° of the Moon’s lead over the Sun, so a lunar month holds sixty. Four fixed names sit around the new Moon. Seven movable names cycle through the other fifty-six.

The sixty karanas of a lunar monthSixty slots, four rows of fifteen, each half a tithi. The first slot after new Moon is Kimstughna. The next 56 repeat seven names in order, Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija and Vishti, eight times. The last three before new Moon are Shakuni, Chatushpada and Naga. Vishti appears 8 times and Bava 8.THE 60 HALF-TITHIS OF ONE LUNAR MONTHShukla tithis 1 to 7½KimBavBalKauTaiGarVanVisBavBalKauTaiGarVanVisShukla tithis 8 to 15BavBalKauTaiGarVanVisBavBalKauTaiGarVanVisBavKrishna tithis 1 to 7½BalKauTaiGarVanVisBavBalKauTaiGarVanVisBavBalKrishna tithis 8 to 15KauTaiGarVanVisBavBalKauTaiGarVanVisShaChaNag
Vishti, the karana also called Bhadra, is shown in red; the four fixed karanas in blue.

02 · A real new Moon

The fixed karanas appear only in the day around Amavasya.

In November 2026 the new Moon came at 12:32 IST on 9 November. Shakuni, Chatushpada and Naga filled the last tithi and a half before it, and Kimstughna the first half-tithi after.

Tithis and karanas around the new Moon of 9 November 2026Two rows from 8 to 11 November 2026: each tithi above, split into two karanas below. Around the new Moon at 12:32 on 9 November the fixed karanas appear once each. Karanas: Shakuni until 8 Nov 11:28; Chatushpada until 8 Nov 23:57; Naga until 9 Nov 12:32; Kimstughna until 10 Nov 01:13; Bava until 10 Nov 14:00; Balava until 11 Nov 02:54; Kaulava until 11 Nov 15:53.8 TO 11 NOVEMBER 2026 · DASHED: DELHI SUNRISETithiAmavasyPratipaDvitiyaKarana, half a tithi eachChatushNagaKimstugBavaBalavaNew Moon 12:328 Nov9 Nov10 Nov
Tithi and karana changes from the site’s ephemeris, IST.

Half a tithi

A tithi is 12° of the Moon’s lead over the Sun. A karana (करण) is half of one, 6°. A lunar month of thirty tithis therefore holds sixty karanas, and a Panchang lists two each day or so, the one current at sunrise and the one that follows.

Like the tithi, a karana ends when the Moon’s lead reaches the next boundary, at any hour. Because the Moon’s speed changes, a karana lasts from about 10 to 13½ hours.

Eleven names for sixty slots

The names are not sixty but eleven, arranged in two groups:

  • Four fixed karanas occur once a month, around the new Moon. Kimstughna is the first half of Shukla Pratipada, just after new Moon. Shakuni is the second half of Krishna Chaturdashi, and Chatushpada and Naga are the two halves of Amavasya.
  • Seven movable karanas fill the other fifty-six slots in a fixed order: Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Garaja, Vanija and Vishti. Fifty-six is eight rounds of seven, so each name comes back eight times a month.

The arithmetic decides where a name falls. Because seven does not divide fifteen, the same tithi does not always carry the same pair. Vishti, for example, falls on the second half of Shukla Chaturthi and the first half of Shukla Ashtami in the same month, and on six other half-tithis.

Around a real new Moon

The new Moon of 9 November 2026 came at 12:32 IST. Shakuni ran until 11:28 on 8 November, Chatushpada until 23:57, and Naga until the new Moon itself. Kimstughna then ran to 01:13 on 10 November, and the movable cycle started again with Bava.

Why Vishti is watched

Vishti is also called Bhadra, and many muhurta traditions avoid starting important work in it. That is why festival pages such as Holi and Raksha Bandhan time their rituals around it. It has nothing to do with the tithi group also called Bhadra, which is a different list of tithis; the karana guide gives the traditional qualities of each name.

See today’s karana on the Delhi Panchang, or explore another topic in Learn.