Panchak Dates and Timings 2026

13 windows

• Roga PanchakBegins on a Sunday: illness and poor health
• Raja PanchakBegins on a Monday: disputes with authority and government
• Agni PanchakBegins on a Tuesday: fire, tools and machinery
• PanchakBegins on a Wednesday or Thursday: held free of the classical doshas
• Chora PanchakBegins on a Friday: theft and loss of money
• Mrityu PanchakBegins on a Saturday: the most severe Panchak

The last five of the twenty-seven nakshatras, the second half of Dhanishta, then Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati, are together called Panchak, "the five". Dhanishta’s third pada begins exactly where Kumbha begins and Revati ends where Meena ends, so the rule collapses to a rashi test: Panchak is in force while the Moon is in Kumbha or Meena.

The Moon passes through those two rashis once every twenty-seven and a bit days and stays about four and a half days, which is why a year holds thirteen or so windows. Each one on this page is computed from the true instant the Moon enters Kumbha and the true instant it leaves Meena, not copied from a list.

A Panchak is named after the weekday it begins on. Sunday opens Roga Panchak, Monday Raja Panchak, Tuesday Agni Panchak, Friday Chora Panchak and Saturday Mrityu Panchak. A Panchak that begins on a Wednesday or a Thursday carries no name and is held free of the classical doshas.

1. Collecting or storing wood, fuel or grass
2. Laying a roof, or starting the roof of a house
3. Making or buying a cot, a bed or bedding
4. Travelling towards the south
5. Cremation, which in Panchak calls for a specific remedy before the rite

Can a wedding or a griha pravesh happen during Panchak?

The tradition names five specific activities to hold off, not every auspicious act. Panchak on its own does not block a wedding, an engagement or a housewarming, though many families keep large events out of Mrityu Panchak and Roga Panchak. The muhurat is settled by the rest of the panchang.

Are these times right for my city?

Yes, for anywhere in India. The Moon changes rashi at one instant for the whole planet, so a Panchak opens and closes at the same moment in every city. The times here are Indian Standard Time.

How is Panchak different from Bhadra?

Panchak is set by the rashi of the Moon and lasts four and a half days. Bhadra is the Vishti karana, half a tithi long, which comes eight times in every lunar month and runs about twelve hours each time. They are two separate rules and can overlap.