what is Panchangam?

Panchangam is the Indian Calendar, which has been in use for centuries. This calendar covers everything from the phases of the Moon, the positions of stars and planets, and identifies auspicious times and days for various activities. Remember Pancha denotes the number five; Anga means parts / elements / divisions.

The Panchangam essentially consists of five parts of the day, viz.,
1) The name of the day called vasaraha, (Sunday, monday, etc - 7 days in a week)
2) the thithi of the day, (Prathama, dwitheya, etc - 15 thithis - 2 fortnights in a month - one ending in Amavasya(No moon day) and the other ending in Poornima(Full Moon day))
3) the star of the day, (Ashwini, Bharani, etc - 27 stars)
4) the yogam of the day - There are 27 yogas. Yoga lasts for sixty ghaligas. It changes every day.
5) the karanam of the day - Each thithi is divided into two equal halves and are known as Karanas. Karanas are eighteen in number.

Why and where use each of these 5?
Similarly, any deed done on the right "day" of the week will enhance the longevity, ie the life span of the person will increase.
Starting any new venture on the appropriate "tithi" will fetch iswaryam (lots of wealth and prosperity) for the person.
Any deed done on a day with a good and beneficial "star" will alleviate the papams (ill effects because of ill deeds).
When one does a deed at a time with good and beneficial "yogam" then that will help all diseases to disappear.
Lastly a deed done during the good and beneficial "karanam" will help the person to achieve the objective of the deed without any hurdles and impediments.
Therefore it is very important to start any new venture or deed at the appropriate time. The good time is learnt with the help of the Panchangam.

According to the Panchangam - Hindu Vedic Calendar, there are 60 years, each having a name for itself. The name also has a meaning and suggests what is in store for us in that year.
The year VIRODHI(2009-10), that has just concluded, means wrong or mistakes. It is likely that many wrong events may have happened during the year.
The ensuing year, VIKRUTI(2010-11), means chivalry or valour. This year will offer many opportunities to undo the wrong doings of the previous year.

Concept of Adhik Masa:
Adhika masam or Adhik Masa is an additional month that appears in the Hindu Lunar calendar. A year with an Adhika masam will mean that it has 13 months instead of the usual 12 months. The Adhika masam appears only in calendars that consider it.

Note: Hence, the local / regional calendars that are followed in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Bengal and Assam will not have them since they follow the Solar Calendar.

Why does an Adhika masam come in the calendar?
Any Solar calendar has 365 days. However, a Lunar calendar will have 354 days. These difference in the days, over years, make up for the additional month upon which there will be a sync between the two calendars.

15th April 2010 to 14th May 2010 is Adhika Vaishakha Masa during this Vikruthi nama Samvathsara.
A chandramana masa in which no sankramana occurs is known as Adhika Masa. The instant at which Sun transits from one Rashi to the next is called a Sankramana.

Mathematically, a Chandramana Varsha(Lunar Calendar) has 354 days, while a Soura Varsha(Solar Calendar) has 365 days, the difference being 11 days per year. In the course of 2 years and 8 months of Chandramana the difference works out to 29.5 days equal to another Chandramana masa. The 33rd masa is considered as an Adhika masa which brings the two systems (Chandramana and Souramana) to evenness. Thus, theoretically, every 33rd chandramana masa is an Adhika masa. In practice, due to the variations in speed of movement of Sun and Moon, Adhika Masa occurs anywhere between 28th and 36th masas.

In India, which states observe adhika masam?
Adhika masam is followed by any Hindu regional calendar that follows the Lunar-based calculations. The regional calendars of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat will have the lunar month which starts and finishing with the new moon (amavasya day) while the states of North India have their lunar month starting and finishing with a full moon (purnima day).

What is the significance of the adhika masam?
While the concept of adhika masam is really technical in nature, for the common man, it would mean that there might be slight changes in which celebrations are conducted at the temple. For instance, there might be two brahmotsavams at popular temples, such as that at Tirupati. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam for instance celebrates two brahmotsavams during the Adhika Aswayujam. Further, adhika masams are often special prayer time for the devotees of Lord Sri Krishna.