Sankaṣṭī Caturthī
Sacred to Gaṇeśa
Thursday, 23 June 2016
From the pañchāṅga
Gaṇeśa’s monthly fast in the waning fortnight, observed until the moon rises at night to overcome all obstacles and distress.
How to keep the fast
A day-long fast dedicated to Lord Gaṇeśa, broken at night only after sighting the risen moon (candrodaya) and offering arghya.
Breaking the fast, Broken at night after sighting the risen moon (candrodaya).
Thursday, 23 June, in the old reckoning
- Cosmic Time
अद्य · श्वेतवराह कल्पे · वैवस्वत मन्वन्तरे · कलियुगे प्रथम पादे
adya · śveta-varāha kalpe · vaivasvata manvantare · kali-yuge prathama pāde
- Calendrical Time
शालिवाहन शके १९३८ · दुर्मुख संवत्सरे · उत्तरायणे · ग्रीष्म ऋत ौ
śālivāhana śake 1938 · Durmukha saṁvatsare · Uttarāyaṇe · Grīṣma ṛtau
- Astronomical Limb (Pañcāṅga) · पञ्चाङ्ग कालः
आषाढ मासे · कृष्ण पक्षे · तृतीया तिथौ · गुरु वासरे · उत्तराषाढा नक्षत्रे · इन्द्र योगे · विष्टि करणे
Āṣāḍha māse · Kṛṣṇa pakṣe · Tṛtīyā tithau · Guru vāsare · Uttarāṣāḍhā nakṣatre · Indra yoge · Viṣṭi karaṇe
- Sacred Locality
जम्बूद्वीपे · भारतवर्षे*
jambū-dvīpe · bhārata-varṣe (India)
*The locality lines, jambū-dvīpe bhārata-varṣe, your deśa and your kṣetra: name your continent, country, region, and town. India is shown by default; spoken aloud you'd substitute your own.
What You Just Read: The Three Frames of Time
The saṅkalpa places the moment in three nested dimensions—cosmic, calendrical, and astronomical—so the seeker knows exactly when and where they stand in eternity.
Cosmic Time (Eternal Scale)
Cosmic time doesn’t change with where you read this. Śveta-varāha is the present kalpa (a single day of Brahmā, ~4.32 billion human years). Vaivasvata is the current manvantara (epoch) within it. Kali-yuga prathama pāda places us in the first quarter of the dark age. These are the deepest layers of the Hindu reckoning of time, identical whether recited in Bengaluru, Mumbai, London, Sydney, or San Francisco.
Calendrical Time (Solar & Seasonal Cycles)
Calendrical time tracks the present era and season. The Śaka era counts from 78 CE; the named saṁvatsara is one of a sixty-year Jovian cycle (Prabhava, Vibhava... Akṣaya, then repeating). The ayana indicates the solar half-year: Uttarāyaṇa (sun ascending north, January to July) or Dakṣiṇāyana (sun descending south, July to January). The ṛtu names the sacred bi-monthly season.
Astronomical Time (The Five Limbs of Pañchāṅga)
Astronomical time is the most immediate. The māsa (lunar month), pakṣa (fortnight), and tithi (lunar phase) follow the moon; the vāra is the solar weekday; the nakṣatra is which of the 27 stellar constellations the moon currently occupies; the yoga is combined solar-lunar longitude; and the karaṇa is the half-tithi. Together, these five (nakṣatra, yoga, tithi, karaṇa, vāra) form the literal “five limbs” of the word pañchāṅga.
Local Sunrise Reckoning & Daily Purpose
All values above are calculated for your local sunrise. The day traditionally “belongs” to whichever tithi prevailed at the moment of sunrise. Even if the tithi changes mid-morning, the day retains its sunrise name for rituals until the next sunrise. This is the authentic convention observed across printed panchangas and traditional temples worldwide.
Why it is spoken every day: The saṅkalpa is the daily (nitya) opening of sacred life, not reserved solely for grand festivals. Recited each morning, it re-anchors you in conscious awareness of eternity and dedicates your actions with pure resolve (saṅkalpa literally means “sacred will or resolve”). On an Ekādaśī, this same declaration formally opens the fast.
Celestial Coordinates & Muhūrtas
1:58 PM – 3:35 PM
5:54 AM – 7:31 AM
11:57 AM – 12:45 PM
Bearings indicate horizon degrees. Rāhu and Yamagaṇḍa are avoided for new auspicious beginnings; Abhijit is the midday victory window.
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