Karana

A karana occupies half the angular span of a tithi, meaning the Moon must gain 6 degrees of longitude over the Sun for one karana to elapse. Since each tithi contains two karanas, a full lunar month has 60 karana slots. Of the 11 karanas, 7 are "movable" (chara) and cycle repeatedly, while 4 are "fixed" (sthira) and appear only once each month at specific positions.

The seven movable karanas are Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija, and Vishti. Among these, Vishti (also called Bhadra) is considered inauspicious and is specifically avoided for starting new endeavors, journeys, or ceremonies. The four fixed karanas — Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga, and Kimstughna — occupy the very beginning and end of the lunar month.

Tithimala derives the active karana from the same Sun-Moon angular difference used for tithi computation. The difference modulo 360° is divided by 6° to obtain the karana index, which is then mapped to the repeating cycle. Swiss Ephemeris provides the precise planetary positions needed for this calculation, ensuring accuracy to within seconds of arc.

While karana is the least discussed of the five panchang elements in popular practice, it remains significant in traditional muhurat selection. Skilled jyotishis use karana as a fine-tuning factor — a muhurat that looks good by tithi and nakshatra might still be rejected if it falls during Vishti karana.