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Panchak 2026 (Dhanishtha Panchak)

Every Panchak of 2026 is below, in your city’s time: the Moon’s passage from the second half of Dhaniṣṭhā through Revatī, and what the texts bar in it.

Next Panchak in Delhi

Wed 21 Oct to Sun 25 Oct

It begins in 4 days. No popular name: it begins on a Wednesday.

Begins, the Moon enters KumbhaWed 21 Oct
07:00
Ends, the Moon leaves MīnaSun 25 Oct
19:22

What the Panchak is

The Panchak is the Moon’s passage from the second half of Dhaniṣṭhā through Śatabhiṣā, the two Bhādrapadās and Revatī, which is its stay in sidereal Aquarius (Kumbha) and Pisces (Mīna). MC 2.48 commentary, p. 84; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 943

Each one runs from the Moon’s entry into sidereal Kumbha to its exit from Mīna, about once a month.

The authorities the Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s commentary quotes agree, and Trivikrama names it as the Moon in Aquarius and Pisces, so the two definitions are one span. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 85

It does not begin at Śravaṇa: the commentary rejects that wider span, which has no root text. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 86

Every Panchak of 2026

Each city’s own time

January 2026

  • Wednesday, 21 January Agni Panchak (popular name) 01:35 to Sun 25 Jan, 13:35 It begins before sunrise, so it takes Tuesday’s vāra, our reading.

February 2026

  • Tuesday, 17 February Agni Panchak (popular name) 09:05 to Sat 21 Feb, 19:07

March 2026

  • Monday, 16 March Raj Panchak (popular name) 18:14 to Sat 21 Mar, 02:27

April 2026

  • Monday, 13 April Rog Panchak (popular name) 03:44 to Fri 17 Apr, 12:02 It begins before sunrise, so it takes Sunday’s vāra, our reading.

May 2026

  • Sunday, 10 May Rog Panchak (popular name) 12:13 to Thu 14 May, 22:34

June 2026

  • Saturday, 6 June Mrityu Panchak (popular name) 19:03 to Thu 11 Jun, 08:16

July 2026

  • Saturday, 4 July Chor Panchak (popular name) 00:48 to Wed 8 Jul, 16:00 It begins before sunrise, so it takes Friday’s vāra, our reading.
  • Friday, 31 July Chor Panchak (popular name) 06:38 to Tue 4 Aug, 21:54

August 2026

  • Thursday, 27 August No popular name: it begins on a Thursday. 13:35 to Tue 1 Sep, 03:24

September 2026

  • Wednesday, 23 September No popular name: it begins on a Wednesday. 21:57 to Mon 28 Sep, 10:16

October 2026

  • Wednesday, 21 October No popular name: it begins on a Wednesday. 07:00 to Sun 25 Oct, 19:22

November 2026

  • Tuesday, 17 November Agni Panchak (popular name) 15:30 to Sun 22 Nov, 05:55

December 2026

  • Monday, 14 December Raj Panchak (popular name) 22:36 to Sat 19 Dec, 15:58

What the texts bar

The texts read bar these acts while the Moon is in the Panchak.

Nothing else is barred by the Panchak in the texts read. The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s own marriage stars include Uttara-bhādrapadā and Revatī, both inside it. MC 6.53

A death in the Panchak, by the texts

The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s commentary bars a cremation in the Panchak, whatever the star of the death, and holds a death in it faulted too, with the Brahma-purāṇa, which the Nirṇaya-sindhu also quotes. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 85; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 944

When the cremation cannot wait, the commentary has it done after a śānti, by the effigy rite. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 85

The Garuḍa, given in full in the Nirṇaya-sindhu, has four kuśa effigies, consecrated with the stars’ mantras, laid by the body and burnt with it, and has the sons perform the śāntika and pauṣṭika rites after the impurity, with sesame, gold and ghee for the dead. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 943

The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s commentary quotes only its close, the cremation with the effigies. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 86

The Brahma-purāṇa has five kuśa figures, bound with wool thread, smeared with barley paste and named Pretavāha, Pretasakha, Pretapa, Pretabhūmipa and Pretahartā, burnt with the body. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 85; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 944

The Nirṇaya-sindhu’s text lays them at the head, the eyes, the left side, the navel and the feet. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 944

The Brahma-purāṇa allows the cremation after the Panchak, or that same day by the rite. The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s commentary prefers that same day, with the śānti, since, it says, the Panchak lasts long and a body is not kept overnight; for a death at the very end of Revatī, it has the cremation done once Revatī has passed. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 85

Aparārka adds the five gems for a death in the Panchak. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 944

For a death in another star with the cremation in the Panchak, the commentary gives the effigies only. For a death in the Panchak with the cremation after it, the commentary gives no effigies, only the śānti after the impurity. MC 2.48 commentary, p. 86

The weekday names

Popularly, a Panchak takes its name from the weekday it begins on: Sunday Rog, Monday Raj, Tuesday Agni, Friday Chor and Saturday Mrityu. One that begins on a Wednesday or Thursday has no name.

Popular practice; the texts read give the Dhaniṣṭhā-pañcaka no weekday names.

The weekday is the vāra current at the start in the chosen city, from sunrise to sunrise, not the calendar date; this is our reading. A Panchak that begins between midnight and sunrise keeps the previous day’s vāra, so its name can differ between cities.

The five names are the Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s bāṇas, a separate count from the Sun’s degrees with its own weekday table, and not the Dhaniṣṭhā-pañcaka’s. MC 6.71⁠–⁠72, pp. 289⁠–⁠290

Questions

From the Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi and its commentary, the Nirṇaya-sindhu and the Dharmasindhu, with the page for each.

When is Panchak in 2026?

In Delhi, 13 times: 21 Jan to 25 Jan; 17 Feb to 21 Feb; 16 Mar to 21 Mar; 13 Apr to 17 Apr; 10 May to 14 May; 6 Jun to 11 Jun; 4 Jul to 8 Jul; 31 Jul to 4 Aug; 27 Aug to 1 Sep; 23 Sep to 28 Sep; 21 Oct to 25 Oct; 17 Nov to 22 Nov; 14 Dec to 19 Dec. Each month’s section gives the times.

What is not done in Panchak?

The texts read bar cremation, travel to the south, weaving a cot, roofing a house, gathering grass and wood, and raising a house’s pillars. Nothing else is barred by the Panchak in them. MC 2.48 commentary, pp. 84⁠–⁠85; Dharmasindhu p. 242

Are marriages done in Panchak?

The texts read do not bar them. The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s own marriage stars include Uttara-bhādrapadā and Revatī, both inside the Panchak. MC 6.53

What happens if someone dies in Panchak?

The texts hold both the death and the cremation in the Panchak faulted, and they bar the cremation in it. When it cannot wait, they give the effigy rite after a śānti: four kuśa effigies in the Garuḍa, five in the Brahma-purāṇa. The Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s commentary prefers the cremation that same day, with the rite. MC 2.48 commentary, pp. 85⁠–⁠86; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 943⁠–⁠944

What are Raj, Agni, Chor, Mrityu and Rog Panchak?

Popular practice names a Panchak by the weekday it begins on: Sunday Rog, Monday Raj, Tuesday Agni, Friday Chor and Saturday Mrityu, and a Wednesday or Thursday start has no name. The texts read give the Dhaniṣṭhā-pañcaka no weekday names: the five names are the Muhūrta-cintāmaṇi’s bāṇas, a separate count with its own weekday table. MC 6.71⁠–⁠72, pp. 289⁠–⁠290

How the times are found

Read the methodology
The span
From the Moon’s entry into sidereal Aquarius to its exit from Pisces, by the Lahiri ayanamsa. Each is one moment everywhere.
The weekday
The vāra current at the start in the chosen city, from sunrise to sunrise, which is our reading.
The times
In each city’s own time. A Panchak that crosses the new year appears in both years.

Sidereal Moon, Lahiri ayanamsa · each city’s own time · Swiss Ephemeris · Method