Preface

Rashtriya Panchang is being published by the India Meteorological Department since 1879 Saka Era (1957–58 A.D.).

This publication is brought out with the objective to unify the divergent practices of calendar systems existing in different regions of the country and also to promote panchang calculations based on modern scientific principles.

The Rashtriya Panchang is published in Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

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This publication contains important astronomical information such as sidereal time, equation of time, timings of sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset, in addition to usual panchang information like tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, and transit times of the Sun, Moon and planets into nirayana rasis and nakshatras.

It also includes the beginning of lagnas for the central station of India, nirayana longitudes of the Sun, Moon, planets and Rahu. Items such as Julian day number, Kali Ahargana, Moon’s age, declination of the Sun, midday time and beginning of lagnas around sunrise time for four metropolitan cities are provided on a daily basis.

The computations of all the above items are based on modern scientific formulae. The days for observing principal festivals and anniversaries have been listed separately. For the convenience of users, important items are explained under “Details of the Panchang”.

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The preparation and publication of the Rashtriya Panchang for 1948 Saka Era (2026–27 A.D.) has been carried out at the Positional Astronomy Centre (PAC), Kolkata, under the guidance of Shri Debapriya Roy, Scientist ‘D’ & Head, PAC Kolkata.

It is hoped that this publication will serve as a standard panchang for the country and will be used as a reliable source for obtaining correct calendric data.