Panchang for Tuesday, 18 May 2027
| Tithi | Trayodashi |
|---|---|
| Paksha | Shukla |
| Nakshatra | Chitra, pada 4 |
| Yoga | Vyatipata |
| Karana | Taitila |
| Vara | Mangalavara |
| Sunrise (Ujjain, IST) | 05:44 |
| Sunset (Ujjain, IST) | 19:02 |
Today's tithi is Trayodashi, in the Shukla paksha, the waxing half of the lunar month. The Moon moves through Chitra nakshatra, pada 4. The vara is Mangalavara, and the panchang's remaining limbs are Vyatipata yoga and Taitila karana.
Chitra nakshatra
Chitra is the fourteenth nakshatra, from 23°20' of Kanya (Virgo) to 6°40' of Tula (Libra), ruled by Mars, and its single star is Spica, one of the brightest along the Moon's path.
The name means bright, many coloured or well made, and the star lives up to it. Spica is the fixed point from which the Lahiri ayanamsa is anchored in modern practice, which makes this nakshatra quietly load bearing for every sidereal figure on a page like this one.
The deity is Tvashtr, the celestial craftsman who shapes forms, and the symbol is a bright jewel or a pearl. The gana is Rakshasa, an intense temperament rather than a wicked one, and the classical activity class is Mridu, soft. What the tradition builds is the idea of design: not making a thing, but making it beautiful and making it fit.
Its practical use is the pass where you improve something that already works. Most projects never get that pass, because it is optional. Taking it is a choice about standards, and this is the nakshatra the tradition attached to that choice.