Panchang for Thursday, 20 May 2027

Tithi	Purnima
Paksha	Shukla
Nakshatra	Vishakha, pada 3
Yoga	Parigha
Karana	Bava
Vara	Guruvara
Sunrise (Ujjain, IST)	05:43
Sunset (Ujjain, IST)	19:03

Today's tithi is Purnima, in the Shukla paksha, the waxing half of the lunar month. The Moon moves through Vishakha nakshatra, pada 3. The vara is Guruvara, and the panchang's remaining limbs are Parigha yoga and Bava karana.

Purnima, the full Moon tithi

Purnima is the fifteenth and last tithi of the bright fortnight, the twelve degrees ending at 180 degrees of separation, so the Moon stands opposite the Sun and is fully lit.

Opposition is the whole of it. The Moon rises as the Sun sets, crosses the sky all night and sets as the Sun rises, and for one night the sky has no properly dark hours. In purnimanta reckoning, used across much of northern India, the lunar month ends here rather than at Amavasya, which is why two calendars can give the same day different month names while agreeing on the tithi.

Purnima closes the Purna group with the fifth and the tenth, and the traditional deity is Chandra. More major festivals fall on it than on any other tithi: the teacher's day in Ashadha, the harvest Moon night in Ashwina, the thread tying in Shravana, the fires that precede the colours in Phalguna, and the full Moons of Vaishakha and Kartika.

As a reading it is the month's high water mark, the point where whatever has been building is as visible as it is going to get. That makes it a natural day for looking at something honestly rather than for starting anything new, and the sky does the illustration for you.