Panchang for Monday, 9 August 2027
| Tithi | Ashtami |
|---|---|
| Paksha | Shukla |
| Nakshatra | Swati, pada 4 |
| Yoga | Shukla |
| Karana | Vishti |
| Vara | Somavara |
| Sunrise (Ujjain, IST) | 06:00 |
| Sunset (Ujjain, IST) | 19:04 |
Today's tithi is Ashtami, in the Shukla paksha, the waxing half of the lunar month. The Moon moves through Swati nakshatra, pada 4. The vara is Somavara, and the panchang's remaining limbs are Shukla yoga and Vishti karana.
Ashtami in Shukla paksha
Shukla Ashtami is the eighth tithi of the bright fortnight, the stretch from 84 to 96 degrees of separation, and it is the tithi that contains the first quarter, the half lit Moon that is still filling.
Ninety degrees is exactly a quarter of the way round, so somewhere inside this tithi the Moon is precisely half illuminated. It stands high in the south at sunset and sets around midnight, which makes it the most convenient phase of the month for looking at the Moon at a civilised hour.
Ashtami is a Jaya tithi, in the group with the third and the thirteenth, and the traditional deity is Rudra. Half light is the tradition's own image for a balanced point, and the associations follow: contests decided, tests, and the moments when a thing could still go either way. Durgashtami in the bright fortnight of Ashwina is the best known observance on it.
The honest reading is that a balanced point is a decision point. Half the month has filled and half has not, and the tradition marks that as a place to check whether what you started is actually the thing you want to finish.