Panchak Calendar — 2026

What is Panchak?

Panchak (पंचक, literally “pentad” or “group of five”) is a recurring ~5-day window each lunar cycle when the Moon transits the last two zodiac signs — Aquarius (Kumbha) and Pisces (Meena). This corresponds to sidereal longitude 300°–360° and covers the last 2 padas of Dhanishtha, plus all of Shatabhisha, Purva Bhadrapada, Uttara Bhadrapada, and Revati.

Traditional Vedic practice considers Panchak inauspicious for five specific activities: cremation of corpses, roof laying / thatching, building construction with fire-work, southward travel, and making or purchasing beds. The Garuda Purana holds that a death during Panchak may “pull” five more family members with the departing soul — hence the observance of Panchak Shanti with kusha-grass effigies when this occurs.

The five daily sub-types

Classical Muhurta tradition further classifies each Panchak day by weekday. Only five weekdays carry named sub-types (Wednesday and Thursday remain unclassified but are still in Panchak):

• Agni Panchak (Sunday) — fire risk. Avoid fire-related work, kitchen renovations, welding, and Yagnas at inauspicious moments.
• Rog Panchak (Monday) — illness risk. Avoid starting new health regimens or major medication changes.
• Raj Panchak (Tuesday) — state / authority-matters risk. Avoid new legal proceedings, government paperwork, or confrontations with officials.
• Mrityu Panchak (Friday) — death / serious-risk day. Avoid dangerous activities, long journeys, and risky ventures.
• Chor Panchak (Saturday) — theft risk. Avoid displaying valuables, major purchases, and long-term financial commitments.

Wednesday and Thursday inside a Panchak window carry no specific traditional label but are still considered Panchak days — typical Panchak-restrictions apply.

Why the boundary is 300° (mid-Dhanishtha)

Panchak starts when the Moon enters Aquarius at sidereal longitude 300°00'. This coincides with the third pada of Dhanishtha (Dhanishtha spans 293°20'–306°40', so its midpoint is exactly 300°00' — the Makara→Kumbha rashi cusp). Boundaries computed here match Drik Panchang, Kalnirnay, AstroSage, and Prokerala to the minute.

The window ends when the Moon exits Revati at 360° / 0° — entering Aries. Duration: typically 4–5 days, varying with the Moon's orbital speed (faster near perigee, slower near apogee).

How many Panchak windows per year?

Typically 13 or 14 Panchak windows per calendar year. The Moon completes a full sidereal circuit in ~27.3 days, and Panchak occupies 60° of that circuit — so the pattern recurs every ~27 days. A calendar year of 365 days contains 13.5 cycles, yielding either 13 or 14 windows depending on where the year starts relative to the current cycle.

Panchak nakshatras — the ~5 lunar mansions inside the window

Each Panchak window contains the following Moon nakshatra transits (in order):

• Dhanishtha pada 3–4 — only the second half of Dhanishtha is Panchak (padas 1–2 sit in Capricorn and are NOT Panchak).
• Shatabhisha — full nakshatra.
• Purva Bhadrapada — full nakshatra.
• Uttara Bhadrapada — full nakshatra.
• Revati — full nakshatra; Panchak ends when the Moon exits Revati (crossing back to Ashwini / Aries).

What Panchak does NOT restrict

Panchak is a construction / travel / funeral caution, not a general muhurta ban. It does not prohibit weddings, engagements, gemstone charging, most rituals, or new business openings — those are governed by other muhurta factors (nakshatra suitability, tithi, weekday, tarabala, and janma-nakshatra compatibility). Consult a purohit for muhurta questions.

Panchak is location-independent

The Moon's sidereal longitude at any UTC instant is essentially the same globally (parallax adds at most ~1°, corrected for). What varies is the local wall-clock label — a Panchak start at 6:38 AM IST in Delhi is the same instant labelled 5:53 PM PST the previous day in California. This calendar auto-detects your timezone so all start / end times display in your local clock. There is no city picker because the underlying events are the same everywhere.

Related tools

For every Moon nakshatra entry across a whole month with all Muhurta flags (Gand Mool, Panchak, Sarvartha Siddhi, Yamaghantak), see the Nakshatra Peyarchi monthly calendar. For the Moon's live position, use the Live Tracker. For any date's Moon readout, use Date Lookup. For the annual Chandra Peyarchi (Moon Sign Journey), see the Year Timeline.