How to Read Today's Tithi: What a Tithi Is, How It Forms and What Kshaya-Vriddhi Means

A tithi is the lunar-day unit of the Hindu panchang, and the most reliable way to know today's tithi is to check the panchang for your own city. A tithi's name (such as Panchami or Ekadashi) and paksha (Shukla or Krishna) together tell you which day of the lunar month it is. This guide explains how a tithi forms, how to read it, and why you sometimes see two tithis in one day or one tithi across two days.

**Key Takeaways** - A tithi completes with every 12 degrees of separation between the Moon and the Sun - A lunar month has 30 tithis: 15 in Shukla Paksha and 15 in Krishna Paksha - A tithi can change at any time, so two tithis can fall in one day - Festivals are generally set by the tithi present at sunrise (the udaya tithi) - Because of local sunrise, the day of a tithi can differ between cities

How a Tithi Forms

As the Moon orbits the Earth it stays at a changing angle to the Sun. At Amavasya the Moon and Sun are in the same direction. As the Moon moves on, the angle between them grows. Each 12 degrees of growth in this angle is one tithi. The full 360 degree cycle holds 30 tithis. Because the Moon's speed isn't constant, the length of a tithi varies, from roughly 19 to 26 hours.

Telling Shukla and Krishna Paksha Apart

• Shukla Paksha: begins after Amavasya and runs to Purnima. The Moon waxes.
• Krishna Paksha: begins after Purnima and runs to Amavasya. The Moon wanes.

Each paksha has fifteen tithis. All the tithi names and the festivals tied to them are in the list of Hindu tithis.

How to Read Today's Tithi

A panchang gives the tithi's name, paksha, and its start and end time. For example, "Shukla Panchami, from 7:10 am to 6:40 am the next day" means Panchami runs through that whole span. This site's today's tithi and panchang page shows the start and end times of tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, rahukaal and choghadiya for your location.

The Udaya Tithi Rule

A tithi can change at any time of day, but a calendar day runs from sunrise to sunrise. For most festivals and vrats, therefore, the tithi that is running at sunrise is the one used, called the udaya tithi. The rule doesn't apply to every festival. For example, Karva Chauth looks for Chaturthi at moonrise, and Diwali looks for Amavasya during the Pradosh period.

Kshaya Tithi and Vriddhi Tithi

• Vriddhi tithi: when a tithi spans two sunrises, so it is present at sunrise on two days.
• Kshaya tithi: when a tithi begins after sunrise and ends before the next sunrise, so it is never present at any sunrise and isn't counted in the calendar.

This is why a panchang sometimes shows one tithi on two days and sometimes a tithi goes missing. It is also why different panchangs sometimes print a festival a day apart, as with Naraka Chaturdashi and Govardhan Puja in Diwali 2026.

The Other Four Limbs of the Panchang

Tithi is one of the panchang's five limbs. The other four (vara, nakshatra, yoga and karana) are covered in What Is Panchang. For the inauspicious period read Rahukaal, and for auspicious and inauspicious slots, choghadiya.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a tithi?

A tithi is the lunar-day unit of the Hindu panchang. One tithi completes with every 12 degrees of separation between the Moon and the Sun, and a lunar month has 30 tithis.

How do I find today's tithi?

Check the panchang for your own city, which gives the tithi's name, paksha and start and end time. The tithi can differ slightly between cities because of local sunrise and sunset.

What is the udaya tithi?

The tithi running at sunrise is the udaya tithi, and it is the one used for most festivals and vrats. Some festivals, such as Karva Chauth, follow different rules.

What are kshaya and vriddhi tithis?

A tithi that is not present at any sunrise is a kshaya tithi and isn't counted in the calendar. A tithi that spans two sunrises is a vriddhi tithi.