Panchangam is the Indian Calendar, which has been in use for centuries. This calendar covers everything from the phases of the Moon, the positions of stars and planets, and identifies auspicious times and days for various activities.

Why do we read the Panchangam on new year day?

On the new year day the Panchangam is read to learn about what the ensuing year has in store for us. The Panchangam essentially consists of five parts of the day, viz., the name of the day, the tithi of the day, the star of the day, the yogam of the day, and the karanam of the day.

Starting any new venture on the appropriate tithi will fetch iswaryam (lots of wealth and prosperity) for the person. Similarly, any deed done on the right day of the week will enhance the longevity, ie the life span of the person will increase.

Any deed done on a day with a good and beneficial star will alleviate the papams (ill effects because of ill deeds).

When one does a deed at a time with good and beneficial yogam then that will help all diseases to disappear.

Lastly a deed done during the good and beneficial karanam will help the person to achieve the objective of the deed without any hurdles and impediments.

Therefore it is very important to start any new venture or deed at the appropriate time. The good time is learnt with the help of the Panchangam.