Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Topic : 5 Time Measure

Hindu measurement of Time:
Ancient Hindu units of measurement are still in use in present day Hindu and Jain way of life. The scientific
Hindu Calendar, formulated by ancient Indians, is based on the natural movements of the luminaries i.e
Nakshtras, Sun and Moon (paravartana kranti janaka). Three different metrics formulated.
Sirereal Metrics
Lunar Metrics
Tropical Metrics

Sidereal Metrics:
1 Asu (or Prana)
6 Asus

=
=

4 (sidereal) seconds
1 sidereal Pala (or Vighati or Vinadi or 24 seconds)

60 Palas

1 Ghati (24 minutes)

60 Ghatis

1 day (24 hours)

30 days

1 month

12 months

1 year

43, 20, 000 years

1 Yuga

72 Yugas

1 Manu

14 Manus

1 Kalpa (or 1008 Yugas)

2 Kalpas

A day and night of brahma

30 day-nights of Brahma

1 month of Brahma

12 months of Brahma

1 year of Brahma

100 years of Brahma

Life of Brahm (or 1 Mahakalpa)

An alternate system described in the Vishnu Purana Time measurement section of the Vishnu Purana Book I
Chapter III is as follows:

10 blinks of the eye = 1 Kshth

35 Kshths = 1 Kal

20 Kals = 1 Muhrtta

30 Muhrttas = 1 day (24 hours)

30 days = 1 month

6 months = 1 Ayana

2 Ayanas = 1 year or one day (day + night) of the gods

Small units of time used in the Vedas

Paramu (about 16.8 microseconds)

2 Paramus = Au
3 Aus = Trasareu
is 3 Trasarenus,= Truti or about 1/3290th of a second.

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 1 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

100 trutis.= Vedha

3 vedhas.= Lava
3 lavas = Nimesha or a blink.
3 Nimeshas.= Kshanas
5 Kshanas = Kashthas or about 4.1 seconds.
15 kashthas = Laghu or about 1 minute.
15 Laghus = one Nadika, which is also called a Danda.
2 Dandas = Muhurta.

Sidereal Day: This is the time taken by the Earth to rotate once on its axis with reference to any fixed star.
This is known as Nakshatra Dina and is equal to 23 hrs. 56 min (approx.) of Mean solar day.

Sidereal Year: The Sidereal year is the mean period of revolution of the earth in its orbit respect to
background stars (from one fixed star to fixed star)

Lunar metrics:

Tithi (thithi ) or lunar day is defined as the time it takes for the longitudinal angle between
the moon and the Sun to increase by 12. Tithis begin at varying times of day and vary in duration from
approximately 19 to approximately 26 hours.

15 Thithis = Paksha or lunar fortnight

2 Pakshas = Masa or lunar month (approximately 29.5 days)

Shukla Paksha; The one between new moon and full moon (waxing) is called gaura(bright)

Krishna Paksha: The one between full moon and new moon (waning)

2 Masas = Rithu (or season)

3 Rituhs = Ayanam

2 Aayanas = Year

Lunar Day : A Moon Day (Lunar Day) is the period of time it takes for the Moon to complete one full rotation
on its axis with respect to the Sun, and it is the time it takes the Moon to make one complete orbit around
the Earth and come back to the same phase
Lunar Month : It has 30 lunar days or Tihtis and it is measured form new moon to next new new moon

Tropical Metrics:

A yaama is 7 Ghatis

8 yaamas 1 half of the day (either day or night)

An ahoratram is a tropical day (Note: A day is considered to begin and end at sunrise, not midnight.)

Solar Day : This is also known as Savana Day and is reckoned from sunrise to next sunrise. This is longer
than sidereal day by about 4 minutes
Tropical Year : this is year of seasons, is the time if the passage of the sun from one vernal Equinox to next
Vernal Equinox. The V.E. point slips to the west at the rate of 50.33 per year.

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 2 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Concept of Adhika Maas & Kshaya Maas

Anicent indians called the year varsha, meaning 'shower of rains' or time during which the annual seasons
completed their course, taking into account the movements of the sun. The night, on which the Masa or
month becomes Poorna or complete, based on the movements of the Moon, was called Pournamasi
(Pournima). They were perhaps the first to try, as pioneers in calendar - making right from the vedic times, to
fuse, rather successfully, the solar calendar into the lunar and form a luni-solar calendar.

Solar and Lunar Months:

The ancient Hindu calendar was made with wo basic observations. The first was the apparent movement of
the sun, causing the solar year, on its re-entry into the first of the twelve Rasis of the Zodiac, from where it
started its annual sojourn and completed a cycle of seasons. The moment of entry of the sun into a zodiacal
sign was called Samkranti, and Soura or Solar month. Likewise, the period of time between the appearance
and reappearance of either the Full Moon or New Moon was called a Masa or Month.
For a solar month, the sun's ingress to the sign alone matters. Therefore, there is only one its kind. But as the
lunar month is either reckoned with the end of amavasya or Pournami there are two kinds of them.
1. Amantha
2. Pournimanta

Amanta: The Months which end with an Amavasya or New moon are called Amanta
Pournimanta: the Months which end with Pournima or Full moon are called Pournimanta
Synchronizing Months and Seasons
Solar months have varying periods of 30 to 32 days due to the vagaries of the movement of the sun, in
relation to the earth. 12 twelve lunar months, varying from 20 to 30 days, based on the occurence and reoccurence of either the Full moons or the New moons did not converge exactly with this solar year.
The length of an solar year on an average is 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes (Surya Siddhanta takes this as 365
days, 6 hours and 13 minutes) and of a lunar month 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes. So 12 lunar months add to
354 days, 9 hours and lag behind the solar year by about 11 days (10.896 days) per year. It is evident then
that in three years this difference itself will be more than thirty days resulting in a slide of a month in relation
to the solar reckoning.
The religious calendar of the Hindus, as of many other faiths over the world, is lunar and is based on the
Tithis or lunar days. If the lunar months are allowed to recede progressively, [this is allowed in the Islamic
calendar] the seasonal festivals of any particular lunar month will get divorced from their association of their
correct seasons. For the lunar months to move through all the solar months and to come back to their
original position it may take about 321 years. In other words, the religious festivals will harmonize with the
seasons once in about 321 years only. Therefore, there arose a need to synchronize the religious calendar
with the calendar of seasons, mainly to prevent this problem of shift of festival days. It is only to avert this
contingency the occasional introduction of inter-calary months in the lunar calendar was devised by our
ancients. When this recession of about 11 days per year gets accumulated to 30 days or one month, an intercalary month is inserted in the lunar calendar to bring it back to its original position in relation to the seasons.

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 3 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Such extra months can come at regular intervals after every 32 and 33 solar months, alternately, to maintain
the balance.
The ancient Hindu concept of computation of time stems from the Mahayuga. In a Mahayuga there are
4,320,000 years, which contain 51,840,000 solar months or Souramasas and 53,433,336 lunar months or
Chandramasas. So in a Mahayuga there will be 1,593,336 inter-calary or Adhikamasas in the lunar calendar.
The pattern of occurence of the solar and lunar months can be expressed mathematically,as a continuous
fraction based on the fact there are 33 lunar months for 32 solar months.
But the problem does not stop with this. For 423 solar months there will be 436 luner months, an additive of
13. If we take 1692 solar months or exactly 141 years, we get 52 additive months. On the basis of one per 32
years, the additive month must be 53 for 1696 years. It can be seen that an increase of 4 solar months has
brought in another lunar month. So also for 1920 solar months only 59 Adhikamasas occur. As per the
normal rules this must be be 60. Therefore, one month has to be reduced to make it 59. That is why the need
to identify a Kshayamasas or surpressed month arises to offset the excess. This is done by just ignoring a
count of a lunar month. Kshayamasas occur generally once in 141 years and again after 19 years, more
frequently though they are possible in other intervals of 46, 65, 76 and 122 years.

The Extra Month

Adhikamasa is defined as that lunar month which does not have any solar ingress during its period. It other
words Adhikamasa occurs when the sun's stay in a sign or Rasi is more than the duration of that lunar month.
The rule is that the lunar month bears the same name as the solar month in which the initial New month
occurs. When a lunar month is completely covered by a solar month or in other words when there are two
moments of New Moons one at the commencement and other at the end of any solar month, two lunar
months originate in the same solar month and both these lunar months derive the same name as per the
above rule. So the lunar month that begins from the first New moon, so occuring, is deemed as an extra
month and termed as Adhikamasa or Malamasa. The lunar month begining from the second New moon is
called the real or pure, otherwise Nija or Suddha. Both these months bear the same name of the solar month
and the first gets the prefix of Adhika and the next, Suddha.

In the current Nandan Yearr, in the solar month of Bhadrapada two New Moons occur, causing two lunar
months in the solar month. So the first lunar month is taken as Adhika. The first is Adhika Bhadrapada and
the second is the Nija Bhadrapada.
It can thus be seen that an inter-calary month comes after two to three years in the normal course. Such
Adhikamasas generally occur in the Manmadanama Samhastra(in 2015-2016) during Ashadamasam as these
solar months have a longer duration than the lunar months. No religious festivals are observed in these
Malamasas or Adhikamasas.

The Suppressed Month

What is a Kshayamasa or suppressed month? At times, a lunar month can completely cover a shorter solar
month. Then the Sun's stay in a Rasi will be less than the duration of a lunar month. This will result in two
Samkramanas or solar ingress occuring in a particular lunar month. In such a contingency there will be no
New moon in that particular solar month. Therefore, there will be no lunar month to be named after that

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 4 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

solar month. Obviously this will create a gap in the sequence of names of the lunar months, missing out one
name. This dropped out month is callled Kshayamasa or decayed month.
In such years when a lapsed month occur (this happens less frequently) there will be two inter-calary months
or Adhikamasas, one before the Kshayamasa and the other after that, within a span of three months on
either side. The inter-calary month occuring prior to the Kshayamasa is called Samsarpa and this is generally
exempted from the injunctions of performance of religious festivals in that month, as attributable to normal
Adhikamasa. The latter inter-calary month is called Amhaspati and this second Adhikamasa will be the correct
Adhikamasa, as it occurs after 30 months of the previous Adhikamasa.
Though the average length of a lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, it actually varies from 29 days,
5 hours, 54 minutes to 29 days, 19 hours, 36 minutes depending on the position of the New moon of the
lunar perigee (Surya Siddhanta gives the limits as 29 days, 6 hours, 18 months to 29 days, 19 hours, 6
months). as the months of Vrischika, Dhanus and Makara have their lengths between these two limits, only
the lunar months of Margasira, pushya and Magha can become Kshaya more often than the other two and
Magha, the least.
To summarise, a Malamasa or Adhikamasa occurs when there are two New Moons in a solar month creating
a situation of absence of any solar ingress or Samkramana in that lunar month. For an Adhikamasa to occur, a
solar ingress must take place just before a New Moon and the next ingress must be just after the next New
Moon. Or in other words, a lunar month with no Samkrantis of the Sun occuring in it is called a suppressed
month, Kshayamasa or Amhaspati.
A decayed month or Kshayamasa occurs when there is no New Moon in any solar month creating a situation
of two solar ingresses or Samkramanas happening in that lunar month. For a Kshayamasa to happen the solar
ingress must happen just after a New moon and the following solar ingress must take place before the
ending of the next New Moon. In other words a lunar month will two Samlrantis of the Sun occuring in it is
called a suppressed month, Kshayamasa or Amhaspati.
Much variance in computational factors is found in the different ancient astronomical treatises as regards the
length of the solar year and the like. Different Siddhantas are followed in different regions of different
people. The opinions expressed in various Sastriac texts are also in variance with regard to the observances of
religious festivals. Therefore there is difference of opinion amongst scholars in determining some of these
Adhika and Kshaya months. Only some of the basic principles have been discussed here to give the reader a
general but clear idea about the subject, without going into the intricacies.

Modern Measurement of time

60 Seconds = I Minute
60 Minutes = 1 Hour
24 Hours = 1 Day
30 days = 1 Month
12 Months = 1 Year

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 5 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Conversion of Ghati-Pal-Vipal to H:M:S

As we know :

1 Ghati = 60 Vighatis = 24 Minutes

1. let us convert the 55 Ghati 23 pal to H: M: S

55 X 24 + (23/60)24 = 1320 + 9.2 = 1329.2 Min = 22 H: 9 M: 12 S
2. let us convert the 2 Ghati 56 pal to H: M: S
2 X 24 + (56/60)24 = 48 + 22.4 = 70.4 Min = 1 H : 10 M : 24 S
3. let us convert the 32 Ghatis
32 X 24 = 48 + 22.4 = 768 Min = 12 H : 48 M : 0 S

Conversion of H:M:S to Ghati Pal - Vipal

1. let us convert the 6 Hours 45 Min 30 Secs into Gati - Pal - Vipal
6 X 60 + 45 + (30/60) = 360 + 45 + .5 = 405.5 Minutes
405.5/24 = 16.875 Ghatis = 16 Ghatis 52 Pal 30 Vipal
2. let us convert the 13 Hours 49 Min 36 Secs into Gati - Pal - Vipal
13 X 60 + 49 + (36/60) = 780 + 49 + .6 = 829.6 Minutes
829.6/24 = 34.566667 Ghatis = 34 Ghatis 34 Pal
3. let us convert the 21 Hours 3 Min 45 Secs into Gati - Pal - Vipal
21 X 60 + 3 + (45/60) = 1260 + 3 + 0.75 = 1263.75 Minutes
1263.75/24 = 52.65625 Ghatis = 52 Ghatis 39 Pal 2 Vipal 30 viliptas
4. let us convert the 17 Hours 49 Min 12 Secs into Gati - Pal - Vipal
17 X 60 + 49 + (12 / 60 ) = 1020 + 49 + 0.2 = 1069.2 Minutes
1263.75/24 = 44.55 Ghatis = 44 Ghatis 33 Pal

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 6 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Topic : 6 Time Differences

Latitude & Longitude
Latitude: In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point
on the Earth's surface. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run eastwest as circles parallel to the equator.
Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0 at the Equator to 90 (North or South) at the poles.

Named latitudes:
Arctic Circle

66 33 39 N

Tropic of Cancer( Karkataka Rekha)

23 26 21 N

Tropic of Capricorn( Makara Rekha)

23 26 21 S

Antarctic Circle

66 33 39" S

Longitude: Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's
surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by
the Greek letter lambda ().

Concept of Prime Meridian:

Points with the same longitude lie in lines running from the North Pole to the South Pole. By convention, one
of these, the Prime Meridian, which passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England, establishes
the position of zero degrees longitude. The longitude of other places is measured as an angle east or west
from the Prime Meridian. Specifically, it is the angle between a plane containing the Prime Meridian and a
plane containing the North Pole, South Pole and the location in

Greenwich Mean Time(GMT):

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is a time system originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal
Observatory in Greenwich, London, and later became adopted as a global time standard.

Time Zones:
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes.
Different places on the Earth need to have different clock times because day and night comes at different
times around the world. We now use time zones so that people over a wide area can keep to the same time,
for simplicity and ease of communication.Standard time zones could be defined by geometrically subdividing
the Earth's spheroid into 24 lines (wedge-shaped sections), bordered by meridians each 15 of
longitude apart. The local time in neighboring zones would differ by one hour, and the variation in the
position of the sun from one end of the zone to the other (east vs. west) would be at most 1/24 of the sky.

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 7 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Standard Time:
Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to
the same time rather than using the local meridian as solar time.
0

The geographical Longitude of standard meridian for Indian Standard Time = 82 30 East

Local Mean Time:

LMT Correction
This is duration of time or measure of time to be applied to find LMT of a place from the standard time of
that country or zone shown by the watch.
This can be obtained by : The difference of the Longitude of the place form standard meridian X 4 minutes
The LMT correction is either + or depending on whether the place is towards East(E) or West(W) .

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 8 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Topic : 7 Time Conversion

As we know Earth will take 24 hours to complete one rotation on its axis.

So 360O = 24 hours = 1440(24 X 60) Minutes

1O = 1440 / 360 = 4 Minutes

Conversion from LMT to IST & Vice Versa

1. Calculate the Delhi Local Mean Time of 10:30 AM (IST)
Delhi 77 O 13 E

IST 82 O 30 E

GMT 0 O

Step # 1 : Longitude of Indian Standard Meridian = 82O 30 E

Step # 2 : Longitude of Delhi = 77O 13 E
Step # 3 : Delhi West to IST
Step # 4 : The difference between Longitude of IST & Longitude of Delhi is
O

= 82 30 E - 77 13 E = 5 17
Step # 5 : convert the difference of degrees into time
= (5O X 4) minutes + (17 X 4) Seconds = 20 Min + 68 sec

= 21 Min : 8 Sec
Step # 6 : Based on the Step 3 LMT correction = - 21 Min : 8 Sec
Step # 7 : LMT at Delhi = 10 Hrs: 30 Min - 21 Min : 8 Sec = 10 Hrs: 8 Min : 52 Sec

2. Find out the LMT Correction for a) Mexico, b) New York, c) Beijing
3. If IST of birth is 2Hrs : 45 Min PM then what will be the LMT at:

-Delhi

-Patna

- Rangoon

-Bombay

- Madras

- Calcutta

- Bangalore

- Munich

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

-San Francisco

Page 9 of 10

Mathematical Astrology

April -21 - 2012

Conversion from GMT to IST & Vice Versa

4. Calculate the Delhi Local Mean Time of 10:30 AM (IST)

GMT 0 O

IST 82 O 30 E
O

Step # 1 : Longitude of Indian Standard Meridian = 82 30 E

Step # 2 : Longitude of GMT = 0O 00
Step # 3 : GMT West to IST
Step # 4 : The difference between Longitude of IST & Longitude of GMT is
= 82O 30 E - 0O 0 = 82O 30
Step # 5 : convert the difference of degrees into time
= (82O X 4) minutes + (30 X 4) Seconds = 328 Min + 120 sec

= 330 Min = 5 Hrs : 30 Min

Step # 6 : Based on the Step 3 correction for GMT = - 5 Hrs : 30 Min
Step # 7 : Time at GMT = 10 Hrs: 30 Min - 5 Hrs : 30 Min = 5 Hrs

Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao

Page 10 of 10