Panchak
the Moon in Kumbh and Meen

Panchak is the time the Moon takes to cross Kumbh and Meen (Aquarius and Pisces), from the third pada of Dhanishta to the end of Revati: five nakshatras, about four and a half days, once a month.

What it is avoided or kept for

• Travel towards the south
• Gathering firewood or grass
• Laying a roof
• Making a bed or cot
• A cremation without the panchak shanti

Named by the weekday it begins on: Sunday Roga, Monday Raja, Tuesday Agni, Friday Chora and Saturday Mrityu panchak, the last read as the hardest. One that begins on a Wednesday or Thursday has no special name and is read as milder. Shubh work like a puja or daan is not stopped by panchak.

Why tradition keeps it

For a death in panchak, the Garuda Purana tradition has five small effigies of kusha grass cremated with the body, one for each nakshatra, and a panchak shanti puja done after it, so that the panchak does not "take five".

Source: Tradition, as the panchang lists it; the five avoided works follow the Garuda Purana and the muhurta books.

Today’s panchang · Muhurat · Tithis · Astrology dictionary