Tamil Calendar (Tamil Date, Panchangam & Nalla Neram)
Every day’s Tamil date, thithi and natchathiram — with nalla neram, for your town.
Calendar
festival Ekadashi Purnima Amavasya fast — tap a day for its details.
Corner: the Tamil date (the month’s name on its first day). Lines: thithi and natchathiram at sunrise, festivals.
Selected day
Rahu kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika
Gowri nalla neram (கௌரி நல்ல நேரம்)
Day
Night
Festivals and observances
About the Tamil Calendar (Tamil Date, Panchangam & Nalla Neram)
A month of the Tamil solar calendar for your own town. Every day shows its Tamil date — the day of Chithirai, Vaikasi, Aani … Panguni — with the thithi and natchathiram current at sunrise and the day’s festivals and fasts. Tap a day for its full panchangam (thithi, natchathiram, yogam and karanam with their ending times, sunrise and sunset), its Rahu kalam, Yamagandam and Kuligai, and the Gowri nalla neram of the day and the night. The Tamil year’s name in the sixty-year cycle heads the month.
A Tamil month begins when the Sun enters the next sidereal sign: on that day when the Sankranti is before sunset, otherwise on the next day. Calculated this way, with the ayanamsa of the Rashtriya Panchang, every month beginning matches its table for Tamil Nadu. Names are in Tamil and English; print the month on A4 or Letter, save it as CSV, or add the year’s festivals to your phone calendar. Everything is calculated on your device.
How to use it
- Search for your town, or open Coordinates and time zone and type its latitude and longitude: the calendar follows the town’s sunrise, sunset and time zone. Until you choose a town it shows Chennai.
- Choose the month and year (or step with the arrows), Tamil or English names, and whether weeks start on Sunday or Monday.
- Read a day: the Tamil date sits in the corner — the month’s name on its first day — then the thithi at sunrise (வ = Valarpirai, waxing; தே = Theipirai, waning), the natchathiram at sunrise, and the festivals.
- Tap a day for its panchangam, Rahu kalam, Yamagandam, Kuligai and Gowri nalla neram. Use Print for a wall sheet, CSV for a spreadsheet, Year .ics for your phone’s calendar, or Copy dates for the festival list.
Examples
Chennai · Chithirai to Panguni
Chithirai 1: 14 Apr 2026 · Vaikasi 1: 15 May · Aani 1: 15 Jun · Aadi 1: 17 Jul · Avani 1: 17 Aug · Purattasi 1: 17 Sep · Aippasi 1: 18 Oct · Karthigai 1: 17 Nov · Margazhi 1: 16 Dec · Thai 1: 15 Jan 2027 · Maasi 1: 13 Feb · Panguni 1: 15 Mar — the dates of the Rashtriya Panchang’s table for Tamil Nadu
14 January 2026: the Sun enters sidereal Makara at 15:07 IST; sunset at Chennai 18:01
Before sunset, so Thai 1 — Thai Pongal — is 14 January 2026, with Bhogi on 13 January and Mattu Pongal on 15 January. (Kerala’s rule puts Makaram 1 on 15 January.)
Sunday 8 November 2026 (Deepavali): sunrise 06:05, sunset 17:40
Good by day: Uthi 06:05–07:32, Amirdha 07:32–08:59, Laabam 10:26–11:53, Dhanam 11:53–13:19, Sugam 13:19–14:46. Avoid Rogam 08:59–10:26, Soram 14:46–16:13 and Visham 16:13–17:40, which is also the Rahu kalam.
How the Tamil date is worked out
The Tamil months are solar. Each lasts while the Sun is in one sidereal sign (rasi) — Chithirai while it is in Mesham, Vaikasi in Rishabam, and so on to Panguni in Meenam — so a month has 29 to 32 days. The Sun’s sidereal position uses the variable (Chitrapaksha) ayanamsa of the Rashtriya Panchang, and the first day follows the Tamil rule: when the Sankranti (the Sun’s entry into the sign) comes before sunset, the month begins that day; after sunset, it begins the next day. The Indian Astronomical Ephemeris names this the sunset rule for the Tamil New Year.
The tests compare every month beginning with the Rashtriya Panchang’s table for Tamil Nadu, and the Tamil New Year, Thai Pongal and Vaikunta Ekadasi with the dates the Ephemeris gives over several years — Bhogi and Mattu Pongal are the days on either side of Pongal; all of them agree. The Calendar Reform Committee’s “saura” months, counted with a fixed ayanamsa of 23°15′, begin about a day earlier; the Ephemeris shows them for illustration only and they are not used in practice, so they are not used here.
The year, thithi and natchathiram
- Year: the Tamil year begins on Chithirai 1 (Puthandu) and takes its name from the sixty-year cycle, Prabhava to Akshaya — the cycle the Rashtriya Panchang lists under “south Indian usage” in its table of eras.
- Thithi and natchathiram: the ones current at sunrise name the day; the day’s panchangam gives when they end and what follows. A “+” marks a thithi that begins and ends before the next sunrise, a ² the second day of a thithi.
- Amavasai and Pournami are named by the Tamil month they fall in (Aadi Amavasai, Thai Pournami) and kept on the day whose sunrise they cover.
- Ekadasi follows the Smarta rule, with the Vaishnava day as well when it differs; Pradosham is the day Thrayodasi covers sunset; Sankatahara Chathurthi the day Krishna Chaturthi covers moonrise.
Festivals and the rules they follow
- Solar dates: Tamil New Year on Chithirai 1; Bhogi the day before Thai 1; Thai Pongal on Thai 1; Mattu Pongal on Thai 2 and Kaanum Pongal on Thai 3; Aadi Perukku on Aadi 18.
- Vaikunta Ekadasi: the Shukla Ekadashi of Margazhi, on the day it is current at sunrise.
- By the thithi, with the Rashtriya Panchang’s rules: Sri Rama Navami, Akshaya Tritiya, Vinayagar Chathurthi (Bhadrapada Shukla Chaturthi at midday), Mahalaya Amavasai, Navaratri, Saraswathi and Ayutha Pooja (the day before Vijayadasami), Vijayadasami, Deepavali (the oil bath before sunrise on Naraka Chathurdasi), Ratha Saptami, Maha Shivaratri and Ugadi.
Festivals fixed by a natchathiram in a Tamil month — Thai Poosam, Panguni Uthiram, Vaikasi Visakam, Karthigai Deepam — depend on how many hours of the day the natchathiram covers, a rule this calendar does not model, so they are not placed; the natchathiram of every day is shown, so you can find them.
Rahu kalam, Yamagandam, Kuligai and Gowri nalla neram
The daytime from sunrise to sunset is divided into eight equal parts. Rahu kalam is the 8th part on Sunday, 2nd on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 5th on Wednesday, 6th on Thursday, 4th on Friday and 3rd on Saturday; Yamagandam and Kuligai (Gulika) are the parts of Jupiter and of Saturn.
Gowri panchangam gives each of the eight parts of the day and of the night a name from a fixed table for the weekday — the traditional table printed in Tamil almanacs. Amirdha, Uthi, Laabam, Dhanam and Sugam are the good times, the nalla neram; Rogam, Soram and Visham are avoided. The day’s Visham always falls in its Rahu kalam. Printed calendars often give these times for a fixed 6 am sunrise; here they follow your town’s real sunrise and sunset, so they move with the seasons.
Vakya and Thirukkanitha panchangams
This calendar is computed the modern (drik, Thirukkanitha) way, from the true positions of the Sun and the Moon, as the Rashtriya Panchang is. Many temples and some Tamil almanacs follow the Vakya panchangam, worked out with the traditional vakya tables; its Sankranti, thithi and natchathiram times can differ from the modern ones by hours, so a Tamil date, a festival or a star day can differ by a day. For temple festivals, follow your temple’s own calendar.
Sources
- India Meteorological Department, Positional Astronomy Centre: Rashtriya Panchang — Regional calendars, Chronological eras, Explanation and Principal festivals — and the festival criteria of the Indian Astronomical Ephemeris; the Tamil names follow the Rashtriya Panchang’s Tamil edition.
- D. Cross, astronomy-engine (MIT licence): the positions of the Sun and the Moon and the searches for sunrise, sunset and moonrise.
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): the towns, coordinates and time zones of the place search.
Limitations
- Temples that follow the Vakya panchangam can keep a Tamil date, festival or natchathiram a day earlier or later.
- Festivals fixed by a natchathiram in a Tamil month (Thai Poosam, Panguni Uthiram, Karthigai Deepam) are not placed; look for the day’s natchathiram in the grid.
- Times are for a level horizon at sea level; hills and tall buildings change sunrise and sunset by a few minutes, and with them the periods of the day.
- Years from 1900 to 2100 are supported. Where the Sun does not rise or set (near the poles) the day’s periods cannot be divided and are left out.
Privacy
Everything is calculated in your browser, and the CSV and calendar files are made there too. A town or coordinates you choose are remembered in this browser for the panchang tools; Reset forgets them.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a Tamil month sometimes begin a day after the Sun enters the sign?
Because of the sunset rule: a Sankranti after sunset starts the month on the next day. When the Sun enters Mesham at night, for example, Chithirai 1 — the Tamil New Year — is the following day.
What is Gowri nalla neram?
The good times of the Gowri panchangam: the day and the night are each split into eight equal parts named Amirdha, Uthi, Rogam, Laabam, Dhanam, Sugam, Soram and Visham in an order fixed for each weekday. Amirdha, Uthi, Laabam, Dhanam and Sugam are good (nalla neram); Rogam, Soram and Visham are avoided. Tap a day to see all sixteen parts.
Which Tamil year is it?
The year’s name heads each month, in Tamil and English. It changes on Chithirai 1, the Tamil New Year, and comes from the sixty-year cycle that starts with Prabhava.
Why does my temple calendar show another date?
Many temples follow the Vakya panchangam, whose times can differ by hours from the modern ones used here, so a date or a festival can move by a day. Follow your temple for its own festivals.
Can I use it outside Tamil Nadu?
Yes. Choose your own town: the month beginnings, the thithi at sunrise and every period of the day follow its sunrise and sunset. To see Tamil Nadu’s dates from abroad, choose Chennai.
Can I print a Tamil monthly calendar?
Yes. Choose A4 or Letter and press Print: the month prints on one page with each day’s Tamil date, thithi and natchathiram and the festival list below the grid. In the print dialog you can also save it as a PDF.