Karana
Half of a tithi — there are eleven karanas cycling through the lunar month.
A karana is half a tithi, the span of the Moon gaining 6 degrees on the Sun. Since each tithi has two karanas, a lunar month of thirty tithis contains sixty karana slots.
There are eleven distinct karanas. Four are 'fixed' and occur only once each around the new moon; the other seven are 'movable' and repeat in sequence to fill the rest of the month. Their names and qualities feed into choosing auspicious timing.
The karana is the fifth limb of the Panchanga. Like the other limbs it is used mainly in muhurta to fine-tune the quality of a moment, rarely read alone.
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