आदित्यादिनवग्रहाः शुभकरा मॆषादयॊ राशयॊ

नक्षत्राणि सयॊगकाश्च तिथयस्तद्दॆवतास्तद्गणाः

मासाब्दा ऋतवस्तथैव दिवसाः सन्ध्यास्तथा रात्रयः

सर्वॆ स्थावरजंगमाः प्रतिदिनं कुर्वन्तु नॊ मन्गलम् ॥ ८ ॥ 

ಆದಿತ್ಯಾದಿನವಗ್ರಹಾಃ ಶುಭಕರಾ ಮೇಷಾದಯೋ ರಾಶಯೋ

ನಕ್ಷತ್ರಾಣಿ ಸಯೋಗಕಾಶ್ಚ ತಿಥಯಸ್ತದ್ದೇವತಾಸ್ತದ್ಗಣಾಃ

ಮಾಸಾಬ್ದಾ ಋತವಸ್ತಥೈವ ದಿವಸಾಃ ಸನ್ಧ್ಯಾಸ್ತಥಾ ರಾತ್ರಯಃ

ಸರ್ವೇ ಸ್ಥಾವರಜಂಗಮಾಃ ಪ್ರತಿದಿನಂ ಕುರ್ವನ್ತು ನೋ ಮನ್ಗಲಮ್ || ೮ || 

aadityaadinavagrahaaH shubhakaraa mEShaadayO raashayO

nakShatraaNi sayOgakaashcha tithayastaddEvataastadgaNaaH

maasaabdaa Rutavastathaiva divasaaH sandhyaastathaa raatrayaH

sarvE sthaavarajaMgamaaH pratidinaM kurvantu nO mangalam || 8 ||

May the following bless us with auspiciousness every day:
 The nine planets,
 The 12 Raashis
 The 27 stars on which Hindu Astrology is based
 The 6 Yogas and 12 karanas listed by astrology
 The 30 tithis associated with each lunar month
 The 12 Hindu months
 The 60 years listed in the Hindu calendar
 The 6 Rutus or Seasons
 Days, Nights and Sandhyas (the intermediate periods like Dawn, Dusk etc)
 All fixed (trees, plants etc) and moving living beings

Concept of time in shastra: In day-to-day life, our understanding of time is linear and straightforward. Sixty seconds make a minute, 60 minutes make an hour, 24 hours make a day and so on. Beyond that we talk of week, month, year, century and millennium. This is universally accepted and uniformly applied. One year is the same for every human being in the world, no matter whether one lives in the North Pole or the South Pole.
In shastra, a living being’s concept of time is influenced heavily by where he/she is in the hierarchy.They say that 1 year for humans is equivalent to 1 day for devatas and pitrus. Thus 360 human years is equivalent to 1 year for devatas. On a different scale, 1,00,000 human years is equivalent to 1 second for Brahma. So, 1 day for Brahma is equal to 8.64 billion human years (3600 X 24 X 100000). The life span of Brahma is defined as 100 years. This would be 311.04 trillion human years (=8.640 billion X 360 X 100)

In the Vedas, Time is equated with the Kala (Consciousness Time) is the source of the divisions of time. It unites procession recession and stasis.

“Kalo gatinivrtti sthiti: samdadhati” (Sankhayana Aranyaka 7.20)         

• Murta (Practical/embodied) (Manifested by nature – ahoratra, praņa, nimesha
• Amruta (Virtual/unembodied) (manmade)

Time that begins with prana (respiration) is called practical; that what begins with truti (atoms) is called virtual.

Lowest subdivision of time is prana which is the time taken for 1 respiration and is equivalent to heavenly bodies revolving around earth. 1 unit of prāņa is the time an average healthy man needs to complete one respiration or to pronounce ten long syllables called guravakşara.

1 paramanu		60,750th of a second
1 truţi	=		29.6296 microseconds
1 tatpara	=		2.96296 milliseconds
1 nimesha	=		88.889 milliseconds
45 nimesha	=	1 prāņa	4 seconds
6 prāņa	=	1 vinādī	24 seconds
60 vinādīs	=	1 nadī	24 minutes
60 nādīs	=	1 ahorātra

• 1 Prana = 4seconds
• 1 nadi or daņda = 24 minutes
•  1 vinadi = 24 seconds
•  1 asu or prāņa = 4 seconds
• 1 nimesha = 88.889 milliseconds
•  1 tatpara = 2.96296 milliseconds
•  1 truti =29.6296 microseconds or 33,750th part of second

According to surya siddhanta, puranic division of kala ( time) is born out of Sun. The counting starts from nimesha (twinkling of an eye).

100 truti (atoms)	= 1 tatpara (speck)
30 tatpara (specks)	= 1 nimesha (twinkling)
18 nimesha (twinklings)	= 1 kashtha (bit)
30 kashtha (bits)	= 1 kala (~minute)
30 kala (minutes)	= 1 ghatika (~half-hour)
2 ghatika (half hour)	= 1 kshana/muhūrta (~hour)
30 kshana/muhūrta (hour)	= 1 ahorātra (~day).

Truti is referred to as a quarter of the time of falling of an eye lid.

• 1 muhurta = 48 minutes
• 1 ghati = 24 minutes
• 1 kala = 48 seconds
• 1 kashtha = 1.6 seconds
•  1 nimesha = 88.889 milliseconds 
• 30 alpakala = truti = 1/3600 second or 0.36 milli seconds
• 30 truti = kalaa = 1/120 second or 8.3 milli seconds
• 30 kalaa = nimisha = 1/4 second = 250 milli seconds
• 4 nimisha = ganita = 1 second
• 60 ganita = vinadi = 1 minute
• 60 vinadi = ghatika = 24 minutes
• 60 ghatika = ahoratra = 24 hours or Day + Night
• 15 ahoratra paksha = 15 days or 1 Moon cycle
• 2 paksha= chandramasa =1 month or 1 Lunar month
• 12 chandra masa = varsha = 12 months or (1 Solar year but not equal in days)
• 1 varsha = deva aho ratram = 1 Deva day or 1 Human year
•  360 varsha = devavarsha = 360 human years
•  4800 devavarsha= kruta yuga = 1,728,000 human years
•  3600 devavarsha= treta yuga = 1,296,000 human years
•  2400 devavarsha = dvapara yuga = 864,000 human years
•  1200 devavarsha = kali yuga = 432,000 human years
•  12000 devavarsha = chatur yuga = 4,320,000 human years
• 1000 Yuga Chakra = Dina Kalpa or Daytime of Chaturmukha Brahma = 432 Crore human years
• 2 Kalpas = 1 ahoratra of Chaturmukha Brahma = One day-night cycle of Chaturmukha Brahma or 864
• Crore Human year
• 720 Kalpas = 1 year of Chaturmukha Brahma = 311,040 crore human years
• 100 years of Chaturmukha Brahma or 31,104,000 Crore human years is the life span of Chaturmukha Brahma.

Samvatsara Linked mathematics:

• 60 Ghatikas or Muhurtas make one human day. Each Ghatika or Muhurta = 48 minutes(on the clock)
• 360 human days = 1 human year = 21,600 Ghatikas = 518,400 minutes
• [Our breathing cycle 4 seconds (2” inspiration/ 2” expiration) or 21,600 cycles per day!]
• 60 human years or samvatsaras = one complete samvatsara cycle =  31,104,000 minutes.

Simply,

• 1 day = 1440 minutes
• 1 year = 360 days = 518,400 minutes
• 60 years = 31,104,000 minutes

Yuga, Maha-yuga, Manvantara: Yuga refers to a duration of time, running into hundreds of thousands of years.The word yuga has been derived from yoga and yoga from samyoga, or conjunction of heavenly bodies. So one finds the origin of every unit of yuga to a specific conjunction of the heavenly bodies in the sky.

A conjunction of the sun and the moon at Dhanişthā, while the bŗhaspati (Jupiter) at makara (Capricorn), occurs every 60 years and that is the basis for counting a 60 year yuga. Hindu scriptures provide separate names for all the sixty years of a 60 year yuga. The rare occasion when the sun, the moon and bŗhaspati (Jupiter) meet at dhanista repeats at an interval of 865 million years. Such a conjunction occurs five times in a Kalpa.

Shastras say that yugas occur in cycles of 4 – Kruta, Treta, Dvaapara and Kali yuga. Kruta yuga occurs at the beginning of a cycle and is 17,28,000 years. This is followed by Treta (12,96.000), dvaapara (8,64,000) and finally Kali yuga (4,32,000). One set of these 4 yugas is called mahaa-yuga, which lasts 43,20,000 years. Shastras call this yuga-chakra or the cycle of yugas, because the yugas repeat in cycles.
1000 such mahaa-yugas is equivalent to one daytime (12 hours) of brahma. This amounts to 4.32 billion years (43,20,000 X 1000). Since a day consists of 24 hours, 1 day in Brahma’s life is equal to 2000 maha-yugas or 8.640 billion years.

Yuga name	Number of years
Kruta	17,28,000
Treta	12,96.000
Dvaapara	8,64,000
Kali	4,32,000

• 1000 Mahayuhas = 1 daytime (12 hrs) of brahma = 4.32 billion years = 1 kalpa
• 2000 Mahayugas = 1 day (24 hrs) of brahma = 8.640 billion years
• 1 kalpa = 14 manvantaras = 71 maha yuga

One daytime of brahma is called kalpa. It is divided into 14 equal parts, called Manvantaras. Each manvantara is around 71 maha-yugas. There is a period of deluge or pralaya after each manvantara.

The manvantaras are listed below in the correct order. It should be noted that there is no unanimity about the names and manus of these manvantaras as different works cite different names; but there is consensus about the first 7 manvantaras. Each Manvantara has a Manu and an Indra.

Name	Manu	Indra
Swaayambhu	Swaayambhu, one of the sons of Chaturmukha Brahma	Yagna (Vishnu)
Swaarochisha	Swaarochisha, son of Agni	Rochana (Vaayu)
Uttama	Uttama, son of Priyavrata	Satyajit (Yama)
Taapasa (or Taamasa)	Tapasa – son of Priyavrata (brother of Uttama). He was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu	Trishika & Vibhu (Naastya & Dasra)
Raivata	Raivata, twin of Tapasa. He was also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu	Trishika & Vibhu (Naastya & Dasra)
Chaakshusa	Chaakshusa, son of Chakshu	Mandradyumna (Indra)
Vaivasvata	Vaivasvata, son of Vivasvaan (Sun). This is the current manvantara	Purandara (Indra)
SaavarNi	saavarNi	Bali
Daksha saavarNi	Daksha saavarNi	AdbhutaH
Brahma saavarNi	Brahma saavarNi	ShambhuH
Dharma saavarNi	Dharma saavarNi	VidhRutiH
Rudra saavarNi	Rudra saavarNi	Rutadhaamaa
Rauchya or deva saavarNi	Rauchya or deva saavarNi	DivaspatiH
Indra saavarNi	Indra saavarNi	ShuchiH

Panchaang (Almanac): The word ‘panchaang” means a thing that has 5 parts or limbs. In the context of an almanac, these five are:

•  Nakshatra (star or constellation in which Moon is currently transiting) 
•  Tithi (moon phase, with respect to Sun’s position); this is usually along with Paksha (Shukla or Krishna) Yoga, the angular relationship between Sun and Moon. One Yoga equals 13 degrees : 20 minutes. There are 27 Yogas in 360 degrees 
•  Karana (half a lunar day) (each Tithi has 2 Karanas). One Karaṇa equals 6 degree difference between Moon and Sun.

 Vedic Astrology says that knowing one or more aspects of these 5 Elements fetches the following benefits:

•  Uttering the Vaara (Day of the Week) will bless one with long life
•  Uttering the Nakshatra (Star the Moon is in) will dissolve one’s bad karmas  
•  Uttering the Tithi (Moon Phase) will bring about immense wealth. 
•  Uttering the Karana will get desires fulfilled
•  Uttering the Yoga will keep deep diseases or afflictions away

Samvatsara: The Hindu calendar consists of 60 years or samvatsaras. These repeat cyclically. They are listed below. In some cases, there is a slight variation in the name. This is also indicated.

1.  Prabhava	2. Vibhava	3. Shukla	4. Pramoda
5. Prajapatti	6. Angiras	7. Shri Mukha
8. Bhava	9. Yuva	10. Dhatri	11. Ishvara
12. Bahudhanya	13. Pramathi	14. Vikrama
15. Vrisha	16. Chitrabhanu	17. Svabhanu	18. Tarana
19. Parthiva	20. Vyaya
21. Sarvajeeth	22. Sarvadhari	23. Virodhi	24. Vikriti
25. Khara	26. Nandana	27. Vijaya
28. Jaya	29. Manmatha	30. Durmukhi	31. Hevilambi
32. Vilambi	33. Vikari	34. Sharvari
35. Plava	36. Shubhakruti	37. Shobhakruti	38. Krodhi
39. Vishvavasu	40. Parabhava
41. Plavanga	42. Kilaka	43. Saumya	44. Sadharana
45. Virodhikruthi	46. Paridhavi
47. Pramadicha	48. Ananda	49. Rakshasa	50. Anala
51. Pingala	52. Kalayukti
53. Siddharthi	54. Raudra	55. Durmathi	56. Dundubhi
57. Rudhirodgari	58. Raktakshi
59. Krodhana	60. Akshaya

Ayana: There are 2 ayanaas based on the movement of the sun. When the Sun is moving northward it is Uttaraayana. When the Sun is moving south it is Dakshinaayana. Uttaraayana is considered to be more auspicious than Dakshinaayana.

Maasa (Month), Ritu (Season): The Gregorian calendar has 12 months, starting with January and ending with December. The Hindu calendar also 12 maasas or months, but these are named differently. There are also 6 Ritus or seasons. Each Ritu has 2 months. The names of the months, Ritus and their abhimaani deities are listed below:

No.	Month (masa)	masa niyamaka rupa
1	margashira	shree ksshava
2	pushya	lakshmi narayana
3	magha	kamala madhava
4	phalguna	padma govinda
5	chaitra	padhmini vishnu
6	vaishakha	kamalalaya madhusudana
7	jyeshta	rama trivikrama
8	Ashada	vrushskapi vamana
9	shravana	prakruti/ dhanya shridhara
10	bhadrapada	buddhi hrishikesha
11	Ashvuja	yagnaa padmanabha
12	kartika	Indira damodara

The bhagavadrUpa-s in the 6 Ritu-s of the year are as follows:-

No.	Ritu	mAsadvaya	Ritu niyAmaka rUpa
1	vasanta	chaitra-vaishakha	vedavyasa
2	grishma	jyeshta-Ashaha	shanti aniruddha
3	varsha	shravana-bhdrapada	kruti pradyumna
4	sharada	Ashvuja-kartIka	jaya sankarshana
5	hemanta	margashira-pushya	maya vasudeva
6	shishira	magha-phalguna	laxmi narayana

Mala maasa (aka adhika maasa) and Kshaya maasa: The Sun and Moon transit through the 12 Raashis at different speeds. The Sun stays approximately 1 month in each Raashi, before moving to the next one. The day the Sun enters a Raashi it is called Sankramana or Sankraanti of that Raashi. For example, when Sun enters Makara raashi it is called Makara sankraanti. The Moon stays roughly 27 – 29 days in one raashi before moving to the next one. Normally, by the time the moon moves from one rashi to another, a solar sankramana would have occurred in that lunar month. However, there is an exception roughly once every 33 months. In this case, even though the moon transits from one rashi to another, there is no sankramana. Such a lunar month is called Adhika maasa (aka mala maasa). Sometime, there can be 2 sankaramanas in one lunar month. Such a month is called Kshaya maasa. During Adhika maasa no shubha functions (like Marriage, Upanayana etc are performed). This month is reserved for pious activities like gyaana, daana, etc. It is customary to gift 33 fruits or appoopaas (a sweet dish) to learned brahmins during Adhika maasa.

Paksha (Fortnight): The lunar month is divided into 2 halves – Shukla Paksha (when the moon is waxing or growing in size) and Krishna Paksha (when the moon is waning or diminishing in size).

Tithi (day): Each paksha has 15 tithis (days). The first 14 tithis have the same name in each paksha except that there is prefix “Shukla” or “Krishna” to indicate which paksha it belongs to. The 15th tithi is completely different. In the case of Shukla Paksha, the 15th tithi is called Poornima (Full Moon Day), whereas in the case of Krishna Paksha it is called Amaavaasye (New Moon Day).

Tithi	Devata
Pratipat	Agni
Dvitiya	Brahma
Tritiya	Gauri (Paarvati)
Chaturthi	Ganesha
Panchami	Shesha
Shashti	Subramanya aka Kumara
Saptami	Ravi
Ashtami	SadyOjaata (form of Shiva)
Navami	Durga
Dashami	Shesha
Ekadashi	Dharma aka Yama
Dvaadashi	Vishnu
Trayodashi	Kama
Chaturdashi	Shiva
Poornima	Chandra
Amaavase	Pitrus

It should be noted that tithi start and end times do not coincide with our calendar hours. So, it is common for a day to have 2 tithis, where the first tithi ends sometime during the day and the second tithi starts thereafter. In such cases, the tithi that is active during sunrise is the one used for sankalpa. The exception to this rule is Ekadashi. Fasting is to be done only if Dashami ends at least 1.5 hours before sunrise; if not that day is considered as equivalent to Dashami and fasting should not be done. 

Vaasara (Day of the week): There are 7 day of the week; they are called vaara or vaasara. The seven days and their abhimaani devatas are listed below.

English Name	Samskrit name	Abhimaani
Sunday	Ravi ,Bhanu, Aditya	Shiva
Monday	Indu,Soma	Durga
Tuesday	Bhouma, Mangala, Kuja	Brihaspati
Wednesday	Soumya,  Budha	Vishnu
Thursday	Bruhaspati, Guru	Brahma
Friday	Bhaargava ,Shukra	Lakshmi
Saturday	Shani, Sthira, Manda	Kubera

1 day is the time lapsed between two sunrises. Sandhi in sanskrit means knot or junction and hence the junction points are named as pratah sandhya(Early morning) and sayam sandhya (Evening) which divide the standard day into two halves i.e from sunrise to sunset and sunset to the next sunrise.

Since there are 12 zodiac constellations, each constellation is assigned a part of the half a day unit and hence 12 parts in half a day each, together 12+12 = 24 units. This is the concept of hora or HOUR. (Yes, hora is the standard hour. English unit of time and Sanskrit unit of time named similarly. Strange coincidence, don’t you think so?)

Just as there are constellations associated with each hora, each graha is assigned rulership of individial hora. The order of the planetary rulership of horas is as follows.

• Surya (Sun/SUN-DAY) followed by
• Shukra (Venus/FRI-DAY) followed by
• Budha (Mercury/WEDNES-DAY) followed by
• Soma (Moon/MON-DAY) followed by
• Shani (Saturn/SATUR-DAY) followed by
• Guru (Jupiter/THURS-DAY) followed by
• Mangala (Mars/TUES-DAY).

In Indian Prediction science (jyothish shastra), the rising sign at the time of sunrise is noted down and is considered very important to make any astronomical/astrological calculations regarding a chart, esp. to find out the janma lagna (Birth time), it is is very essential. So, the rising sign is very important. Likewise, the planetary rulership of the hora during the time of sunrise is noted down. The planet that rules the hora at the time of sun rise is assigned the rulership of the whole day.

And hence, The day Ravi-vara (or Sun-day) is named after Ravi/Sun who is assigned lordship of the day because he rules the hora at the time of sunrise of that day. Now, following Sun, the next hour after sunrise is ruled by Shukra followed by the rest. In the above mentioned order of rulership of horas, calculate the next ruling planet that comes after 24 horas, i.e

• 1st hour by Ravi,
• 2nd hour by Shukra,
• 3rd hour by Budha,
• 4th hour by Soma,
• 5th hour by Shani,
• 6th hour by Guru,
• 7th hour by Mangala,
• 8th hour by Ravi,
• 9th hour by Shukra,
• 10th hour by Budha,
• 11th hour by Soma,
• 12th hour by Shani,
• 13th hour by Guru,
• 14thth hour by Mangala,
• 15th hour by Ravi,
• 16th hour by Shukra,
• 17th hour by Budh,
• 18th hour by Soma,
• 19th hour by Shani,
• 20th hour by Guru,
• 21st hour by Mangala,
• 22nd hour by Ravi,
• 23rd hour by Shukra,
• 24th hour by Budha
• *End of a day*
• 25th hour by Soma(moon/Monday)

As you see it turns out that Soma is the ruler of the next day’s sun rise. And hence, the next day Soma-vara (or Mon-day) is named after Chandra/Moon who is assigned lordship of the day because he rules the hora at the time of that day’s sunrise.

• In the same order, Mangala-vara (Tuesday) for Mangala/Mars being the hora ruler at sunrise,
• Budha-vara (Wednesday) for Budha/Mercury being the hora ruler at sunrise,
• Guru-vara (Thursday) for Deva Guru Brihaspathi/Jupiter being the hora ruler at sunrise,
• Shukra-vara (Friday) for Shukra/Venus being the hora ruler at sunrise,
• Shani-var (Satur-day) for Shani/Saturn being the hora ruler at sunrise,
• Now after Saturday, the cycle reverts to 1 with Surya being the ruler of the hora at the time of next day’s sunrise. This is the reason why there are only 7 days in a week based on these calculations of hora and their planetary rulership as mentioned in the vedic texts.

One may be a Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Jew, knowingly or unknowingly they follow the methods of the ancient Indian Rishis.

This is the reason why Hindu dharma is called Ancient Indian Civilisation Principles-ie called as Sanatana dharma (i.e eternal and expansive in its very nature).

Yoga: Yoga (aka Nitya Yoga) calculates the relative distance between the Sun and the Moon using the following formula:

Nithya Yoga = (Longitude of Sun in degrees + Longitude of Moon in degrees) / 13 degrees 20 minutes

There are a total of 27 yogas. The table below lists these yogas and their abhimaani devatas (patron gods)

1. VISHKAMBHA	Vishwedevatha;
2. PREETI	Marutts;
3.  AYUSHMAN	Brahma
4. SAUBHAGYA	Durga ;
5. SOBHANA	Pruthvi ;
6. ATIGANDA	Aditi ;
7. SUKARMA	Ravi;
8. DHRITI	Raagni;
9. SHOOLA	Indra
10. GANDA	Marutts;
11. VRIDDHA	Marutts;
12. DHRUVA	Praagni;
13. VYAGATHA	Agni;
14. HARSHANA	Vishnu;
15. VAJRA	Indra;
16. SIDDHI	Hiranya;
17. VYATAPATA	Vishwedevatas
18. VARIYAN	Vayu;
19. PARIGHA	Pavamaana Soma;
20. SHIVA	Pruthvi;
21. SIDDHA	Indra
22. SAADHYA	Vishwedevathas;
23. SHUBHA	Marutts;
24. SHUKLA	Indra;
25. BRAHMA	Brahma;
26. AINDRA	Indra ;
27. VAIDHRITI	Agni .

KARANA : Each tithi has 2 karanas.  There are four  Fixed  Karanas and they occur only once in a month. They are Shakuni, Chatushpaat (aka Chatushpaada), Naagavaan (aka Naga), or Kimstughna (aka Kaustuva).

 There are seven recurring Karanas and they occur eight times during the lunar month. They are Bava, Baalava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, VaNik (aka Vanija), Bhadra (aka Vishti).

Total tithis in a lunar month = 7 (moveable) occuring 8 times + 4 fixed = 7 X 8 + 4 = 60
Their distribution is described below: 

 THITHI – Shuklapaksha Day /Night  SD –  SN –  Krishnapaksha Day/ Night  KD – KN*

1. Pratipat – Kimstughna , Bava , Baalava , Kaulava 

2.  Dvitiya -Baalava – Kaulava – Taitila –  Gara

3. Tritiya – Taitila – Gara – VaNik – Bhadra 

4.  Chaturthi – VaNik – Bhadra – Bava – Baalava

5.  Panchami – Bava – Baalava – Kaulava – Taitila

6.  Shashti – Kaulava – Taitila – Gara – VaNik

7.  Saptami – Gara – VaNik – Bhadra – Bava

8.  Ashtami – Bhadra –  Bava – Baalava – Kaulava

9.  Navami – Baalava – Kaulava –  Taitila – Gara

10.  Dashami – Taitila – Gara – VaNik – Bhadra

11.  Ekadashi – VaNik – Bhadra –  Bava – Baalava

12.  Dvaadashi –  Bava – Baalava –  Kaulava – Taitila

13.  Trayodashi –  Kaulava – Taitila – Gara – VaNik

14.  Chaturdashi –  Gara – VaNik – Bhadra – Shakuni

15.  Poornima – Bhadra –  Bava – 000 – 000

16.  Amavase – 000 – 000 –  Chatushpaat –  Naagavaan

Each karana is associated with an animal and a special form of Lord Shiva as the devata. This is described below.

Karana	animal	Devata
1.  Bava	Lion	SadyOjaata
2. Baalava	Tiger	Vaamadeva
3.  Kaulava	Pig	Aghora
4.  Taitila	Donkey	Tatpurusha
5.  Gara	Elephant	Ishaana
6.  VaNik	Buffalo (Yemme)	Shiva
7.  Bhadra	Horse	Paarvateesha
8.  Shakuni	Dog	Viroopaaksha
9.  Chatushpaat	Bullock (Yettu)	Neelakanta
10. Kimstughna	Hen	Shooli

Nakshatras (Stars) – ABHIMANI DEVATHA:

Ashwini	Ashwini devathas;
Bharani	Yama;
Krithika	Agni;
Rohini	Brahma;
Mrugashira	Chandra;
Aardra	Rudra;
Punarvasu	Aditi;
Pushya	Bruhaspathi;
Ashlesha	Sarpa;
Magha	Pitrus;
PurvA Phalguni	Bhaga;
Uttara Phalguni	Aryamaa;
Hastha	Surya;
Chitra	Thvashtru;
Swati	Vayu;
Vishakha	Indra, Agni;
Anuradha	Mitra;
Jyeshtha	Indra;
Moola	Nirruti;
Purvashadha	Budha;
Uttarashadha	Vishvedevathas
Shravana	Vishnu;
Dhanishta	Vasu;
Shathabhisha	Varuna;
Purva bhadra	AjaikapAth;
Uttarabhadra	Ahirbudhna ;
Revathi	Poosha

Bhaga, Aryama, Poosha, Mitra are four of the twelve children of Aditi (aka deva maata). These twelve children are collectively known as dvaadasha Adityaas. The more well known Adityas are Sun, Indra, Varuna and Vamana (Vishnu).
Shiva, Ajaikapaath and Ahirbudhni are part of the Ekaadasha Rudras (11 Rudras). Yama and Ashwini devatas are Ravi’s children. Tvashtru is Ravi’s father-in-law and is also the Divine carpenter. Nirruti is the patron deity of the South West direction. App devatas are the patron deities of water.
It is common for one star to end sometime during the day with the next star starting thereafter.

Raashis (Zodiac Signs):   There are 12 Raashis or zodiac signs. These are usually associated with the position of the Moon. Each of the 27 stars has 4 paadas or quarters, leading to 108 paadas in all (27 X 4). This is divided into groups of 9 to form 12 rashis. The Raashi, its western name and its associated stars are listed below. Each Raashi is associated with 3 stars.

1. Mesha	Aries	Ashwini, Bharani, Krittika (1)	Kuja (Mars)
2. Vrishabha	Taurus	Krittika (2,3,4), Rohini, Mrigashira (1,2)	Shukra (Venus)
3. Mithuna	Gemini	Mrigashira (3,4), Aaridra, Punarvasu  (1,2,3)	Budha (Mercury)
4.Karka	Cancer	Punarvasu (4), Pushya, Aashlesha	Chandra (Moon)
5. Simha	Leo	Makha, Pubba, Uttara (1)	Ravi (Sun)
6. Kanya	Virgo	Uttara (2,3,4), Hasta, Chitta (1,2)	Budha (Mercury)
7.Tula	Libra	Chitta (1,2), Svaati, Vishaakha (1, 2, 3)	Shukra (Venus)
8.Vrishchika	Scorpio	Vishaakha (4), Anuraadha, Jyeshta	Kuja (Mars)
9. Dhanu	Sagittarius	Moola, Poorvaashaada, Uttaraashaada(1)	Guru (Jupiter)
10.  Makara	Capricorn	Uttaraashaada (2,3,4), Shravana, Dhanishta (1,2)	Shani (Saturn)
11.  Kumbha	Aquarius	Dhanishta (3,4), Shatabhisha, Poorvaabhaadra (1,2,3)	Shani (Saturn)
12.  Meena	Pisces	Poorvaabhaadra (4), Uttaraaabhaadra, Revati	Guru (Jupiter)

Navagraha :  The nine planets are listed below. Each planet, except Rahu and Ketu, owns one or two rashis listed above.

Surya (Ravi, Aditya, Bhanu )	the Sun	Simha (Leo)
Chandra (Soma),	the Moon	Kataka (Cancer)
Mangala (Mangal), Mars	Mars	Mesha (Aries), Vrishchika (Scorpio)
Budha (Budh)	Mercury	Mithuna (Gemini), Kanya (Virgo)
Dev Guru (Brihaspati), Jupiter	Dhanus (Sagitarius)	Meena (Pisces)
Shukra	Venus	Vrushabha (Taurus), Tula (Libra)
Shani	Saturn	Makara (Aquarius), Kumbha (Capricorn)

• Rahu Dragon’s Head & Ketu Dragon’s tail

Each of the planets listed above, except Rahu and Ketu, are known physical objects found in the solar system. However, the focus of shastra is not on this physical object but on the divine force controlling that object. For example, Chandra does not mean the object orbiting around the Earth; we mean the abhimaani devata, who incidentally has the same name.

Explanation of the sankalpa we perform: It is customary to utter a sankalpa (resolution or determination to perform an action) before any religious event. This section explains the phrases uttered in the sankalpa.
As stated before, each Chaturmukha Brahma reigns for 100 years before he goes to moksha or salvation. The current Brahma has already spent 50 years; we are in the second half of his life (since each half has 50 years). We are in the seventh manvantara or Vaivasvata Manvantara. Out of the 71 mahayugas in this manvantara, 27 are already over; we are in the 28th. With this understanding we can now make sense of the sankalpa that we utter during Sandhya Vandana or any pooja:

shubhE shObhanE muhUrtE Adya brahmaNa: dvItIyaparaardhE, shrIshvEtavaraahakalpE, vaivasvata manvaMtarE, aShTaaviMshatitamE kaliyugE, prathamapaadE, bharatavarShE, jaMbUdvIpE, bharataKaMDE, daMDakaaraNyE, gOdaavaryaa: dakShiNE tIrE, shaalIvaahana shakE, bouddhaavataarE, raamakShEtrE, asminvartamaanE, Chandra maanena_______ saMvatsarE, _______AyanE, ___________Rutou, ____________maasE, __________pakShE, ______tithou, ________vaasarE, __________nakShatrE, shubhayOga, shubhakaraNa, EvaMguNa vishEShaNa vishiShTaayaam shubhatitou, shrI bhaaratIramaNa muKya praaNaaMtargata vishnu prEraNayaa Vishnu prItyartham