Do you know your Panchanga Planet Lord?

All you have to know in order to know the planets ruling your Panchanga viz the 5 limbs of time are the following;

i) The Day of your birth
ii) The Nakshatra (star) of your moon at birth
iii) The degrees of Sun and Moon during birth

P.S : The zodiac spans 360 degrees and is divided into 12 equal signs of 30 degrees each. It starts at Aries (Mesha) and ends at Pisces (Meena). For eg if you're Sun is at 12 degrees in Cancer, you need to take the degrees as 102 since Cancer is the 4th sign and there have been 3 signs of 30 degrees which is 90 plus 12 degrees in Cancer. Similarly, say your Moon is in Libra at 15 degrees, you need to consider it as 195 degrees since Libra is the 7th sign and 6 signs have passed making a total of 30*6=180 plus 15 degrees in Libra.

I have made a ready reckoner which will enable you to find which of the planets are ruling your 5 panchanga elements viz Vara, Nakshatra, Tithi, Karana and Yoga. Some softwares do provide the data but nothing like knowing it on your own which can be pretty useful.

1) Vara:
This is the solar day transiting during your birth which in essence is the day you were born.
Total Varas : 7
Total Duration : Sun rise start time till next day sun rise start time
Total Planets : 7 (Rahu and Ketu are excluded)
Connection : Sun
Information : Please note that the vedic weekday starts from sun rise time and ends when the next day sun rise starts. For instance if one were born at 2:15 AM on the English Day of Tuesday and the sun rise started at 6:35AM on Monday and next day sun rise was at 6:40 AM on Tuesday, Vara day will be Monday ruled by Moon and not Tuesday ruled by Mars.

Illustration: Native born at 4.20 PM on a Thursday. The Day Thursday is ruled by Jupiter and hence your Vara Lord happens to be Jupiter.

2) Nakshatra:
This reflects the transit of moon during your birth which is basically the constellation of stars that were rising when you were born.
Total Nakshatras : 27
Total Duration : 13 degrees 20 minutes (360 degree zodiac divided by 27 Nakshatras)
Total Planets : 9 (Rahu and Ketu included)
Connection : Moon
Information : There are 27 stars divided into trines of 9 each which are represented by a particular planet. Eg Star No. 1, 10 and 19 are Ketu stars whereas 2,11 and 20 are Venus stars. Each star basically comprises of 13 degrees 20 minutes which is 360 degrees divided by 27 Nakshatras.

Illustration: Native is born on Hastha star, hence Nakshatra lord is Moon. Likewise if a native was born during the constellation of Revathi, then the Nakshatra Lord happens to be Mercury.

3) Tithi:
The zodiac is divided into 360 degrees and every 12 degrees of angular distance at which the moon moves away from the sun is considered as a Tithi.
Total Tithis : 30
Total Duration : 12 degrees (360 degree zodiac divided by 30 Tithis)
Total Planets : 8 (Rahu included but Ketu excluded)
Connection : Sun & Moon
Information : There are a total of 30 tithis (360 degrees divided by 12). The Tithis are split up into 2 parts of 15 each based on the brighter half (Sukla - Waxing) and darker half (Krishna - Waning) of the moon. The planet ruling the brighter half Sukla or darker half Krishna will remain the same for all except for Purnima which is ruled by Saturn and Amma Vasya lorded by Rahu.

Illustration: Native's Sun is in Leo at 20 degrees and Moon is in Capricorn at 12 degrees. Total degrees of Sun as per 360 degrees zodiac is 140 (30*4 signs from Aries to Cancer + 20 degrees in Leo) and degrees of Moon is 282 (30*9 signs from Aries to Sagittarius + 12 degrees in Capricorn). The degrees of which Moon has passed Sun = 142 (282 less 140) which becomes Sukla Dwadashi Tithi ruled by Moon. In case there is a role reversal and Sun is at 282 degrees and Moon is at 140 degrees, then distance is 218 degrees (360 less 282 of Sun=78 plus 140 degrees of Moon) which happens to be Krishna Chaturthi Tithi also ruled by Moon. Always remember base point is Sun (slower planet) and we need to check how many degrees Moon (faster planet) has gone beyond Sun

4) Karana:
The zodiac is divided into 360 degrees and every 6 degrees of angular distance at which the moon moves away from the sun is referred to as a Karana. In essence, half of a Tithi constitutes a Karana.
Total Karanas : 60 comprising of 11 sub divisions
Total Duration : 6 degrees (360 degree zodiac divided by 60 Karanas)
Total Planets : 9 (Rahu and Ketu included)
Connection : Sun & Moon
Information : There are a total of 60 karanas (360 divided by 6) but classified under 11 categories with 7 of the Karanas being movable and repeating itself 8 times (56 = 7*8) and the other 4 karanas being fixed (4).

Illustration: Native's Sun is in Virgo at 24 degrees and Moon in Scorpio at 21 degrees. Total degrees of Sun as per 360 degrees zodiac is 174 (30*5 signs from Aries to Leo + 24 degrees in Virgo) and degrees of Moon is 231 (30*7 signs from Aries to Libra + 21 degrees in Scorpio). The degrees of Moon passing the Sun = 57 (231 less 174) which happens to be Balava Karana ruled by Rahu. In case let's say Sun is at 209 degrees and Moon at 194 degrees, then distance is 345 degrees (360 less 209 of Sun=151 plus 194 degrees of Moon) which happens to be Shakuni Karana ruled by Saturn. The computation is similar to Tithi and we need to know how many degrees moon has gone past the Sun.

5) Yoga:
This takes the combined sum of degrees of Sun + Moon and each total amounting to 13 degrees 20 minutes comprises a Yoga.
Total Yogas : 27
Total Duration : 13 degrees 20 minutes (360 degree zodiac divided by 27 Yogas)
Total Planets : 9 (Rahu and Ketu included)
Connection : Sun & Moon
Information : There are a total of 27 yogas split into 3 parts of 9 each which are ruled by a particular planet. It is computed based on the total longitude of the Sun and Moon with reference point as 360. If the addition of Sun's degree and Moon's degree go beyond 360, then the extra portion above 360 needs to be considered. For eg. Sun + Moon combined degrees lets say comes to 418 degrees, then in this case the extra portion of 58 (418 less 360) will be the degree of Yoga.

Illustration: Native's Sun is in Taurus at 27 degrees and Moon in Gemini at 12 degrees. Total degrees of Sun as per 360 degree zodiac is 57 (30*1 sign Aries + 27 degrees in Taurus) and degrees of Moon is 72 (30*2 signs from Aries to Taurus plus 12 degrees in Gemini). The total sum comes up to 129 (57+72). This will give rise to Ganda Yoga ruled by Saturn. Another eg, lets say Sun is 324 degrees and Moon is 358 degrees. Here adding the two yields 682 (324+358) which is more than 360. Hence the extra portion needs to be taken which is 322 (682 less 360) and that happens to be Brahma Yoga whose planetary lord is Mars.

Natural Traits of Gemini Ascendant!

Gemini is the 3rd sign of the zodiac and occupies the distance from 60 degrees to 90 degrees in the zodiac comprising of 360 degrees.

Type: Dual
Element: Air
Nakshatras: Mrigaseera 0 to 6.40 (3&4), Arudra 6.40 to 20 (1-4) and Punarvasu 20 to 30 (1-3)

General Characteristics:
Geminis are the most confused, indecisive and eccentric natives you can ever find. Mind is never steady and always wandering across all directions. They lack concentration big time and always in deep thought. Plenty of things keep running in their mind and they always like to do something or other. The mind works very fast and they have great memory power as well as intuitive abilities. They are good at thinking out of the box and at the same time are prone to being misunderstood a lot.

It's best to leave a Gemini native all by himself and not pigeonhole them as seldom do they follow the conventional notion of doing things. They are just not cut out for following a set procedure and can't adopt to a particular routine. They can be utterly dis organised and haywire. They perform best when they are given lots of freedom.

Gemini being the natural communicative sign, they are good conversationalists. Speed is a highlight for them and they mostly tend to talk very fast. They are naturally nervous and the mind can by itself cause depravity. But having said this, they also tend to be supremely talented in various arts/skill forms. One more thing about them, they are best at taking jokes onto themselves.

They epitomise dual mindedness in many ways. Despite all the inherent limitations, I happen to be a proud Mithuna having both my ascendant and moon in Gemini  😂. Popular Gemini Ascendants happen to be Microsoft's Bill Gates and the legendary maverick scientist Albert Einstein.

Note : These are just natural characteristics about Gemini Ascendant. It should be remembered that it is more in line with the Lagna placement and not that of the moon. It could however be subject to change based on planetary placements.