Ruling · Janmāṣṭamī · 2003

Wednesday 20 August

Determinatein Suva, under the Rashtriya Panchang method. Clear of every threshold by 15 minutes.

Decide it for

18°08′ S 178°26′ E · Pacific/Fiji · GeoNames 2198148

The two nights

One ghaṭī is 24 minutes. Niśītha is 1 ghaṭikā either side of midnight.

Night of Tuesday 19 August

Qualifies with 48 of 48 minutes. Not taken.

niśītha begins 23:46  00:34 niśītha ends
Aṣṭamī begins 23:31:04
22:5823:2223:4600:1000:3400:5801:22

48 of 48 minutes covered

Night of Wednesday 20 August

Taken. Both nights qualify; the rule takes the second.

niśītha begins 23:46  00:34 niśītha ends
22:5823:2223:4600:1000:3400:5801:22

48 of 48 minutes covered

Aṣṭamī presentNiśītha, the window the rule readsThe instant the tithi begins or ends

How it was decided

  1. 01

    Aṅga

    Aṣṭamī runs from 23:31 on Tue 19 Aug to 02:04 on Thu 21 Aug.

    2003-08-19T11:31:05Z → 2003-08-20T14:03:58Z

  2. 02

    Kāla

    Niśītha is 1 ghaṭikā either side of midnight: 23:46–00:34 on the 19th, 23:46–00:34 on the 20th.

    nishita: midnight-pm-1-ghatika · sunrise and sunset: upper limb, 31′ + 16′

  3. 03

    Rule

    Aṣṭamī must be present during niśītha. It covers 48 of 48 minutes on the 19th and 48 of 48 on the 20th.

    Calendar Reform Committee 1955, General Rules for Religious Festivals, p. 103

  4. 04

    Tie-break

    Both nights qualify. Paraviddhā: the second is taken.

    priority: paraviddha → paraviddha · margin 888 s

  5. 05

    Ruling

    Janmāṣṭamī, Suva, 2003: Wednesday 20 August.

    confidence: determinate

Say it like this

In Suva, Janmāṣṭamī 2003 falls on Wednesday 20 August. Aṣṭamī runs from 23:31 on Tue 19 Aug to 02:04 on Thu 21 Aug and covers all of niśītha that night. It also reaches the previous night for 48 minutes; by the rule the second night is taken.

ahargana.org/suva/festivals/2003/janmashtami · pac-rp@2026.1

Who says what

AuthorityKindDate
Ahargaṇa, pac-rpThis rulingWed 20 Aug
Ahargaṇa, classicalDisc centre, no refractionWed 20 Aug
compat-drikpanchangComparison profileWed 20 Aug
No institution has a recorded ruling for Suva.

Institutional rulings are recorded with a source address, and are never edited to agree.

The rule, as data

/rules/janmashtami · ruleset 2026.3-draft

Month
Śrāvaṇa, amānta
Pakṣa · aṅga
Kṛṣṇa · Aṣṭamī
Kāla
Niśītha
Priority
Paraviddhā
Tie-break
Second day
Reference
CRC 1955, p. 103

“K 8 Janmastami (madhyaratra-vyapini), if midnight is covered on two days, or not on any day, it is to be observed on the 2nd day; special when combined with naksatra 'Rohini' at midnight, more so when on Monday or Wednesday. If the combination occurs before midnight and 'Rohini' extends up to midnight, it is to be observed on that day. Gokulastami.” Calendar Reform Committee 1955, General Rules for Religious Festivals, p. 103. The clauses on Rohiṇī nakṣatra, the Vaiṣṇava observance on the day after saptamī, and the Assam and South India reckoning in the solar month belong to other readings and are not applied.

The same rule, elsewhere

Twelve places, west to east. Local clock times.

PlaceAṣṭamīNiśītha 19thCoveredNiśītha 20thCoveredRuled
Los Angeles04:31 → 07:0400:3348 min00:320 min19 Aug
Chicago06:31 → 09:0400:3048 min00:300 min19 Aug
Jersey City07:31 → 10:0400:3648 min00:360 min19 Aug
Port of Spain07:31 → 10:0423:4648 min23:450 min19 Aug
London12:31 → 15:0400:4048 min00:400 min19 Aug
Durban13:31 → 16:0423:3548 min23:350 min19 Aug
Dubai15:31 → 18:0423:5948 min23:580 min19 Aug
Delhi17:01 → 19:3400:0148 min00:010 min19 Aug
Kolkata17:01 → 19:3423:1648 min23:160 min19 Aug
Singapore19:31 → 22:0400:4448 min00:440 min19 Aug
Sydney21:31 → 00:0423:3548 min23:3430 min20 Aug
Suva23:31 → 02:0423:4648 min23:4648 min20 Aug
Profile · tradition
pac-rp@2026.1 · smarta
Rule
janmashtami@2026.3-draft
Engine · kernel
0.1.0 · de440 7eef…ea74
Boundary margin
300 s

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