One of the six Vedangas, limbs of Vedic study — the discipline of tracking time, planetary positions, and their bearing on human affairs, still consulted today for everything from wedding dates to naming ceremonies.
वेदांग, वैदिक काल · Vedanga, Vedic era
Jyotisha traditionally splits into three branches: siddhanta (mathematical astronomy, sharing ground with the Surya Siddhanta and Aryabhatiya), samhita (mundane astrology, predicting weather, harvests, and public events), and hora (natal astrology, casting an individual's horoscope from their birth chart, janma kundali).
Jyotisha still shapes everyday practice across India: the timing of weddings, housewarmings, and journeys is routinely checked against a muhurta, an astrologically favorable window, and the Panchang, the almanac this site's Utsav & Parva chapter draws its festival dates from, is itself a jyotisha calculation carried out fresh every year.