Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī · the eighth dark tithi · niśītha
What is Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī?
Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī is a major annual Vaiṣṇava festival celebrating the birth of Kṛṣṇa. Its names include Janmāṣṭamī, Kṛṣṇāṣṭamī, and Gokulāṣṭamī; regional languages and communities also use additional names.
The tithi is contained in the name
Janmāṣṭamī joins birth with the eighth tithi.
Birth—in this festival, the birth of Kṛṣṇa.
The eighth tithi of a lunar fortnight.
The dark, waning half of the Moon–Sun cycle.
The pūrṇimānta month name for this waning fortnight; this site’s amānta rule calls it Śrāvaṇa.
Kṛṣṇa and the nighttime celebration
Many celebrations gather around the remembered birth hour.
Kṛṣṇa is revered as an avatāra of Viṣṇu in many Hindu traditions and as the Supreme Being in several Vaiṣṇava traditions. Devotees may fast, keep a night vigil, sing bhajana or kīrtana, read or enact sacred narratives, visit a temple, offer pūjā, or welcome the birth moment with ārati. These are examples rather than requirements for every community.
Nandotsava and Dahī Haṇḍī are closely related celebrations in some regions, often on the following day. Open Pañcāṅga keeps those celebrations distinct from the calculated Janmāṣṭamī result.
Official references: Ministry of Tourism, Janmāṣṭamī · Janmāṣṭamī at Dwārakā
How Open Pañcāṅga identifies the date
This rule checks Aṣṭamī at niśītha.
The application calculates niśītha as the midpoint between local sunset and the next sunrise. When Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī prevails at that moment during regular amānta Śrāvaṇa, this guide shows Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī for the local evening whose night contains that midpoint.
Niśītha means the middle of the night in this rule. Its civil-clock time changes with the location and date.
Why another pañcāṅga may choose differently
One lunation can carry different month names and precedence.
This application uses an amānta month system, so it calls the condition Śrāvaṇa Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. A pūrṇimānta calendar calls the same waning fortnight Bhādrapada. More detailed Smārta, Vaiṣṇava, temple, and regional calendars may also examine Rohiṇī nakṣatra, how long Aṣṭamī overlaps the nighttime interval, or other precedence rules. Those differences can move the selected civil date.
The current rule is therefore clearly named and limited. Other named pañcāṅgas may reach a different Janmāṣṭamī date.