For anyone trying to make sense of Nepali daily life, the patro (पात्रो) is one of the most useful documents to understand. Literally meaning "document" or "record," patro refers to the annual Nepali almanac-calendar that combines a solar date grid with lunar tithis, festival dates, planetary positions, and auspicious-time indicators. Every Nepali household traditionally owned a patro, kept on a shelf and consulted before any major decision — a wedding, a business launch, a journey, a religious ceremony.

This guide explains what a patro is, how it is structured, how to read the elements that appear on each day's entry, and how digital tools like npdates carry the same information forward.

What's actually in a patro?

A patro is much more than a date converter or a wall calendar. A typical printed patro for one BS year contains:

A monthly grid of all twelve Nepali months
BS dates alongside corresponding AD dates
The lunar tithi for every day, with its starting and ending time
The nakshatra (lunar mansion) the moon is in
The day's yoga and karana (other astrological calculations)
Planetary positions in the zodiac (graha sthiti)
All major festivals and observances marked on the date they fall
Auspicious time windows (shubha muhurat) and inauspicious windows (Rahu Kalam, Yamakantam, Gulika Kalam)
Sunrise and sunset times for Kathmandu (sometimes for other cities)
Fasting days and recommended observances
Birthdays of major Hindu deities, anniversaries of significant religious events

The patro is essentially a single-volume reference for civil dates, religious observances, and astrological planning. For many Nepali families, it is the most-consulted printed document of the year.

History of the patro

Patros in their modern printed form date back to the late 19th and early 20th century, when Kathmandu's printing presses began producing them annually. Before that, similar information was maintained as handwritten almanacs by trained jyotishis (astrologers) and consulted by appointment. Mass-printed patros made the same information available cheaply to ordinary households.

The most widely-known printed patro in Nepal is Nepal Sambat Patro, but several other patros are published — by religious institutions, university committees, regional publishers — each with slightly different emphases. The underlying astronomical calculations are standardised, but the festival lists and regional observances vary.

The solar date grid

The core of every patro is the solar date grid for each BS month. Each month gets a single page or two-page spread laid out as a 7-column grid (Sunday through Saturday). Each cell contains:

The BS date, prominently displayed
The corresponding AD date, usually in smaller print
The tithi name and number
Any festival or special observance for that day, often marked with a coloured background

This dual-date layout — BS and AD on the same cell — is the most practical feature for people who navigate both calendars daily, which is essentially everyone in modern Nepal.

Tithi: the lunar day

Alongside the solar date is the tithi, the lunar day. A tithi corresponds to a 12-degree segment of the moon's apparent motion relative to the sun. Because the moon's motion is not constant, tithis are not all the same length — they vary between roughly 19 and 27 hours. As a result, the tithi does not align cleanly with the solar day; a given calendar date may contain part of one tithi in the morning and part of the next in the evening.

Tithis are organised in two fortnights of 15 each — Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight, growing toward full moon) and Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight, growing toward new moon). The 15 tithis are named Pratipada, Dwitiya, Tritiya, Chaturthi, Panchami, Shashthi, Saptami, Ashtami, Navami, Dashami, Ekadashi, Dwadashi, Trayodashi, Chaturdashi, and Purnima (full moon) or Amavasya (new moon). Almost every Hindu religious observance — fasting days, festivals, weddings, naming ceremonies — is scheduled by tithi rather than by solar date, which is why the patro's tithi columns matter so much.

Festivals and observances

Each day in the patro is annotated with whatever religious or civic event falls on it. Major festivals are highlighted with coloured ink or special markings. The patro distinguishes between:

Solar fixed festivals — like Maghe Sankranti on 1 Magh or Nepali New Year on 1 Baisakh.
Lunar tithi festivals — like Teej on Shukla Tritiya of Bhadra or Maha Shivaratri on Krishna Chaturdashi of Falgun.
Eclipses — solar and lunar, with timing windows during which traditional restrictions apply.
Ekadashi fasts — twice-monthly fasting days observed by many devout Hindus.
Sankranti — sun's entry into each zodiac sign, marked once a month.
Civic holidays — Republic Day, Constitution Day, Prajatantra Diwas, and so on.

Reading the auspicious-time columns

Traditional patros mark certain time windows as inauspicious based on Vedic astrology:

Rahu Kalam — a ninety-minute window each day attributed to the shadow planet Rahu. Important new beginnings (business launches, journeys, signing contracts) are traditionally avoided during this window.
Gulika Kalam — another inauspicious window, varying by day of the week.
Yamakantam — a third inauspicious window.
Abhijit Muhurat — a particularly auspicious window around solar noon.
Choghadiya — divisions of the day into auspicious and inauspicious segments, used in Newar and Marwari traditions.

Many families consult these windows before scheduling weddings, surgeries, signing property deeds, or starting long journeys. Whether or not one personally believes in the astrological basis, the auspicious-time columns remain a feature millions of Nepali patro users consult daily.

Printed patro versus digital tools

For generations the patro was a small printed booklet sold from bookshops, temples, and roadside kiosks starting in Chaitra of the previous year (so the 2083 BS patro goes on sale around Chaitra 2082 / April 2026). Today, much of the same functionality is available digitally:

The today's Nepali date page gives you the BS date, day of week and tithi for any current AD date.
The BS to AD converter handles any historical or future date in the supported range.
The date difference calculator computes the number of days between any two BS dates.
The age calculator works in either BS or AD inputs.

The advantage of the printed patro is the comprehensive presentation — all the data for a year in one place, organised for quick reference. The advantage of digital tools is precision (no rounding, no transcription errors) and instant calculation for any date in the supported range.

How to choose a patro

If you are buying a printed patro for the first time, look for:

The publisher — well-known publishers like Nepal Sambat Patro or Bhanjyang Patro have a reputation for accuracy.
Whether it includes AD dates alongside BS — most modern ones do, but some traditional patros omit this.
Whether the festival list matches your community — some patros emphasise Hindu observances, others include Buddhist, Newar or Tibetan festivals.
The format — full pocket-sized booklets versus wall-calendar style versus large reference tomes.

Practical takeaway

You do not need to memorise the patro, but knowing what it contains means you know how to find the information you need. For tithi-driven decisions (weddings, religious ceremonies, fasts), consult the printed patro or an equivalent online tool. For solar date conversions, use the digital tools on this site — they are faster and free from copying errors.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a patro and a calendar?

A patro is a calendar plus astrological and religious metadata — tithis, nakshatras, auspicious windows, festival dates. A plain calendar shows only dates.

Is the patro religious or civic?

Both. It contains civic dates (public holidays, fiscal year markers) and religious data (tithis, festivals, fasting days). Even people who do not follow religious astrology use the patro for civic date reference.

How accurate is a printed patro?

Reputable printed patros are very accurate for solar BS dates and standard tithi calculations. Minor variations between publishers can occur for specific astrological computations.

When does the new year's patro go on sale?

Around Chaitra of the previous BS year — about a month before the new year begins. Most patro publishers release their editions in March or early April AD.

Do I need a printed patro if I use a digital converter?

Not for date conversion, but if you make tithi-based decisions or follow auspicious-time guidance, a printed patro or specialised astrological tool gives you all the data in one place.