FAQs — Sandhya Vandanam
About the practice and the app
Where does the pañcāṅga come from?
From the pañcāṅga published by Śrī Śāradā Pīṭham, Sringeri. Tithi, nakṣatra,
yoga and karaṇa, and the festival days, are read from it, so the app agrees with
what Sringeri publishes rather than computing its own answer and differing from
it. Sunrise and sunset are computed for your exact location.
Outside the range Sringeri has published, the app falls back to a
Sūrya-Siddhānta calculation. That fallback is close but not identical, and the
app is honest about which one it is using.
Why does the app want my location?
The pañcāṅga is reckoned from your local sunrise, so the elements and their
timings differ from place to place. Your location also decides what the saṃkalpa
recites — the direction from the anchor kṣetra, the rivers you stand between,
the sea you stand beside, and the name of your city.
Location is used on your device and is not transmitted. You can set a location
by hand instead of using GPS.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the pañcāṅga data is loaded, everything — the elements, the timings,
the saṃkalpa, the Atlas — is computed on your device with no network.
Which calendar system does it use?
The cāndramāna (lunar) system with the amānta month, as used for
sandhyāvandanam and most observances in the south. Adhika and nija months come
straight from the Sringeri data.
How do I change the language or the script?
The app language is in Settings. On the Saṃkalpa sheet the अ button switches
the script the saṃkalpa is shown in — your language, Devanāgarī, or Roman.
How do I get my name and gotram into the saṃkalpa?
Settings → Personal details. They appear in the saṃkalpa where the reciter names
themselves.
What is the anchor kṣetra?
A sacred place your position is described from. The saṃkalpa names the quadrant
you stand in relative to it — for Hyderabad and Śrīśailam, *śrīśailasya vāyavya
pradeśe*, in the north-west quadrant of Śrīśailam. You can choose a different
anchor in Settings.
What is the Atlas?
A map of every place the app knows how to name in Sanskrit, with the rivers the
saṃkalpa can name drawn on it. Tap a place to see its Indic name and the form
the saṃkalpa recites. If your town has an Indic name the app does not carry, you
can send it in from there — with a source, so it can be checked.
Do I need an account?
No. The pañcāṅga, the saṃkalpa and the Atlas all work without one. An account is
needed only for streaks, statistics and Sangha, because those have to be stored
somewhere that survives reinstalling the app.
Troubleshooting
The pañcāṅga is not loading
1. Check that a location is set — Settings, or the pin on the Pañcāṅga screen.
2. If you have denied location permission, set a location by hand instead.
3. Restart the app.
The times look wrong
Check the location the Pañcāṅga screen is showing. Every timing is computed from
your local sunrise, so a location set to the wrong city shifts all of them.
Reminders are not arriving
1. Check that notifications are allowed for the app in your device settings.
2. Check the reminder times in Settings.
3. On Android, battery optimisation can delay them; exempt the app if your
device offers that.
Sign-in fails
Sign-in needs a network connection. If it fails repeatedly, use Maybe later —
the pañcāṅga does not need an account.
Contact
medury@gmail.com
Please include your device, the app version from Settings, and what you were
doing when the problem appeared.