Pañca pakṣi is the Tamil system of five birds: the vulture (vallūṟu), owl (āntai), crow (kākam), cock (kōḻi) and peacock (mayil), each tied to one of the short vowels a, i, u, e, o (PPS 1.2). It is used to judge whether a watch of the day favours a matter. The day and the night each have five yāmas, or watches, and in each one every bird is eating, walking, ruling, sleeping or dying. The weekday and the pakṣa fix which bird eats in the first (2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1), and each later yāma moves every bird one activity on. A person reads the day by their own bird, fixed by the birth star, five stars from Aśvinī to the vulture and then six, five, five and six to the others (8.22), or by the first syllable of the name (8.1–5). Agastya’s Pañcapakṣi Śāstram (Madras, 1879) gives the rules and their cakras; the almanac’s day page lays out the day’s ten yāmas from them. Its Sanskrit parallel is the svara section of Narapati’s Narapatijayacaryā, which counts the vowels from a name (NJ 3.1): the five vowels a, i, u, e and o rise in turn (3.2, 3.4, 3.6), each through five states, bāla, kumāra, yuvā, vṛddha and mṛta (3.19–20), each with its result in a question, a journey or a battle (3.21–27). Uromarishi’s Vināḍi Pañcapakṣi (Madras, 1920) agrees with Agastya on the waxing pakṣa, adds the waning pakṣa’s letters and stars, and gives each activity a different share in each pakṣa and half (UVP 4.94, 4.95).

Also written pancha pakshi · panchapakshi · pañcapakṣi · pancha patchi · five birds · பறவை · paravai · பஞ்சபட்சி · பஞ்ச பட்சி · पञ्च पक्षि