Muhurta — Auspicious Time in the Panchangam

The word muhurta (मुहूर्त) has two meanings. Strictly, it is a unit of time: one thirtieth of a day and night, or 48 minutes. More broadly, it means an auspicious moment chosen for an undertaking — the "muhurta" fixed for a wedding, a house-warming or the start of a journey. Both meanings come from the same tradition of Jyotisha, in which every portion of the day has its own character. This guide explains the classical division of the day into muhurtas, the special periods that almanacs list every day, and the principles used to select a good time.

To see the actual timings for today, open today's Panchangam, which lists Brahma Muhurta, Abhijit Muhurta, Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika Kalam for the reference location, or choose your city for local times.

The 30 muhurtas of a day

A day and night (ahoratra) contains 30 muhurtas: fifteen in the daytime, counted from sunrise, and fifteen at night, counted from sunset. Each muhurta has a name, usually that of its presiding deity. The names below follow the commonly cited list; spellings and a few names vary between texts. The example clock times assume sunrise at 6:00 and sunset at 18:00, when every muhurta is exactly 48 minutes; on real days the daytime and night-time muhurtas are stretched or shortened in proportion to the length of day and night.

Daytime muhurtas (sunrise to sunset)

Night-time muhurtas (sunset to sunrise)

Brahma Muhurta

Brahma Muhurta ("the creator's hour") is the fourteenth muhurta of the night — the second-last before sunrise. It begins about 96 minutes before sunrise and ends 48 minutes before it. Texts on dharma and Ayurveda recommend rising during this period, and it is traditionally considered the best time for meditation, prayer, japa and study, when the mind is said to be calm and the surroundings quiet. Because it is reckoned from sunrise, its clock time changes through the year and from place to place.

Abhijit Muhurta

Abhijit Muhurta ("the victorious") is the eighth daytime muhurta, named Vidhi in the list above. As the middle muhurta of the day, it is centred on local apparent noon — the moment the Sun crosses the meridian — and extends roughly 24 minutes on either side. It is widely regarded as auspicious for beginning important tasks, and popular tradition holds that it can be used when no other suitable muhurta is available. Many almanacs exclude it on Wednesdays. Note that local noon is not 12:00 by the clock: across India it falls anywhere from around 11:00 in the far north-east to around 13:00 in the far west, depending on longitude and the season.

Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika Kalam

Almanacs in South India in particular list three daily periods that are avoided for starting new work. All three are computed in the same way: the daytime from local sunrise to local sunset is divided into eight equal parts, each about 90 minutes long on a 12-hour day, and a different part is assigned for each weekday.

• Rahu Kalam (राहु काल) — associated with Rahu; the most widely observed of the three.
• Yamagandam (यमगण्ड) — associated with Yama; traditionally avoided especially for journeys.
• Gulika Kalam (गुलिक काल) — associated with Gulika (Mandi), described as a son of Shani.

The table shows which eighth of the day each period occupies, with example times for a day from 6:00 to 18:00:

A popular mnemonic for the Rahu Kalam order from Monday to Sunday is "Mother Saw Father Wearing The Turban Suitably" (Monday 2nd, Saturday 3rd, Friday 4th, Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th, Tuesday 7th, Sunday 8th part). The traditional view is that work already in progress may continue during these periods, but new undertakings should not begin. For exact local times see the Rahu Kalam table.

Choghadiya

In Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and among business communities across India, the Choghadiya (chaughadiya, "four ghatis") is the most popular way of picking a good time for short-term activities. The day and the night are each divided into eight equal parts, and each part is given one of seven names linked to the seven grahas of the week:

• Good Amrit (Moon), Shubh (Jupiter), Labh (Mercury)
• Neutral Char (Venus) — considered good for travel
• Avoid Udveg (Sun), Rog (Mars), Kaal (Saturn)

The names follow the fixed cycle Udveg, Char, Labh, Amrit, Kaal, Shubh, Rog, and the first daytime choghadiya is ruled by the lord of the weekday: Udveg on Sunday, Amrit on Monday, Rog on Tuesday, Labh on Wednesday, Shubh on Thursday, Char on Friday and Kaal on Saturday. The daytime sequences are:

See the Choghadiya page for day and night timings computed for each city.

How a muhurta is chosen for important ceremonies

For major life events — weddings (vivaha), house-warming (griha pravesha), the sacred-thread ceremony (upanayana), naming ceremonies, starting a business or laying a foundation stone — a family priest or astrologer selects a muhurta by combining several layers of the Panchangam. Texts such as the Muhurta Chintamani set out the rules, and regional practice varies considerably. The broad steps are:

1. Season and month. Certain periods are generally avoided: the Adhika (intercalary) month, the months when Jupiter or Venus is too close to the Sun to be seen (Guru or Shukra asta), and in many traditions the four months of Chaturmasa for weddings. Griha pravesha is traditionally preferred in Uttarayana and in months such as Magha, Phalguna, Vaishakha and Jyeshtha.
2. Panchanga shuddhi. The five limbs of the day are checked. "Rikta" tithis (Chaturthi, Navami, Chaturdashi) and Amavasya are usually avoided; the Vishti (Bhadra) karana is avoided; and particular nakshatras are favoured for particular events. For weddings, commonly cited nakshatras include Rohini, Mrigashira, Magha, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada and Revati; for house-warming the "fixed" nakshatras such as Rohini and the three Uttaras are often preferred.
3. Personal suitability. The day is checked against the birth nakshatra and Moon sign of the people concerned (tarabala and chandrabala), so that a day suitable for one family may not suit another.
4. Lagna. Finally a precise window is chosen when a favourable rashi is rising on the eastern horizon, free of Rahu Kalam and similar periods. This is why wedding muhurtas are often given to the minute.

Muhurta selection is a matter of religious tradition and personal faith, and rules differ between regions and families. Vedangam provides the astronomical data — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise and the daily periods — but does not provide personal muhurta consultations. For an important ceremony, please consult a priest of your own tradition.

Frequently asked questions