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School of Vedic Sciences, FORE

Panchang · Rahu Kaal

Rahu Kaal today

Rahu Kaal is the eighth part of the daylight assigned to Rahu; almanacs advise against beginning new work in it. Which part it is depends on the weekday, and its length on the length of the day.

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Understand

Rahu Kaal, Gulika and Yamaganda

The daytime between sunrise and sunset is divided into eight equal parts, and three of them are named after shadowy planets. Rahu Kaal falls in a different eighth on each weekday (the eighth, second, seventh, fifth, sixth, fourth and third parts from Sunday to Saturday); Gulika and Yamaganda follow their own weekday sequences. Each lasts about an hour and a half near the equinoxes, and longer or shorter as the day lengthens or shortens. These are local times and must be computed from the sunrise of the place in question; muhurta texts set them aside for beginnings, while routine work continues.

Abhijit muhurta

Abhijit is the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, centred on local apparent noon. It lasts two ghatis, about 48 minutes, running roughly 24 minutes either side of midday as measured from the actual sunrise and sunset of the place. Tradition treats it as a generally usable window on most days, with Wednesday commonly excepted. It shares its name with a 28th nakshatra, a short segment within Uttara Ashadha and Shravana, used in some older schemes.

Brahma muhurta

Brahma muhurta is the second-last muhurta of the night, the window of two ghatis (about 48 minutes) that ends 48 minutes before sunrise. In a place where the Sun rises at 6:00, it runs from about 4:24 to 5:12, and it shifts with the seasons and the location. The texts associate it with study, recitation and quiet work before the day begins. Because it is tied to sunrise, it is not a fixed clock time.

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