Horā (planetary hour)
होरा
Planetary hour: one twenty-fourth of a day, ruled by a graha.
Definition
A horā is one twenty-fourth of the day counted from sunrise, each ruled in turn by a graha in order of decreasing orbital period: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. The first horā of each day belongs to the weekday lord, which is how the order of the weekdays arises. Varāhamihira derives the word from aho-rātra ('day and night') by dropping the first and last syllables, and the same word names the D2 division and the natal branch of Jyotish.
Articles that use this term
- PanchangaExplainer
Choghadiya: the day in eight parts
How the choghadiya divides daylight and night into eight periods each, why the sequence starts where it does, and where the system is used for muhurta.
7 min read · 27 September 2026