Muhūrta
मुहूर्त
A 48-minute unit of time; also the science of electing times.
Definition
A muhūrta is one-thirtieth of a day, about 48 minutes, with fifteen muhūrtas of day and fifteen of night, each named. The word also names the discipline of choosing times for undertakings by combining tithi, nakshatra, vāra, yoga, karaṇa and lagna, set out in works such as the Muhūrta Cintāmaṇi. The School treats muhūrta as a subject of historical and textual study.
Articles that use this term
- VedaExplainer
What the Vedic sciences are, and how they connect
A map of India's classical knowledge traditions, from the Vedas through the six Vedangas to the applied sciences, and where Jyotish sits among them.
7 min read · 17 October 2026
- PanchangaExplainer
How to read a panchang
The five limbs of the Indian almanac, what each one measures, and how to make sense of a printed page.
7 min read · 15 October 2026
- PanchangaExplainer
Tithi: why the Hindu day is a lunar day
Twelve degrees between Sun and Moon: how the tithi is defined, why it varies in length, and why festivals follow it.
6 min read · 14 October 2026
- Panchanga
The 27 nakshatras: a sky map older than the zodiac
Before the twelve signs reached India, the Vedic sky was read by the Moon's nightly stations. What they are and how they are still used.
7 min read · 13 October 2026
- Panchanga
Muhurta: choosing a time, the Kalpa way
From the ritual sutras to the Muhurta Chintamani: how the tradition thinks about doing an act at a fitting moment.
7 min read · 5 October 2026
- PanchangaExplainer
Why Diwali's date moves every year
Diwali is fixed by the Moon, not the Sun: by the new Moon that closes Ashwina, by the evening it covers, and by the Lakshmi Puja window inside that evening.
7 min read · 3 October 2026
- PanchangaExplainer
Rahu Kaal, Gulika and Yamaganda: where the day-divisions come from
Three daily periods printed in almanacs, each an eighth of the daylight chosen by weekday: how they are computed, and why we treat them as later conventions.
6 min read · 28 September 2026
- 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