Vāra
वार
Weekday, named after a graha and counted from sunrise.
Definition
Vāra is the weekday, the fifth limb of the pañcāṅga, named after its ruling graha: Ravi (Sunday), Soma, Maṅgala, Budha, Guru, Śukra and Śani. In Indian reckoning the vāra begins at local sunrise, not at midnight. The weekday order follows from the horā sequence: the lord of the first horā of each day gives the day its name.
Articles that use this term
- 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