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What is a Muhurat?

A Muhurat is a window of time traditionally considered favourable for beginning something: a puja, a journey, a griha pravesh, a purchase or a new venture.

Built from the Panchang

Muhurat timing comes from the Panchang, the Hindu almanac. Its five limbs describe each day: the tithi (lunar day), vara (weekday), nakshatra (the Moon's star), yoga and karana. For major ceremonies such as weddings, a priest weighs all five alongside the people's birth charts. For everyday beginnings, simpler methods are used.

Choghadiya: the everyday method

Choghadiya divides the day from sunrise to sunset into eight equal parts, and the night from sunset to the next sunrise into eight more. Each part is named for its traditional quality:

• Amrit, Shubh and Labh are considered auspicious.
• Char is considered good, and is traditionally favoured for travel.
• Udveg, Rog and Kaal are traditionally avoided for new beginnings.

Because the parts are measured from local sunrise and sunset, each lasts about an hour and a half, a little more or less with the season.

Periods traditionally avoided

Some periods are avoided whatever the Choghadiya says. The best known is Rahu Kaal, one-eighth of the daytime whose position depends on the weekday. Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal are calculated in a similar way. A good Choghadiya that overlaps Rahu Kaal is usually trimmed or skipped.

How VendaNorth finds windows

VendaNorth starts from the auspicious Choghadiya periods for your city and date, removes the traditional caution periods, and keeps windows long enough to be useful. Every time is local to your city. For a wedding or other major ceremony, we recommend confirming the Muhurat with your family priest, who can consider the birth charts involved.