Draft. This lesson is being reviewed and may change before publication.
Lesson 20 of 20 · Timing and matching
Muhurta and choghadiya: choosing a time
How the tradition picks a time for beginnings: the choghadiya table, Rahu Kaal and its companions, Abhijit, and what a muhurta does not claim. Lesson 20.
Written by Khushal ThakkarReviewed by Review pendingUpdated October 29, 2026
Muhurta is the art of choosing a time, and in daily life it comes down to three tables that anyone can read: the choghadiya, which divides day and night into eight named parts each; the three avoided periods, Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika, each an eighth of the daytime; and Abhijit, the favoured period around noon. This lesson, the last of the course, explains the tables that the Choghadiya and Panchang calculators print.
Choghadiya
The daytime, sunrise to sunset, is divided into eight equal parts, and so is the night, sunset to the next sunrise. Each part takes a name from a cycle of seven, and the cycle starts from a different name each weekday:
| Weekday | Day starts with | Night starts with |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Udveg | Shubh |
| Monday | Amrit | Chal |
| Tuesday | Rog | Kaal |
| Wednesday | Labh | Udveg |
| Thursday | Shubh | Amrit |
| Friday | Chal | Rog |
| Saturday | Kaal | Labh |
The cycle then runs Udveg, Chal, Labh, Amrit, Kaal, Shubh, Rog and repeats, so the eighth part has the same name as the first. Amrit, Shubh and Labh are read as favourable, Chal as neutral and good for travel, Udveg, Rog and Kaal as parts to avoid for beginnings.
Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika
Three eighths of the daytime are assigned by weekday to Rahu, to Yama and to Gulika (Saturn's son) and avoided for starting anything new. Rahu Kaal is the one most people know: on a Thursday it is the sixth eighth, roughly 13:30 to 15:00 in an Indian autumn. The Panchang calculator prints all three for the chosen place and date.
Abhijit
The day of fifteen muhurtas has its eighth, centred on local noon, called Abhijit, "the unconquered", and the tradition favours it for most work when nothing else fits. It lasts about 48 minutes.
A simple method
- Open the day's choghadiya for your place.
- Strike out Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika.
- Among what remains, prefer Amrit, Shubh and Labh, or Abhijit around noon.
- For anything important, check the tithi and nakshatra too, and avoid Vishti karana and the Vyatipata and Vaidhriti yogas.
What the course has covered
Twenty lessons, from the sidereal zodiac to this table: the signs, planets and stars; the Moon, lagna, houses, dignity and navamsa; a method for reading a chart, both drawing styles, yogas, Mangal dosha and matching; and the timing systems, dashas, Sade Sati, transits, the panchang and muhurta. Every calculator on the Astrology hub applies one of these lessons; go back to any of them whenever a chart is in front of you.
Calculate yours
Try the calculator this lesson explains.