Learn/Timing/Rahu Kaal & Choghadiya
Timing · 5 min read

Rahu Kaal & Choghadiya — the daily windows, explained

Rahu Kaal is one-eighth of the day's actual daylight, held inauspicious for starting new ventures. Choghadiya divides day and night into eight slots each, seven types cycling through them. Neither is cause for fear: both guard beginnings, not work already underway — and both move with your city's real sunrise.

Updated Jul 2026
Rahu Kaal
⅛ of daylight, daily
Guards against
Beginnings, not routine
Choghadiya
16 slots of ~1½ hours
Depends on
Your city's real sun

01What Rahu Kaal is

Rahu Kaal is one-eighth of the day's actual daylight, and tradition avoids it for starting new ventures. Work already underway does not stop — the window guards beginnings, not continuation. That one distinction removes most of the fear around it.

02Finding today's Rahu Kaal

1
Take the real sun times
Find today's actual sunrise and sunset for your city. Not 6:00 and 6:00 — that day exists mainly in textbooks.
2
Divide daylight by eight
Sunset minus sunrise, split into eight equal parts. Each part is ~90 minutes only near the equinoxes.
3
Pick the weekday's part
Each weekday owns one eighth: Monday the 2nd, Saturday the 3rd, Friday the 4th, Wednesday the 5th, Thursday the 6th, Tuesday the 7th, Sunday the 8th.
4
Scale it to your city
A Shimla winter day and a Chennai summer day give different windows. Canned 90-minute tables are approximations — real sun times are the method.

03Rahu Kaal by weekday

Window (6–6 day)Eighth of daylight
Sunday4:30 – 6:00 pm8th
Monday7:30 – 9:00 am2nd
Tuesday3:00 – 4:30 pm7th
Wednesday12:00 – 1:30 pm5th
Thursday1:30 – 3:00 pm6th
Friday10:30 am – 12:00 pm4th
Saturday9:00 – 10:30 am3rd

04The choghadiya cycle

Choghadiya divides the day into eight slots and the night into eight more, each roughly ninety minutes, with seven types cycling through them. Four favour beginnings — Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Char — and three are avoided: Rog, Kaal, Udveg. It is the traveller's tool: quick timing for starts and journeys when a full muhurta isn't practical.

05The seven choghadiya

NatureFor beginnings
AmritNectar — the most benignYes — best of all
ShubhAuspicious, steadyYes
LabhGain, profitYes — favoured for trade
CharMovement, momentumYes — best for travel
RogIllness, conflictAvoid for starts
KaalLoss, dead timeAvoid for starts
UdvegAgitation, uneaseAvoid for starts
Rahu Kaal has an opinion about beginnings — and no opinion about work already underway.

Frequently asked

Is Rahu Kaal the same time everywhere?+
No. It's an eighth of your city's actual sunrise-to-sunset, so it shifts with latitude and season — Delhi and Chennai differ on the same day, and winter windows run shorter than summer ones. Printed 90-minute tables assume a 6-to-6 day that almost never occurs.
What if I must act during Rahu Kaal?+
Continue anything already running — the tradition guards beginnings, not continuation. If a genuine start truly can't move, most practitioners proceed with attention; Rahu Kaal is a caution flag, not a wall. Panic serves no planet.
Which is better — Rahu Kaal or Choghadiya?+
They're different tools. Rahu Kaal is a subtraction — one window to avoid; choghadiya is a selection — slots to prefer. For quick decisions use both: pick a favourable choghadiya that doesn't overlap Rahu Kaal. For weddings and major launches, get a full muhurta.
Does Rahu Kaal apply at night?+
The classical Rahu Kaal is a division of daylight, so the commonly observed window is daytime only. Some almanacs do list a night Rahu Kaal, but it is far less widely followed — traditions differ here, plainly. For night timing, choghadiya has a full night cycle of its own.

Keep going

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What's today's Rahu Kaal in your city?

Cast your free kundli — we compute your city's real sunrise, so the daily windows are exact, not approximate.

Cast free kundli