Rahukaalam - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rahukaalam or the period of Rahu is a certain amount of time every day that is considered inauspicious for any new venture according to Indian astrology (Vedic).

In Hindu mythology

Hindu mythology

Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

, Rahu Kala is one of the 8 segments of the day and considered inauspicious period in Indian astrology due to its associated with malefic, Rahu

Rahu

In Hindu mythology, Rahu is a cut-off head of an asura, that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses. He is depicted in art as a serpent with no body riding a chariot drawn by eight black horses. Rahu is one of the navagrahas in Vedic astrology...

. The segments are calculated by taking the total time between sunrise and sunset, at a given place, and then dividing this time duration by 8. Astronomically in the Hindu Panchangas

Panchangam

A panchāngam is a Hindu astrological almanac, which follows traditional Indian cosmology, and presents important astronomical data in tabulated form. It is sometimes spelled Pancanga, Panchanga, Panchaanga, or Panchānga, and is pronounced Panchānga...

, the ever varying planetary configurations mean that the auspicious hours during each day will not always fall at the same moment of time. Rahukaalam, Yama Ghantam and Vishaghati are the time periods which are especially considered inauspicious or unlucky (Ashub).

The planets according to Indian astronomers were the Sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

, Moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

, Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

, Mercury

Mercury (planet)

Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...

, Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

, Jupiter

Jupiter

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...

, Saturn

Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...

, Rahu

Rahu

and Ketu

Ketu

*In Vedic astrology, Ketu is the Moon's South node. Ketu is generally referred to as a "shadow" planet.*Ketu is a historical location in present day Benin.*Ketu is another name for the mountain K2....

. Rahukaalam and Gulikaalalam are calculated based on these planets. Even though Rahu and Ketu are not physical bodies, they are sensitive points on the intersection of the ecliptic

Ecliptic

The ecliptic is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun. In more accurate terms, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun...

(the apparent path of motion of the Sun) by the Moon's orbit. Rahu is the northern point and Ketu is the southern point. Ancient astronomers felt that the mighty Rahu and Kethu have the strength to eat the sun, thus causing a solar eclipse. Hence it is considered inauspicious to begin any undertaking during this "Rahukaalam". Every day this Rahukaalam lasts for around 90 minutes, but the duration differs according to the length of the time between sunrise to sunset.

To calculate Rahukaalam, the time between the sunrise and sunset is divided into 8 units or time-groups, which time-group will have the Rahukaalam depends on the weekday.

For each weekday, Rahukaalam falls as under:

Sunday - 8th Muhurtha (Unit)

Monday - 2nd Muhurtha

Tuesday - 7th Muhurtha

Wednesday - 5th Muhurtha

Thursday - 6th Muhurtha

Friday - 4th Muhurtha

Saturday - 3rd Muhurtha

How to remember Rahu Kalam

Although the time Rahukaalam falls on each day, and its span varies and needs to be calculated as per the sunrise and sunset time. You may use the times below if you do not have access to accurate Rahukaal. These times are accurate only if the day lasts for 12 hours, and the sunrise is at 6.00 AM. You can adjust an approximation according to the sunrise and day length in your area.

All you need to remember is the phrase " [Mother Saw Father Wearing The Turban Slowly]"

Mother = Monday : 7:30 - 9:00

Saw = Saturday : 9:00 - 10:30

Father = Friday : 10:30 - 12:00

Wearing = Wednesday : 12:00 - 13:30

The = Thursday : 13:30 - 15:00

Turban = Tuesday : 15:00 - 16:30

Slowly = Sunday : 16:30 - 18:00

Instead of the above one there's another easy way to remember: " [--Edward Brought Home A Good Ford car.]"

Starting with Monday count the First letter of every word and add half of the same which is 11/2
Ex: E is the letter 5+5/2 = 7:30 so Monday its 7:30- 9:00.

(Edward) Monday - 7:30 -9:00

(Brought) Tuesday - 3:00 -4:30PM

(Home) Wednesday - 12 - 1:30PM

(A) Thursday - 1:30 - 3:00PM

(Good) Friday - 10:30 - 12:00

(Ford) Saturday - 9:00 - 10:30

(car) Sunday - 4:30 - 6:00PM
Eleven Boys Had A Good Football Club is a very popular way as above to remember Rahu Kalam duration.

Spellings

Various spellings / names of Rahukal :

Rahu Kal

Rahu Kala

Rahu Kalam

Rahu Kalaam

Rahukal

Rahukala

Rahukalam

Rahukalaam

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.