Muhurta मुहूर्त

Muhurta is the science of choosing auspicious times for specific activities — marriage, business launch, house entry (griha-pravesh), travel, surgery, signing contracts, etc. It is the inverse of natal astrology: instead of reading a birth time, you choose a time so that the chart cast for that moment is favourable.

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The 5 components of any muhurta — Panchanga (पंचांग)

Every muhurta is evaluated using the 5 Vedic time-elements:

A "good muhurta" requires all 5 to be appropriately favourable for the activity.

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The 7 weekdays (Vaar) — which is good for what

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Tithi — the 15 lunar days

Each lunar half-month (paksha) has 15 tithis. The 15th is either Purnima (full moon — bright half) or Amavasya (new moon — dark half).

Tithi classifications for muhurta:

Special tithis:

• Amavasya (new moon): generally avoided for new beginnings; good for ancestor rites (tarpan).
• Purnima (full moon): excellent for religious works, spiritual practice.
• Ekadashi (11th): fasting day; spiritual but mixed for material work.
• Chaturdashi (14th): generally avoided.

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Nakshatra — which to use when

Nakshatras are classified by their nature for muhurta purposes:

Marriage nakshatras (most-recommended): Rohini, Mrigashira, Magha (with caution), Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Mula (with caution), Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati. (Lists vary slightly by lineage.)

Avoid for marriage: Bharani, Krittika, Ashlesha, Vishakha, Jyeshtha (the "tara-bal" rule excludes these from the bride/groom's janma-nakshatra cycle).

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Yoga — the 27 yogas of muhurta

These are NOT the planetary yogas (Gajakesari etc.) but 27 time-yogas derived from Sun-Moon longitudes. The 4 most-important to avoid:

• Vishkambha (1st yoga): avoid for new beginnings
• Vyatipata (17th): avoid all auspicious work
• Vaidhriti (27th): avoid all auspicious work
• Parigha (19th): avoid (causes obstacles)

These appear periodically through the year; muhurta calculation must check.

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Karana

60 karanas in a lunar month (each karana = half a tithi). Only the Vishti karana (also called Bhadra) is particularly significant — it is avoided for all auspicious activities. Bhadra occurs ~4 times per month.

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Combining the panchanga for a specific muhurta

For marriage muhurta, the classical priorities are:

1. Year is appropriate (some years have planetary unfavourability for bride/groom).
2. Month is appropriate (some months — like Pushya, Magha — are favoured; others — Chaitra, Ashadha — are debated).
3. Tithi = Bhadra (2,7,12) or Jaya (3,8,13) preferred; avoid Rikta (4,9,14).
4. Vaar = Thursday or Friday preferred.
5. Nakshatra = from the auspicious marriage list; matches the couple's nakshatra rules.
6. Yoga + Karana = avoid the inauspicious ones above.
7. Lagna at the time = a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) for marriage stability; benefics in kendras; Jupiter strong.

Layering all these constraints typically produces only a few hours per month that meet all criteria — which is why marriage muhurtas are precious and panchanga consultation is universal in traditional Indian families.

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The Abhijit Muhurta

A "universal" auspicious 48-minute window each day, centered on local noon (~24 minutes before to 24 minutes after solar noon). Considered favourable for most activities except journeys to the south and some specific lineage exclusions.

Many traditional practitioners default to Abhijit if a more refined muhurta isn't available.

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"Rahu Kalam" and other inauspicious windows

These are computed from sunrise time and the day of the week. They're rough zones to avoid for important new actions.

Rahu Kalam table (approximate, varies by sunrise time):

• Monday: 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM
• Tuesday: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
• Wednesday: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
• Thursday: 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
• Friday: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
• Saturday: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• Sunday: 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM

(These shift seasonally; computation is from actual sunrise.)

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Data shape

id: muhurta.activity.marriage
system: muhurta
type: activity-rules
name: {en: "Marriage Muhurta", hi: "विवाह मुहूर्त"}
sources: [CANONICAL]
classical_refs: [{text: "Muhurta Chintamani"}]
priorities:
  - field: vaar
    preferred: [Thursday, Friday]
    avoid: [Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday]
  - field: tithi
    preferred: [Bhadra group, Jaya group]
    avoid: [Rikta group, Amavasya, Chaturdashi]
  - field: nakshatra
    preferred: [Rohini, Mrigashira, Hasta, Swati, Anuradha, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati]
    avoid: [Bharani, Krittika, Ashlesha, Vishakha, Jyeshtha, Mula, Magha]
  - field: yoga
    avoid: [Vyatipata, Vaidhriti, Parigha, Vishkambha]
  - field: karana
    avoid: [Vishti / Bhadra]
  - field: lagna
    preferred_signs: [Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius]
    rules:
      - "Jupiter should be strong (own sign / exalted / kendra-trikona) and not retrograde"
      - "Venus should be strong"
      - "Mars should not be in 7th from lagna at the muhurta time"
      - "No malefic in 7th house of the muhurta chart"
disclaimer: |
  Marriage muhurta is traditionally chosen with reference to both bride's and
  groom's birth charts (their janma nakshatras determine the 'tara bala' for
  the chosen day). This requires both parties' birth details. Final muhurta
  selection should be confirmed by a qualified astrologer.