Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika Kalam: The Day's Inauspicious Windows

Every day contains three windows that the South Indian tradition, in particular, avoids for starting important work: Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika Kalam. Each lasts about an hour and a half, one eighth of the daytime.

How they are calculated

1. Take the time from local sunrise to sunset and divide it into eight equal parts. On a 12-hour day (6:00 to 18:00), each part is 90 minutes.
2. Each weekday assigns one part to each window, in a fixed order.

Because sunrise and sunset change with the seasons and with your location, the actual clock times change too. A fixed table of times is only approximate.

Which part, on which day

For a 6:00–18:00 day, Rahu Kalam therefore falls at:

• Monday 7:30–9:00 · Tuesday 15:00–16:30 · Wednesday 12:00–13:30 · Thursday 13:30–15:00 · Friday 10:30–12:00 · Saturday 9:00–10:30 · Sunday 16:30–18:00.

A popular memory aid for Rahu Kalam's order from Monday: "Mother Saw Father Wearing The Turban Suddenly", Monday 2nd, Saturday 3rd, Friday 4th, Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th, Tuesday 7th, Sunday 8th.

What each signifies

• Rahu Kalam: governed by Rahu; avoided for new beginnings, purchases, journeys and signing agreements. Some temples hold special worship during it.
• Yamaganda: linked with Yama; avoided for auspicious starts, especially journeys.
• Gulika Kalam: governed by Gulika, a son of Saturn. Traditionally, what is begun in it tends to repeat; it is avoided for funerals and for things one does not want repeated, and some consider it acceptable for things one does want repeated.

Using them sensibly

These windows matter most when you choose the time of a beginning: a business launch, a griha pravesh, signing a contract. Ongoing work, emergencies and routine tasks need not stop. A complete muhurta weighs the whole panchang, not one window.

Our panchang shows today's Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika Kalam calculated from the actual sunrise and sunset in your city.