Bhadra (Vishti Karana): Meaning, Timings and What to Avoid

Bhadra is the popular name of Vishti, the seventh movable karana and the one half-tithi that tradition avoids for auspicious beginnings such as weddings, griha pravesh and festival rites. It falls eight times in every lunar month, each spell lasting half a tithi, roughly 10 to 13 hours, and because it follows the Moon, its clock times change from month to month. The spell is the same moment everywhere, so every city in India shares its IST times; only the local clock time abroad differs.

Karanas in brief

A karana is half a tithi: the time the Moon takes to gain 6° on the Sun. A lunar month holds 60 of them. Seven movable karanas, Bava, Balava, Kaulava, Taitila, Gara, Vanija and Vishti, repeat eight times through the month, and four fixed karanas, Shakuni, Chatushpada, Naga and Kimstughna, appear once each around the new moon.

Vishti is the seventh of the movable karanas, so it comes round every seventh half-tithi. Most karanas pass unnoticed; Vishti is the one a Panchang singles out.

When Bhadra falls

Because the cycle is fixed, Bhadra always falls in the same halves of the same tithis:

The halves alternate: second, first, second, first. Together the eight spells take up 8 of the month’s 60 karanas, roughly four days in every lunar month, so a Bhadra somewhere in the week is normal. Since a tithi can end at any hour, a Bhadra spell may begin in the afternoon, run through the night and end the next morning, so it can touch two calendar days. Our Panchang lists every Bhadra period that touches the day, with its start and end, including one that began the day before.

Why tradition avoids it

Classical muhurat texts treat Vishti as unfit for auspicious work and suited only to harsh or forceful tasks. A popular story explains the belief: Bhadra is described as a daughter of Surya, the Sun, and Chhaya, and a sister of Shani, fierce by nature and given to disrupting rites, until Brahma gave her a place among the karanas, with the instruction that auspicious work should be kept out of her time.

Whatever one makes of the story, the practical rule is simple and widely followed. Families avoid Bhadra for:

• Weddings, engagements and griha pravesh.
• Mundan, upanayana and other sanskaras.
• Setting out on an important journey or starting a new venture.
• Festival rites tied to a moment, above all Raksha Bandhan and Holika Dahan.

Where Bhadra resides

Tradition also asks where Bhadra “resides”, which depends on the sign the Moon is in during the spell. The rule found in classical muhurat texts is that Bhadra gives its effect where it dwells:

So a Bhadra with the Moon in Cancer weighs more than one with the Moon in Aries, and some almanacs allow important rites in the second when the calendar leaves no better choice. The Moon can change sign during a spell, so the residence can change part-way through. Our Muhurat finder does not use this leniency: it leaves out every Vishti karana for every activity, which keeps its suggestions on the safe side.

Reading Bhadra on a real day

Two examples from our Panchang for New Delhi show how this works in practice.

Friday 13 November 2026. The tithi is Shukla Chaturthi until 8:42 p.m. Its second half is Vishti, so Bhadra runs from about 7:24 a.m. to 8:42 p.m., more than 13 hours. The Moon is in Sagittarius throughout, so by the residence rule this Bhadra dwells in the netherworld and is treated more leniently. Our Muhurat finder still leaves the whole spell out.

Tuesday 17 November 2026. Shukla Ashtami begins in the early hours, and its first half is Vishti, from about 4:20 a.m. to 5:17 p.m. The Moon moves from Capricorn into Aquarius during the spell, so Bhadra begins in the netherworld and ends on earth. This is the case in which an almanac’s timings matter most, because the strict and lenient parts fall in the same day.

Families abroad should note that the spell is the same moment everywhere, but the clock times are not. The first Bhadra above falls in New York from about 8:54 p.m. on Thursday 12 November to 10:12 a.m. on Friday 13 November, local time. A Bhadra that covers a morning in India can cover an evening in America, so always read a Panchang set to your own city.

Mukha and puchha: the head and the tail

Almanacs often divide Bhadra into parts and name two of them. The mukha, or mouth, is counted as its harshest stretch and is avoided under every rule. The puchha, or tail, is treated as mild, and tradition allows necessary work in it when nothing else is possible. The exact position of each part depends on the tithi and differs between texts, so take the timings from your almanac or family priest rather than working them out by hand.

Raksha Bandhan and Holika Dahan

Two of the year’s best-loved festivals fall on Purnima, and the first half of every Purnima is Vishti. That is why Bhadra comes up every year at these times.

Raksha Bandhan falls on Shravana Purnima. Many families tie rakhi once Bhadra has ended, preferring the afternoon if it is free. When Bhadra covers most of the day, some almanacs suggest its tail.

Holika Dahan is performed on the evening of Phalguna Purnima, in the hours after sunset, once Bhadra is over. If Bhadra runs on past midnight, many almanacs allow the fire to be lit during its tail, and never during its head. It comes at the end of Holashtak, the eight days before Holi.

The details for both festivals depend on the moment the tithi begins in your city, so a time taken from another city, or from abroad, can be wrong. Check a Panchang for your own place.

What to avoid and what is fine

Bhadra is not a curse on the day. It is a short stretch that tradition keeps free of new beginnings, and nothing in it calls for fear.

If a family event has to fall on a day with Bhadra, the usual answer is to hold the main rite before the spell begins or after it ends. Since a spell rarely lasts more than about 13 hours, most days still leave a clear window, and the Panchang gives the exact boundaries for your city.

Not to be confused with

The name Bhadra turns up in several places in astrology, and only one of them is avoided:

• Bhadra tithis: Dwitiya, Saptami and Dwadashi, a favourable group of tithis. Our tithi list explains the five groups.
• Bhadra yoga: one of the five great planetary combinations in a birth chart, formed by a strong Mercury. It is favourable.
• Bhadrapada: a lunar month, named after the nakshatras Purva and Uttara Bhadrapada.
• Bhadra karana: Vishti, the subject of this guide, and the only one tradition avoids.

How Bhadra appears in our tools

Our free Panchang shows Bhadra among the day’s inauspicious times, with the start and end of every spell that touches the Panchang day, in your city’s local time. The karana entries on the same page also name Vishti, with the time it ends.

Our Muhurat finder removes every minute of Vishti from the windows it suggests, for every activity, along with Rahu Kaal and Yamaganda. That is one of the checks described in how a shubh muhurat is chosen. For a full walk through the day’s timings, see how to read a Panchang.