Shubh Muhurat: How Auspicious Dates and Times Are Chosen

A shubh muhurat is chosen in layers. First, the five Panchang limbs (tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana and weekday) must suit the activity; next, seasonal restrictions such as Kharmas, Chaturmas and Adhik Maas are ruled out; then the day is trimmed to remove Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Bhadra. For life events, a priest finally checks the people involved: their Tarabala and Chandrabala, and the rising sign at the chosen moment.

What a muhurat is

In Sanskrit, a muhurta is a unit of time: one-thirtieth of a day and night, about 48 minutes. In everyday speech, a muhurat is an auspicious window chosen for a particular beginning. The craft of choosing one is set out in classical works such as Rama Daivajna’s Muhurta Chintamani, and explained for modern readers in B. V. Raman’s Muhurtha.

The idea is simple: begin important things when the day’s qualities support them. A muhurat is not a guarantee. It is closer to sowing seed in the right season: it improves the start, and the rest is up to you.

Muhurat is also activity-specific. A day that is excellent for buying a car may be poor for a wedding, and a superb day for a griha pravesh may be ordinary for travel. That is why “Is today auspicious?” has no single answer; the better question is, “Is today auspicious for this?”

Layer one: the five limbs

The first test is called Panchang shuddhi, the soundness of the day’s five limbs.

Tithi

Tithis fall into five groups that repeat through each fortnight:

The Bhadra group of tithis has nothing to do with Bhadra the karana, also called Vishti, which is avoided. Amavasya, the new moon, is avoided for almost every new start. The later tithis of the waning fortnight are often avoided for anything meant to grow, because the Moon is losing its light.

Nakshatra

The nakshatra carries the most weight. Muhurta texts sort the 27 stars into seven natures (fixed, movable, swift, gentle, fierce, sharp and mixed) and match each nature to suitable work. Fixed stars such as Rohini and the three Uttaras suit anything meant to last. Movable stars such as Swati and Shravana suit travel and vehicles. Swift stars such as Ashwini, Pushya and Hasta suit trade and learning, and gentle stars such as Chitra, Anuradha and Revati suit the arts, friendship and celebrations.

Real lists are more nuanced than the natures suggest. Magha and Mula, for example, are classical wedding stars despite their fierce and sharp natures, while Pushya, superb for most beginnings, is traditionally avoided for marriage.

Yoga, karana and weekday

Nine of the 27 Panchang yogas are traditionally avoided: Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha and Vaidhriti. Muhurta Chintamani avoids only the opening part of most of them, measured in ghatis, sixtieths of the yoga’s length: the first 3 of Vishkambha and Vajra, 5 of Shula, 6 of Atiganda and Ganda, 9 of Vyaghata and the first half of Parigha. Vyatipata and Vaidhriti are avoided whole. Our finder follows that rule for most activities, and for weddings leaves out all nine in full, as wedding almanacs do. Among the karanas, Vishti, better known as Bhadra, is the one to avoid.

The weekday adds colour. Thursday (Jupiter) favours learning and blessings, Friday (Venus) the arts and comforts, and Wednesday (Mercury) trade and paperwork. Tuesday (Mars) and Sunday (the Sun) are avoided for house-warmings. Many families avoid Tuesday for weddings too, although the classical wedding rules give the weekday little weight.

Layer two: the season

Some periods are set aside for the whole community, however good the individual day looks:

Each has a traditional reason. In Kharmas the Sun occupies the two signs of Jupiter, the planet of blessings, whose influence is held to be weakened. Chaturmas is the period when Vishnu is said to rest, and Adhik Maas is a “surplus” month, set aside for devotion rather than new ventures.

Two more restrictions began as regional customs and are now widely kept. Holashtak, the eight days before Holi, is observed across North India, and many families avoid new purchases and ventures during Pitru Paksha, the fortnight of the ancestors. Our finder applies both: Holashtak for weddings, griha pravesh and mundan, and Pitru Paksha for business openings and for buying a vehicle, property or gold. Pitru Paksha also falls inside Chaturmas and outside the griha pravesh months, so weddings, griha pravesh and mundan avoid it in any case.

Layer three: the hour

Within a good day, the window is trimmed. Rahu Kaal and Yamaganda are removed. The moments when the tithi, nakshatra, yoga or karana change are treated as boundaries, because a window is only as good as the weakest limb running at that time.

Business openings, naming ceremonies, mundan and gold purchases are judged in daylight. Weddings (which often take place at night), griha pravesh and property purchases are judged right through to the next sunrise, and a vehicle purchase into the evening: its window must open within the first quarter of the night. Our finder also leaves out windows shorter than half an hour, which are too tight to use.

Families who want more precision then choose an Amrit, Shubh or Labh choghadiya, or Abhijit muhurat, inside the window.

Layer four: the people

The first three layers are the same for everyone in a city. The fourth is personal, and this is where a family priest or astrologer adds real value.

• Tarabala counts from the person’s birth nakshatra to the day’s nakshatra in cycles of nine. The third (Vipat), fifth (Pratyak) and seventh (Naidhana) positions are avoided.
• Chandrabala looks at the sign the Moon is passing through, counted from the person’s Moon sign. Positions 1, 3, 6, 7, 10 and 11 are favourable; 4, 8 and 12 are avoided.
• Lagna shuddhi checks the rising sign at the exact moment: a fixed sign for lasting things, benefic planets in the angles and an empty eighth house are classic preferences.

For a wedding, both partners are checked; for a griha pravesh, usually the head of the household. If a personal check is weak on an otherwise ideal day, a priest will usually look for the next good window; for smaller matters, some suggest a simple remedy, such as a donation, instead.

How the rules change by activity

The same method produces different lists for different purposes. These are the rules our Muhurat finder applies:

A worked example

Suppose you want to open a shop. Your Panchang shows a Thursday in the bright fortnight with Saptami tithi, Hasta nakshatra and Siddha yoga, and the karana is not Vishti.

Layer one passes: Saptami is one of the steady Bhadra-group tithis, Hasta is a swift star well suited to trade, Siddha means “accomplished”, and Thursday is Jupiter’s day. Layer two passes as long as the date is in neither Adhik Maas nor Pitru Paksha, the two seasonal rules for a business opening, although some families also prefer to avoid Kharmas. In layer three, Thursday’s Yamaganda is the first eighth of the day and its Rahu Kaal the sixth, in the early afternoon, so the main window runs from mid-morning to early afternoon; on a Thursday, Abhijit muhurat is completely clear.

If the owner’s Chandrabala is also favourable, it is an excellent choice. The first sale can then be timed to the Labh choghadiya that begins at local midday. The Shubh choghadiya that opens a Thursday is passed over, because it falls exactly on Yamaganda.

Our Muhurat finder applies the first three layers for your city across the months ahead, for marriage, griha pravesh, business, vehicles, property, naming, mundan and gold, and shows which seasonal rules ruled out the rest. The nearest dates are free to view. For the day-to-day picture, today’s Panchang shows every limb with its end time.