Durmuhurta (Durmuhurtam)
A durmuhurta is one of the 48-minute muhurtas that panchangs flag as unfavourable on a given weekday. Each day has one or two, and they are avoided when starting something important.
Also known as: Dur muhurat, Durmuhurt, Durmuhurtham
The daytime from sunrise to sunset is divided into 15 muhurtas, and the night into another 15. On each weekday, tradition marks one or two of them as durmuhurta, ‘the difficult muhurta’. Because each lasts one-fifteenth of the day or night, a durmuhurta is about 48 minutes long on a 12-hour day, and its clock time moves with sunrise.
Durmuhurta is listed beside Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Varjyam, especially in South Indian panchangs, and people avoid it for ceremonies, journeys and signing important papers. Our Panchang lists the day’s durmuhurtas, as Dur Muhurtam, among the inauspicious times. On Wednesdays the midday muhurta is itself a durmuhurta, which is why Abhijit muhurat is not used that day.
Like other cautionary periods, durmuhurta concerns starting things; it does not make the whole day unlucky. If a short window is unavoidable, families often begin a little before or after it.