Vara (weekday)
Vara is the weekday in the panchang and one of its five limbs. Each of the seven varas is ruled by a planet, from Ravivara (Sun) to Shanivara (Saturn), and a vara runs from sunrise to the next sunrise.
Also known as: Vaar, Var, Vasara, Hindu weekday
The seven varas are Ravivara (Sunday, the Sun), Somavara (Monday, the Moon), Mangalavara (Tuesday, Mars), Budhavara (Wednesday, Mercury), Guruvara (Thursday, Jupiter), Shukravara (Friday, Venus) and Shanivara (Saturday, Saturn). The order is not random: it follows the cycle of planetary hours (horas), and each day is named after the planet ruling its first hora at sunrise.
In the panchang, the vara changes at sunrise, not midnight. Before dawn on a Tuesday, the panchang is still in Monday’s vara. This matters for weekday-based timings such as Rahu Kaal and choghadiya, and for weekly fasts.
People keep weekly vrats by vara, such as Monday for Shiva, Tuesday for Hanuman and Saturday for Shani. In muhurat, some weekdays suit some activities better than others, but no weekday is bad in itself; the vara is one factor among five.