Rahu Kaal: The Inauspicious Window to Avoid Each Day

Rahu Kaal explained: the inauspicious daily window, how it is calculated from sunrise by weekday, the related Yamaganda and Gulika periods.

This explains the tradition. Get the most auspicious dates for your own event — ranked for the next 60 days from your chart, not a generic almanac.

Does any of this apply to you?

The page above is written for everyone. Your chart is not. Give us your birth date and place and we will show you which parts of it are true for you, and which are not. About 20 seconds, no account.

I do not know my birth time (we read from the Moon instead)

Rahu Kaal is a window of roughly ninety minutes each day that tradition marks as unfavourable for starting anything important. Many people will happily continue ongoing work through it, but they avoid signing, launching, travelling or beginning a ceremony in it.

How Rahu Kaal is calculated

Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, is divided into eight equal parts. One of those parts is Rahu Kaal, and which one depends on the weekday:

Monday: the 2nd part
Saturday: the 3rd part
Friday: the 4th part
Wednesday: the 5th part
Thursday: the 6th part
Tuesday: the 7th part
Sunday: the 8th part

Because it is built from the real sunrise, Rahu Kaal moves with your city and the season. The common rule of thumb that it falls "around 4:30 to 6 pm on Sunday" is only a rough average for a twelve-hour day.

Yamaganda and Gulika

Two other inauspicious parts of the day work the same way. Yamaganda is avoided for important beginnings much like Rahu Kaal, while Gulika, also called Maandi, is the part ruled by Saturn''s shadow and is treated with similar caution.

Finding today''s Rahu Kaal

The Muhurat Finder computes Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika for your city from the actual sunrise, so you avoid them precisely rather than by a printed average.

Common questions

What is Rahu Kaal?

Rahu Kaal is a daily window of about ninety minutes that is considered unfavourable for starting anything important, such as signing, launching, travelling or beginning a ceremony.

How is Rahu Kaal calculated?

Daylight is divided into eight equal parts from sunrise to sunset, and one part is Rahu Kaal depending on the weekday: the 2nd part on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 5th on Wednesday, 6th on Thursday, 4th on Friday, 3rd on Saturday and 8th on Sunday.

Can I continue ongoing work during Rahu Kaal?

Yes. Rahu Kaal is avoided for starting new or important things. Ongoing work is generally continued through it without concern.

What are Yamaganda and Gulika?

They are two more inauspicious parts of the day, calculated from sunrise the same way as Rahu Kaal. Yamaganda is avoided for important beginnings, and Gulika, also called Maandi, is treated with similar caution.

Get auspicious-timing notes by email

The favourable windows worth knowing, plus a short weekly note. No account needed.

We'll email you AstroMedha guidance and updates. No spam, never shared, unsubscribe in one click anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Follow & Listen

Daily cosmic notes on Instagram, plus four free Vedic astrology podcasts you can binge.