What is Rahu Kaal?
Rahu is known as the shadow planet in astronomy. It does not have any physical body, but still, it throws a strong impact on human life. Rahu Kaal is the most inauspicious time of the day. The time is believed to be wrong and inappropriate to start your day. As per Hindu astrology, there is a time of 90 minutes each day between sunrise and sunset that is allocated to Rahu.
Rahu and Rahu Kaal
According to Hindu tradition, Rahu is considered the head of the demon called Svarbhanu. The demon was responsible for swallowing the sun causing eclipses. Ichnographically, Rahu is just a human head attached to a serpent body. He is believed to be seated in a chariot that is drawn by eight horses. Rahu is also known as Bhayanka.
The malefic planet is believed to be one in the nine planets of astrology. While seven days of the week are dedicated to seven planets, 90 minutes of each are dedicated to Rahu. And these 90 minutes of each day are called Rahu Kaal.
Rahu Kaal is not an Auspicious Time
The people of South India give utmost importance to Rahu Kaal. It is the first thing that is considered before deciding upon the muhurat. People believe that works that are initiated in Rahu Kaal never yield positive results. That is people do not commence any new thing in this inauspicious time. Whether it is a marriage proposal or a journey, trades, interviews, business deals, or any other new venture, people avoid Rahu Kaal everywhere.
The rule of avoiding Rahu Kaal applies to new ventures only. However, the routine tasks can always be continued the same way. Any journey that starts before the Rahu Kaal can be extended through the Rahu Kaal and can be continued even after it ends. There is no apprehension to it. It is just that no new work or auspicious thing can be commenced during this time.
How to Calculate Rahu Kaal?
There is a predefined manner to count or calculate Rahu Kaal. Timings are set for different days of the week. The timings depend on the time of sunrise. To calculate the timings of Rahu Kaal for a given day you need to take into account the schedules of the sunrise of that particular zone. You can use this formula to calculate the same.
Use the panchang of that zone to mark the timings of sunrise and sunset. Divide the day into 8 equal parts from sunrise to sunset. This way you will 8 1.5-hour sections among the 12 hours of the day.
The resulting parts will be 6:00- 7:30 am (first part), 7:30- 9:00 am (second part), 9:00 am- 10:30 am (third part), 10:30- 12:00 pm (fourth part), 12:00- 1:30 pm (fifth part), 1:30- 3:00 pm (sixth part), 3:00- 4:30 pm (seventh part) and 4:30- 6:00 pm (eighth part).
Since Rahu Kaal never comes in the first occurs in the first segment of the day, leave out the first part (6:00 – 7:30 am – the first part of the day).
You can arrange the rest seven days according to this pattern of days of the month: Monday, Saturday, Friday, Wednesday, Thursday, Tuesday, and Sunday. You should start the second part of the day. This will enable you to calculate the time of Rahu Kaal for each day easily.
Rahu Kaal timings for the different days of the week
- Monday: 7:30 am – 9:00 am.
- Tuesday: 3:00 – 4:30 pm.
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 1:30 pm.
- Thursday: 1:30 – 3:00 pm
- Friday: 10:30 – 12:00 pm
- Saturday: 9:00 – 10:30 am
- Sunday: 4:30 – 6:00 pm.
It is believed that Rahu Kalam has the most impact on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday.
As it depends on the timings of sunrise, Rahu Kaal timings are different for different regions. It is influenced by the annual transit and schedules vary accordingly. It is advised to perform pooja of Rahu Kaal during the inauspicious timings to counter its effects. There is a gemstone known as, hessonite that can also counter its effects. The Rahu yantra can also reduce the malefic effects of the shadow planet.
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