What is Rahu Kaal?
Rahu Kaal is a daily inauspicious window: one eighth of the daylight span, counted from local sunrise. Traditional practice avoids beginning new work, journeys or purchases during this period. Its clock time is different on every weekday and in every city, because it is anchored to sunrise, not to the clock.
The weekday sequence
Divide the daylight span into eight equal parts and number them 1 to 8 from sunrise. Rahu Kaal falls in part 8 on Sunday, part 2 on Monday, part 7 on Tuesday, part 5 on Wednesday, part 6 on Thursday, part 4 on Friday and part 3 on Saturday.
Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal
Two more eighth-day windows use their own weekday sequences: Yamaganda (parts 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 7, 6 from Sunday to Saturday) and Gulika Kaal (parts 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). All three are listed together on our city pages so the day’s avoided windows can be read at a glance.
Why timings move through the year
Daylight length changes with the season, so the eighth-part width changes too: Rahu Kaal is shorter in winter and longer in summer at the same place. The today Rahu Kaal page always shows the current window.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
- Is Rahu Kaal the same time every day?
- No. It occupies a different eighth of the day on each weekday, and the width of that eighth changes with the season because it is a fraction of daylight.
- Does Rahu Kaal apply at night?
- No — the classical window is a fraction of the daylight span only, from sunrise to sunset.