Choghadiya today › What is choghadiya
What is choghadiya? चौघड़िया क्या है
Choghadiya (चौघड़िया, ચોઘડિયા) is a traditional Hindu way of choosing a good time for a task. The time from sunrise to sunset is split into eight equal parts, and so is the time from sunset to the next sunrise. Each part, about an hour and a half long, is called a choghadiya and has one of seven qualities.
The seven choghadiya and what they mean
| Choghadiya | Hindi / Gujarati | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Amrit | अमृत / અમૃત | Good: nectar: the best period, good for all work |
| Shubh | शुभ / શુભ | Good: auspicious: good for ceremonies, marriage and new beginnings |
| Labh | लाभ / લાભ | Good: profit: good for business, trade and starting education |
| Chal | चर / ચલ | Good: movement: good for travel and neutral work |
| Udveg | उद्वेग / ઉદ્વેગ | Avoid: anxiety: avoid new work (government work is the exception) |
| Rog | रोग / રોગ | Avoid: disease: avoid; traditionally used for debates and legal disputes |
| Kaal | काल / કાળ | Avoid: loss: avoid; traditionally used only for collecting wealth |
Why times differ between cities
Because each choghadiya is one-eighth of the actual day or night, its length changes with the season and its start changes with your city's sunrise. In winter a day choghadiya can be under 80 minutes; in summer, over 100. A city in western India such as Ahmedabad sees sunrise around 15–40 minutes after Kolkata, so every period starts later. That is why a single "India" table is never exactly right.
The weekday order (day choghadiya)
The first choghadiya of each day is ruled by the planet of that weekday; the rest follow a fixed cycle.
| Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Udveg | Chal | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg |
| Monday | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Chal | Labh | Amrit |
| Tuesday | Rog | Udveg | Chal | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog |
| Wednesday | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Chal | Labh |
| Thursday | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Chal | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh |
| Friday | Chal | Labh | Amrit | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Chal |
| Saturday | Kaal | Shubh | Rog | Udveg | Chal | Labh | Amrit | Kaal |
Rahu Kaal
Rahu Kaal is one of the eight daytime parts, different for each weekday, during which new work is traditionally avoided: Sunday part 8, Monday part 2, Tuesday part 7, Wednesday part 5, Thursday part 6, Friday part 4, Saturday part 3. With a 6:00 AM sunrise and 6:00 PM sunset that gives the familiar Monday 7:30–9:00, Saturday 9:00–10:30 and so on, but the real time moves with sunrise. Every city page shows today's Rahu Kaal for that city.
How this site calculates
Sunrise and sunset are computed for each city's coordinates with the NOAA solar equations, using the standard horizon of −0.833° for refraction and the sun's radius. Panchangs that use a different sunrise convention may show times one or two minutes apart. For marriages, griha pravesh and other major ceremonies, always confirm the muhurat with a priest or a full panchang.