What time is Rahu Kaal today?

There is no single answer — it depends on your location and the date, because the calculation starts from local sunrise. This site's panchang computes it for the place you enter rather than quoting a fixed clock time.

Why is Rahu Kaal different in different cities?

Because it is one-eighth of the span between local sunrise and local sunset. Both of those shift with latitude, longitude and season, so the clock time moves with them.

Is it unsafe to travel during Rahu Kaal?

Traditional practice avoids beginning significant new undertakings during the window. It is not described as a period of danger, and work already underway is not held to be affected.

What is Abhijit Muhurat?

The eighth of fifteen equal muhurtas between sunrise and sunset, centred on solar noon, and the one classically auspicious window in the daily scheme. Some traditions exclude it on Wednesdays.

Rahu Kaal: What It Is and How It Is Calculated

राहु काल

What is Rahu Kaal and how is its timing worked out?

Rahu Kaal is an inauspicious span of roughly ninety minutes that occurs once every day. The period from sunrise to sunset is divided into eight equal parts, and a fixed table assigns one of those parts to each weekday. Because it is measured from local sunrise, its clock time changes with your location and with the season.

How the ninety minutes are found

Take the time from sunrise to sunset on a given day at a given place and divide it into eight equal segments. A classical weekday table then names which segment is Rahu Kaal — the eighth on Sunday, the second on Monday, and so on through the week. Nothing about this is arbitrary once the table is fixed, but everything about it depends on local sunrise. That is why a printed 'Rahu Kaal timing' with no place attached is not usable: the same weekday gives different clock times in Delhi and in Chennai, and different times in December and June.

Yamaganda, Gulika and Abhijit come from the same division

The same eight-segment framework produces Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal, each with its own weekday table. Abhijit Muhurat is calculated differently — the day is divided into fifteen equal muhurtas instead of eight, and Abhijit is the eighth, centred on solar noon. It is the one classically auspicious window among these, though some traditions exclude it on Wednesdays. All four are computed for every day on this site's panchang.

What Rahu Kaal is actually used for

Traditional practice avoids starting new and significant undertakings during Rahu Kaal — signing, travelling, beginning a venture. It is not held to affect work already in progress, and it is not treated as a period of danger. In a full muhurta selection Rahu Kaal is one exclusion among several rather than the deciding factor; tithi, nakshatra, the ascendant at the chosen moment and the Moon's placement all carry more weight in the classical scheme.

Common questions

What time is Rahu Kaal today?: There is no single answer — it depends on your location and the date, because the calculation starts from local sunrise. This site's panchang computes it for the place you enter rather than quoting a fixed clock time.
Why is Rahu Kaal different in different cities?: Because it is one-eighth of the span between local sunrise and local sunset. Both of those shift with latitude, longitude and season, so the clock time moves with them.
Is it unsafe to travel during Rahu Kaal?: Traditional practice avoids beginning significant new undertakings during the window. It is not described as a period of danger, and work already underway is not held to be affected.
What is Abhijit Muhurat?: The eighth of fifteen equal muhurtas between sunrise and sunset, centred on solar noon, and the one classically auspicious window in the daily scheme. Some traditions exclude it on Wednesdays.