What is Rāhu Kālam?
Rāhu Kālam is a traditional interval avoided for auspicious beginnings. Divide local daylight into eight equal portions; the weekday selects one. Its clock times depend on the date, location and sunrise convention, so a fixed timetable can mislead.
The interval follows local daylight
Divide the selected location's sunrise-to-sunset interval into eight equal parts, then take the part assigned to the weekday. A twelve-hour day gives ninety-minute parts; real daylight varies. The Bengaluru sample on 12 September 2026 runs from 06:12:09 to 18:19:37 and highlights Saturday's third portion. These dated values do not calculate another location or today's window.
The weekday chooses the portion
Count from local sunrise: Monday uses portion 2, Saturday 3, Friday 4, Wednesday 5, Thursday 6, Tuesday 7 and Sunday 8 in Drik Panchang's sequence. No weekday uses the first portion. This ordering does not fix the clock times: daylight length, location and sunrise convention still matter. Keep the place and date with any interval you save or compare.
Read the Bengaluru example as one dated result
For Bengaluru on Saturday 12 September 2026, Asia/Kolkata, the web sample reads 09:14–10:44; the phone reads 9:14–10:45 AM. Their minute formatting differs, while prepared endpoints retain seconds. These are fixed sample values, not today's timings.
Sunrise conventions also differ. Swiss Ephemeris documents Hindu rising times using the Sun's centre without atmospheric refraction; other almanacs may use another convention. Compare date, place and method before comparing labels.
Read the named window before combining timings
Yamaganda and Gulika Kalam are separate entries in Mạghā's Avoid windows list. Read each interval by name. A favorable label elsewhere does not cancel Rāhu Kālam, and this single daily window does not settle every consideration for a personal muhūrta. When consulting a family or regional calendar, compare its method and the kind of beginning the timing is intended to guide.
Open the named row on the Pañchāṅga page
Find Rahu Kalam under Muhurta schedule → Avoid windows on the web, or Timings → Muhurta → Avoid in the mobile preview. The sample stays on Bengaluru, 12 September 2026; its date and place controls do not calculate new days offline. For a current lookup, open the public Pañchāṅga page, check the selected city and date, and choose an observation point if prompted.
Questions about Rāhu Kālam timings
Is Rāhu Kālam always ninety minutes long?
Only a twelve-hour daylight span produces eight portions of exactly ninety minutes. The method used here divides the selected daylight, so longer or shorter daylight changes the duration. Copy both endpoints from the dated result instead of assuming the end is always ninety minutes after the start. In the Bengaluru sample, the labels show minutes while the prepared endpoints retain seconds; that display precision should not be mistaken for exact duration.
Why do two cities show different Rāhu Kālam times?
The interval is measured from local sunrise to local sunset. Those endpoints depend on the place and day, so the same weekday portion can land at different clock times. Check the selected location before comparing two entries. Also check that both services mean the same civil date and time zone. A timetable that omits its location cannot tell you whether its clock labels apply to the place you intend to use.
Does this method give a Rāhu Kālam at night?
The daytime eighth-part method described in this article ends at sunset. It does not extend the printed interval into the night or repeat it automatically after dark. Drik Panchang's tutorial describes daytime practice; its lookup guide also acknowledges less-popular night variants. Those require their own stated method and inputs. This article makes no claim to settle every almanac tradition, and its sample diagram shows the stated daytime result rather than an invented night calculation.
Are Rāhu Kālam and Gulika Kālam the same entry?
No. The sample page names them separately in its list of times to avoid. Read each row's own endpoints rather than using one name for the other. This article's worked interval is the “Rahu Kalam” row. A chart point named Gulika is also a different subject from a daily time window. The article does not derive that point, choose its convention or use a Pañchāṅga row as a replacement for a birth-chart calculation.
Can I use the illustrated interval for today?
The illustrated interval belongs to Bengaluru on 12 September 2026. It remains a dated example even when this article is read later. Open the full Pañchāṅga page, check the selected city and date, then read that day's “Rahu Kalam” entry. The offline preview uses bundled information and cannot calculate any date you enter. Sharing the example without its date would lose an essential part of what the displayed result tells you.
Find your day's Rāhu Kālam in Mạghā
Bengaluru, India · Asia/Kolkata
Check Rāhu Kālam for your chosen city and date. The prepared Bengaluru demo uses only that row; its Varjyam, Amṛta Kālam and Vijaya rows retain the method differences explained above.
Find your day's Rāhu Kālam