Rahu KaalWhat is Rahu Kaal?
What Rahu Kaal means in the Hindu panchang, who follows it, what people avoid in it and what the tradition does not say, explained in plain words.
Rahu Kaal (also written Rahu Kalam, Rahukalam or Rahu Kalaya) is a period of about an hour and a half every day that the Hindu panchang treats as unfavourable for beginning something new. The word kaal means time. Rahu is one of the nine grahas of Indian astronomy and astrology, a shadow point on the sky and not a visible planet. Traditional stories explain Rahu as the head of a demon who tasted the nectar of immortality at the churning of the ocean and was cut in two by Vishnu; the head became Rahu, the body Ketu. In the panchang the story has become a simple rule about timing.
How the day is divided
The time between sunrise and sunset is cut into eight equal parts. Every weekday gives one of the eight parts to Rahu. On Monday it is the second part, on Tuesday the seventh, on Wednesday the fifth, on Thursday the sixth, on Friday the fourth, on Saturday the third and on Sunday the eighth. Because the parts are equal, a short winter day gives shorter parts than a long summer day, and because sunrise differs from city to city the clock time differs too. This is why a fixed table printed in a calendar is only an approximation.
Who follows it
Rahu Kalam is taken very seriously in many families in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and is printed in almost every South Indian calendar. In the north the day is more often described by Choghadiya and by tithi, and Rahu Kaal is known but less widely observed. Many people who do not follow any of it still check it before a journey, a purchase or an interview, out of habit. Others ignore it completely. All of this is a matter of family custom.
What people avoid and what they do not
The common rule is to avoid starting something new during Rahu Kaal: opening a shop, signing an agreement, beginning a journey, buying a vehicle or gold, starting a ceremony. Work that is already under way is not stopped, and daily routines such as eating, working at your desk or a prayer you say every day are not affected. Some traditions say that prayers to Durga or Shiva during Rahu Kaal are especially suitable; others simply use it as a quiet hour. Travel that cannot be moved, such as a train that leaves in Rahu Kaal, is not cancelled by anyone for this reason.
What it is not
It is not a measurement and it is not science; no study shows that anything is different in that hour. This site shows the traditional timings so that people who follow them can find them quickly and correctly. We do not make predictions and we do not say you should follow it. You can read about the calculation in how Rahu Kaal is calculated and about the other periods in Gulika and Yamaganda and Choghadiya.
Questions people ask
Is Rahu Kaal the same every day?
No. It is one eighth of the daylight, and the part of the day changes with the weekday, so both the time and the length change.
Is it only in South India?
It is printed most widely in South Indian calendars, but people across India and in Indian communities abroad use it.
Can I travel during Rahu Kaal?
The tradition advises against starting a journey then, but many people do travel. It is a custom, not a prohibition.