Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal: what each one is, and how to find today's times in your city

Open any daily panchang and three short windows sit side by side: Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal. Each lasts about an hour and a half, each moves a little every day, and each changes from city to city. They are easy to mix up, and a simple question follows: what is the difference between them?

This guide explains what each window is, how it is worked out, why your city's times differ from another city's, and how these windows are used in day-to-day life.

Three windows, one method

All three are found in the same way. The daytime, from sunrise to sunset, is cut into eight equal parts. The weekday then decides which part belongs to which window.

• Rahu Kaal (Rahu Kalam) is the part linked with Rahu.

• Yamaganda (Yamagandam) is the part ruled by Jupiter.

• Gulika Kaal (Gulika Kalam) is the part ruled by Saturn.

They differ in where they come from, and that matters if you want to know how old a rule is.

Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda come from a classical rule. The Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra (BPHS, chapter 3) divides the day into eight equal parts. The first part goes to the lord of the weekday: the Sun on Sunday, the Moon on Monday, and so on. Each following part goes to the next weekday lord in order. Seven lords share eight parts, so the eighth part has no lord. Saturn's part is Gulika. Jupiter's part is the one almanacs call Yamaganda.

Rahu Kaal is different. Rahu is not one of the seven weekday lords, so the eight-part rule has no part to give it. Rahu Kaal comes from the almanac tradition rather than from a classical verse, and panchangs across India print it every day.

How Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal are worked out

The method is the same for all three, step by step:

1. Find the day's sunrise and sunset for your exact place.

2. Divide the time between them into eight equal parts.

3. Count to the weekday's part for each window (the table below).

In winter the day is short, so each part is shorter than an hour and a half. In summer the day is longer and each part grows. A fixed clock rule such as "06:00 to 18:00" gives different times, and it is not the traditional method.

Here is one real example from our engine: New Delhi, Tuesday 20 October 2026.

• Sunrise 06:24:52, sunset 17:46:39, so the daytime is 11 hours 21 minutes 47 seconds.

• One eighth of that is about 1 hour 25 minutes.

• Rahu Kaal, Tuesday's 7th part: 14:56 to 16:21.

• Yamaganda, Tuesday's 3rd part: 09:15 to 10:41.

• Gulika Kaal, Tuesday's 5th part: 12:06 to 13:31.

Why the times change by city and by day

Because everything starts from sunrise and sunset, two things move the windows.

• Your city. Mumbai's sun rises later than Kolkata's, and a northern city's winter day is shorter than a southern one's. The same weekday's Rahu Kaal can differ by many minutes between cities.

• The date. Sunrise and sunset shift a little every day through the year, so the parts stretch and shrink with the seasons.

Calendars can also differ by a few minutes because of how they define sunrise. Our times use the visible sunrise, the moment the Sun's upper edge appears with the bending of light by the atmosphere included. Some almanacs use the moment the Sun's centre reaches the horizon with no such bending, which moves sunrise and sunset by a few minutes. Neither is a mistake; they are two conventions.

The weekday table

The daytime parts are numbered 1 to 8 from sunrise, and the table gives each window's part.

You can check the classical columns yourself. On Sunday the parts run Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and the eighth has no lord. Jupiter's is the 5th part (Yamaganda) and Saturn's is the 7th (Gulika). Start Monday from the Moon and the same counting gives the 4th and the 6th. The Rahu Kaal column cannot be checked this way, because it is an almanac table.

As a rough picture only: on a day with sunrise at 06:00 and sunset at 18:00, each part is 90 minutes. The 1st part is 06:00 to 07:30 and the 8th is 16:30 to 18:00. Real days are rarely that neat, so always use your city's times.

Gulika Kaal is not the same as Gulika in a birth chart

You may also see "Gulika" or "Mandi" in a birth chart. Those are points in the zodiac, not windows of time.

• Gulika in a chart is the degree rising at your birthplace at the start of Saturn's part of the day or night (BPHS 3.70).

• Mandi is a separate point in our charts. Classical texts such as the Phaladīpikā (25.2) and the Uttara Kālāmṛta (1.7–8) give it its own time inside Saturn's part.

Gulika Kaal on a panchang page answers a different question: when is Saturn's part of today.

How these windows are used

Traditionally, many families use these windows when choosing a time to begin something: a journey, a new piece of work, an agreement, or a household ceremony. They pick a start outside Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal. Work already under way simply carries on.

A few calm points help:

• They are about timing, not about you. The same windows apply to everyone in your city that day. They say nothing about a person's chart, health or future.

• A good start time is a choice, not a rule. If an important appointment falls inside one of these windows, you can keep it. Many people simply begin a little earlier or later when they have the choice.

• Look at the whole day. A panchang also shows the helpful windows, such as Abhijit Muhurat around midday, so you can choose a time rather than only avoid one.

Find today's times for your city

Our Rahu Kaal pages show Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda, Gulika Kaal and Abhijit Muhurat for the day. They are worked out from that city's own sunrise and sunset:

• Rahu Kaal today in New Delhi

• Rahu Kaal today in Mumbai

• Rahu Kaal today in Hyderabad

• Rahu Kaal today in Kochi

• Rahu Kaal today in Bangalore

For the full day, with tithi, nakshatra and sunrise, see today's panchang for New Delhi.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rahu Kaal the same every week?

The part number is the same for each weekday, for example the 7th part on every Tuesday. The clock times change with sunrise and sunset, so they shift a little from week to week and from city to city.

Which is stronger, Rahu Kaal, Yamaganda or Gulika Kaal?

Panchangs list all three side by side, and people who follow them usually treat all three alike when choosing a start time. The difference is in their origin: Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda come from the classical eight-part rule, while Rahu Kaal comes from the almanac tradition.

Why is there no Abhijit Muhurat on Wednesday?

The Nārada Purāṇa makes Abhijit itself one of Wednesday's less favourable muhurtas (a durmuhurta). So the midday window is not shown as Abhijit on Wednesdays. It is not because of Rahu Kaal.

Do these windows apply at night?

The windows on a daily panchang are daytime windows. The classical rule also divides the night into eight parts, starting from a different lord, but most people only need the daytime windows.

Sources

• Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra, chapter 3, verses 66–70 (tr. R. Santhanam): the eight equal parts of the day and night, the weekday lords, Saturn's part as Gulika, and the Gulika point.

• Phaladīpikā 25.2 and Uttara Kālāmṛta 1.7–8: Mandi as its own point within Saturn's part.

• Nārada Purāṇa: Abhijit muhurta and the Wednesday durmuhurta.

• Rahu Kaal: the almanac tradition.

• Background reading: Rahu kalam on Wikipedia.