Rahu Kaal today, and how the time is worked out

Prepared and maintained by AskJeevanGuru Vedic Research & Editorial Desk.

Rahu Kaal is one eighth of the time between sunrise and sunset. Which eighth depends only on the weekday: the 8th part on Sunday, 2nd on Monday, 7th on Tuesday, 5th on Wednesday, 6th on Thursday, 4th on Friday and 3rd on Saturday. Because it is measured from local sunrise, the window moves with your city and with the season — it is never a fixed clock time.

Rahu Kaal today with Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda on one timeline

New Delhi · 2026-10-22 · Thursday · sunrise 06:27 · sunset 17:46

Part 1: 06:27 – 07:52Yamaganda

Part 2: 07:52 – 09:17No inauspicious period

Part 3: 09:17 – 10:42Gulika Kaal

Part 4: 10:42 – 12:07No inauspicious period

Part 5: 12:07 – 13:31No inauspicious period

Part 6: 13:31 – 14:56Rahu Kaal

Part 7: 14:56 – 16:21No inauspicious period

Part 8: 16:21 – 17:46No inauspicious period

Daylight of 06:27 – 17:46 divided into 8 equal parts of 85 minutes each, for Thursday.

Daylight from sunrise to sunset is divided into eight equal parts. One part per weekday belongs to Rahu, and new work is traditionally not begun inside it. Because the parts are one-eighth of the actual daylight, Rahu Kaal is longer in summer than in winter and shifts with your city.

How the window is calculated

Take the local sunrise and sunset for the date. Subtract one from the other to get the length of daylight, then divide it by eight. Count parts from sunrise; the part index for the weekday gives Rahu Kaal. Nothing else enters the calculation — no planetary positions, no birth chart. That is why two sites can disagree: they are using different sunrise data, not different astrology.

Why the time changes every day

Daylight length changes through the year, so an eighth of it changes too. In a north Indian winter an eighth of daylight is roughly 65 minutes; near the summer solstice it is closer to 85 minutes. The window also shifts west with longitude, which is why Rahu Kaal in Mumbai is not the Rahu Kaal in Kolkata on the same date.

Read it with Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda

The same eight-part division produces Gulika Kaal and Yamaganda on different indices, so on any given day these three occupy exactly three of the eight daylight parts and never overlap. Seeing all three on one timeline is more useful than checking Rahu Kaal alone, because avoiding one while landing inside another defeats the purpose.

What tradition actually says to avoid

The classical caution is about beginnings — starting a journey, signing, opening a shop, a first meeting. Continuing work already under way is not treated as a problem, and there is no traditional claim that harm follows automatically. Many practitioners also note that daily obligations such as scheduled surgery or a booked flight are not rescheduled around it.

Limitations you should know

This page reports a window only when sunrise and sunset for the date are already in our cache for the city shown. If they are not, it says so rather than estimating. Sunrise definitions differ slightly between sources (disc centre versus upper limb, refraction assumptions), which can move the window by a couple of minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rahu Kaal the same time every day?+

No. It is one eighth of daylight, so it moves with sunrise, sunset, season and city. Only the weekday part index is fixed.

Does Rahu Kaal depend on my birth chart?+

No. It is a daily timing based on sunrise, sunset and the weekday only. Nothing personal enters it.

Can I continue work that started before Rahu Kaal?+

Traditionally yes. The caution applies to starting something new, not to finishing what is already running.

Why does another site show a different Rahu Kaal?+

Almost always different sunrise/sunset data or a different city. The arithmetic itself is standard.

Is Rahu Kaal observed everywhere in India?+

It is weighted heavily in South Indian practice and used more loosely in the north, where Choghadiya is often consulted instead.

Rahu Kaal is a general daily window. If you are choosing a date for something specific, ask about your own chart and situation.

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