Choghadiya
Day and night electional watches for a date and place, timed from local sunrise and sunset. The weekday sets the order of the seven names. Choose a place, then calculate.
What is Choghadiya?
Choghadiya is an electional clock. Daylight from local sunrise to sunset is cut into eight equal watches, and night from sunset to the next sunrise into eight more. The name of each watch comes from a cycle of seven traditional classifications. The exact clock times change with the length of day and night, which is why two cities, or two seasons, do not share a table.
Why eight in the day and eight at night
A choghadiya is four ghatis. A ghati is 24 minutes, so four ghatis are 96 minutes — the length of one watch when day and night are equal. When daylight stretches in summer, each daytime watch stretches with it. Night watches do the same after sunset. Eight watches fill whichever half of the nychthemeron you are in.
Why the weekday changes the order
Each weekday has a ruling planet, and that planet chooses which of the seven names begins the daytime sequence. Night begins from a different name. The names then cycle, and the eighth watch repeats the first. Inner Light shows the resulting table for the date and place you enter.
The seven names
These are classifications inside the traditional muhurta system, not scientific findings.
- Amrit
- The most favorable watch for beginning auspicious work.
- Shubh
- Favorable, especially for ceremonies and settled beginnings.
- Labh
- Gain and beneficial errands.
- Chal
- A mixed or movable watch, used for travel and ordinary movement.
- Rog
- A poor time to begin; associated with illness and strain.
- Kaal
- Inauspicious for new undertakings.
- Udveg
- Agitation or conflict; avoided for beginnings.
Common questions
- What is Choghadiya?
- Choghadiya divides daylight and night into eight periods each, timed from local sunrise and sunset. Each period is named Amrit, Shubh, Labh, Chal, Rog, Kaal, or Udveg. The weekday chooses which name begins the sequence. Amrit, Shubh, and Labh are favorable for beginnings; Rog, Kaal, and Udveg are times for caution; Chal is mixed.
- Why do the times change from city to city?
- Each watch is a fraction of local daylight or night. Sunrise and sunset move with longitude, latitude, and season, so the clock times move with them.
- How should I use the table?
- Find the clock time you have in mind in the day or night column. The name of that row is the traditional classification of the watch. Read it as electional guidance for beginnings, not as a forecast of the day’s events.