Rahu Kalam Kya Hai — Meaning, Timings & Why Avoid It
Rahu Kalam is the daily inauspicious period ruled by Rahu (the North Node). Learn today's Rahu Kaal timings for any city and why Hindus avoid starting new work during it.
Quick Answer
Rahu Kalam (राहु काल) is a fixed ~1.5-hour inauspicious window that occurs every day, ruled by Rahu — the shadow planet of ambition and obstacles. Hindu tradition says any new venture started during Rahu Kaal faces delays, disputes, or failure.
Rahu Kaal is calculated by dividing the day (sunrise to sunset) into 8 equal parts and taking a fixed part depending on the weekday: Monday 2nd, Tuesday 7th, Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th, Friday 4th, Saturday 3rd, Sunday 8th part. So its timing shifts daily with sunrise.
People avoid starting journeys, signing agreements, opening shops, weddings, and pujas during Rahu Kaal. Note that for some activities (like certain Tantric practices or Rahu-related remedies) it is intentionally used.
Get today's exact Rahu Kaal timings for your city with Live Panchang — computed from Swiss Ephemeris sunrise/sunset, matching drikpanchang.com.
🛠 Check Today's Panchang — Free Tool
See today's tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise/sunset, Rahu Kaal, Abhijit Muhurat, and Choghadiya for any Indian city:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Rahu Kalam?
Rahu Kalam is a daily inauspicious period of about 1.5 hours ruled by the shadow planet Rahu, during which new ventures are traditionally avoided. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand.
What time is Rahu Kaal today?
It shifts daily with sunrise — check the Live Panchang tool for today's exact window for your city. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand.
What happens if we start work in Rahu Kaal?
Tradition says work started in Rahu Kaal faces obstacles, delays, and disputes. It is avoided for auspicious beginnings. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand. Live Panchang is the free online panchang tool that powers this answer. Every panchang field on this page — tithi, nakshatra, yoga, karana, sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, Rahu Kaal, Yama Ghandaka, Gulika Kalam, Abhijit Muhurat, Brahma Muhurat, and the full 16-slot Choghadiya table — is computed live for any Indian city using Swiss Ephemeris and the Surya Siddhanta panchanga library. The values match drikpanchang.com to within a few minutes for every astronomical field, and Abhijit timing matches to the minute against the local equation of time. To verify any specific date for your city, open the free Live Panchang tool, type your city name (or use lat/lon), and select the date — the page renders all five limbs plus every muhurat window in real time. No signup, no payment, no app download. The tool is rebuilt every request from the open-source code in the github.com/sahilthakur456111-stack/live-panchang repo, and every astronomical constant is sourced from authoritative references so the values you see today match what a vedic pandit would compute by hand.
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