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Raahu Kaal

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Raahu Kaal

What is Raahu Kaal
The Raahu in Raahu Kaalam does not refer to the shadow planets Raahu or Ketu of Hindu astrology, in fact it refers to the colors of a group of sun-rays. As we all know, "vibgyor" represents the seven colors of rainbow. If we reverse it, we get "roygbiv", namely red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

After violet, there is another group of rays called "ultraviolet" rays which are not visible to naked eyes. If we divide the daytime of Sunday into 8 parts of 1.5 hours each, this will be the order in which the colored rays will occur.

The timing of the ultraviolet rays when they fall on Earth are called as Raahu Kaalam and since they are not visible, they are considered as inauspicious. The following table will clarify things properly.

Time Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
06.00-07.30AM Red Violet Orange Green Yellow Blue Indigo
07.30-9.00 AM Orange UltraViolet Yellow Blue Green Indigo Violet
09.00-10.30 AM Yellow Red Green  Indigo Blue Violet Ultraviolet
10.30-12.00noon Green Orange Blue Violet Indigo Ultraviolet Red
12.00-01.30 PM Blue Yellow Indigo Ultraviolet Violet Red Orange
01.30-03.00 PM Indigo Green Violet Red Ultraviolet Orange Yellow
03.00-04.30 PM Violet Blue Ultraviolet Orange Red Yellow Green
04.30-06.00 PM UltraViolet Indigo Red Yellow Orange Green Blue

Ancient Tamil Hindu named the period of " Ultraviolet " rays as "RAAHU KAALAM".

Semi Rational people like most of us need not get scared by Raahu Kaal. As far as possible, they may remain at home or office and indulge in ethical deeds. If at all, it is essential to travel during this period, they may chant Raahu Kaal Durgaa Ashtakam or Durgaa Sapt Shlokee. Idea is not to get exposed to the ultraviolet rays being emitted at that time.

The sequence of colors of rays at night is exactly reverse of the sequence in the day, as we see in a mirror. So, there is Raahu Kaalam at night also. Nobody takes it Seriously as most of us are asleep during that period.
Let us travel the middle path between reason and faith.

Another Interpretation
Raahu Kaal is a parameter of Muhoort and Muhoort works under Jaatak (Birth Chart), therefore entire world does not face obstacles during daily Raahu Kaal. If one is going through favorable Dashaa or Bhukti or Gochar then no need to scare from Raahu Kaal. Despite of this fact Raahu Kaal matters. Raahu Kaal is especially Malefic for Luminaries - Sun and Moon, so on Sundays and Mondays it is more effective.

Another reason why Raahu Kaal is more effective on Sundays and Mondays is Horaa factor. Horaa (means planetary hour, such as on Sunday the Horaa is of Soorya), Horaa of Saturn coincides with Raahu Kaal on Sunday and Monday.

On Sunday, Raahu Kaal is in the last segment of the day - 1/8th segment, approximately 90 minutes, before sunset.
And on Monday it is on the 2nd 1/8th segment of the day - in early Monday morning (about 8-10 am) - luckily both are easy to remember.
Moreover, the evils of Raahu Kaal gets augmented when it coincides with the day when transits the Sun, transits the Moon, or the transits the Lord of the weekday are moving in bad Houses with respect to your natal Moon.

JHora software by default calculates Raahu Kaal by taking the whole day (from one sunrise to next sunrise). Therefore Raahu Kaal of JHora appears different from common Panchaang and almanacs. In practice, Raahu Kaal calculated by real day-and-night elongation works better.

Raahu is a disguise and misleading form of Raakshas in Devtaa form at the time of distribution of nectar between Devtaa and Raakshas. Raahu is a deceptive form and is considered astrologically "mentally low". Nodes' importance is  associated with eclipses, which are considered as most inauspicious. Likewise Raahu Kaal is also the time meant to leave or to not attempt anything auspicious, as this time misleads and makes to commit blunders (due to mental vibrations) that arise out of cosmic universe.

We have astrologically "Ayanaansh" factor as the movement of planets is not uniform and wobble during rotation. This provides for correction factor and is uniform mostly varies by a minute from year to year. This of course, is an issue linked to scientific observation. The importance of Raahu Kaal to this scientific aspect and for day to day purpose, yet statistical purposes is not confirmed yet. Astrologically the concept of Horaa relating to the weekdays in relation to the planet for that particularly day taking hold of the events that follow those who follow Soorya Maan have more importance to Raahu Kaal than those adopted to Chandra Maan.

This is also true that the classical texts have not thrown much light on the subject except that after sunset "Raahu Kaal" is not relevant. Nearest time is before sunset is noticed to be on Tuesdays (3 PM to 4.30 PM). Starting early in the morning at 4.30AM, Raahu is stated to be in East directionally. He is identified (directionally) as in East during Sunday and Thursday, in West on Tuesdays, in North  on Wednesday and Saturday and in South on Monday and Friday.

It is understood to impact mental vibrations based on location/direction, when is supposed to be active during day time. It is prone during the Raahu Kaal time for the human beings to be inconsistent and tendency to commit errors and mistakes that leads to increased worry and anxiety. It is suggested not to undertake important and auspicious work. Night time that is after sunset, is time for rest and be free from anxieties till sunrise. Raahu Kaal is therefore considered as not much relevant.

This method of knowing auspicious time for traveling, is more common in Southern India. Raahu Kaal is the time period of the day when traveling is not auspicious. A Day (from sunrise to sunset) is divided by 8 and the resultant period is called one Kaal. Thus there are 8 Kaal of different durations according to the duration of the daytime. Each day, from Sunday to Saturday, there is a different Kaal which is inauspicious for traveling. Raahu Kaal differs from day to day of the week but fixed times. One can calculate it counting on the knuckles of the hand with his fist kept closed. Raahu Kaal is observed more in the Southern part of India than elsewhere.

How to calculate Raahu Kaal is given below.

(1) How to Calculate the Raahu Kaal
According to Vaidik astrology, certain parts of the day, called Raahu Kaal, are inauspicious periods and one should not undertake any auspicious work during these periods - especially any new undertaking. Raahu Kaal differs from place to place depending on Sun-rise & Sun-set time. The day duration from Sun-rise to Sun-set, at a particular location, is divided into eight equal parts.

There is no Raahu Kaal during the first segment of any weekday.
Monday       - the 2nd segment,
Saturday     - the 3rd segment,
Friday         - the 4th segment
Wednesday  - the 5th segment
Thursday      - the 6th segment
Tuesday       - the 7th segment
Sunday        - the 8th segment

Since the Raahu Kaal is dependent on the Sun-rise and Sun-set times of your particular location, you must calculate it for each day using the method given below.  Three examples with different sunrise and sunset timings:

Raahu Kaal Calculation
Example 1: Example 2: Example 3:
Week day Sunrise 6:00 a.m.
Sunset 6:00 p.m.
1/8 of Day = 90 minutes		 Sunrise 5:58 a.m.
Sunset 8:14 p.m.
1/8 of Day = 107 minutes		 Sunrise 6:36 a.m.
Sunset 6:10 p.m.
1/8 of Day = 87 minutes
Sunday 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 6:27 p.m. to 8:14 p.m. 4:43 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.
Monday 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. 7:45 a.m. to 9:32 a.m. 8:02 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 4:40 to 6:27 p.m. 3:16 p.m. to 4:44 p.m.
Wednesday 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. 1:06 p.m. to 2:53 p.m. 12:23 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
Thursday 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. 2:53 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. 1:49 p.m. to 3:17 p.m.
Friday 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon 11:19 a.m. to 1:06 p.m. 10:56 p.m. to 12:23 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. 9:32 a.m. to 11:19 a.m. 9:29 a.m. to 10:57 a.m

Just remember this phrase
"Mother Saw Father With The Turbaned Son "

M(other) - 7:30 - 9:00  - MONDAY
S(aw) -      9:00 - 10:30 -SATURDAY
F(ather) - 10:30 - 12:00 - FRIDAY
W(ith)   - 12:00 - 1:30   - WEDNESDAY
TH(e)    -   1:30 - 3:00   - THURSDAY
TU(rbaned) - 3:00 - 4:30- TUESDAY
S (on)        -  4:30 – 6:00 SUNDAY

Assuming that the sunrise is at 6:00 am Raahu Kaal starts at 7:30 am on Monday and each segment is of 1hr 30mins.

(2) How to Calculate the Raahu Kaal in South India
 As Raahu Kaal is observed more in Southern India, this is how the Raahu Kaal is observed in Southern India.
In Kerala Paksh different Raahu Kaal is there. They don't use it only in Yaatraa Muhoort and don't care this common Raahu Kaal in any thing. Whereas in Tamil Paksh it has mainly originated from Siddha astrology (Siddha astrology is for timing rituals and Poojaa to alleviate some Dosh in charts or remove the problem the native is suffering now); but later they started using it for everything and the same mistake has spread to everywhere and now-a-days astrologers also use it for everything because people will come running to them and ask why do you avoid Raahu Kaal? Or they will think that the astrologer, who is not really well versed too in some cases, does not know anything and switch to some other astrologer. Thus Raahu Kaal was initially used for some spiritual things but later it entered into Muhoort and now has spread all over India.

Otherwise, Raahu Kaal (in Tamil Paksh) is good in some cases, like who has evil Yog in his chart but it is good for his particular chart, he can benefit in Raahu Kaal, like Gand Yog, such people can do any good venture during Raahu Kaal especially when Raahu is having aspect of Lords such points in their natal chart (may be Yog with such planets, or Drishti of such planets, or Raahu is indicating such points (Raahu Nakshatra). In such cases Raahu Kaal is good for them, while in other cases it is neutral, Raahu Kaal should be calculated on the proportions of day according to Din Maan. Din Maan is the duration of the day time between sunrise and sunset. It is more applicable to Northern side of the world whereas in South India there is no big difference between the duration of day and night, especially in Tamil Naadu, Kerala and Sri Lankaa as there day and night are almost equal being near to Equator.

How to Calculate Raahu Kaal in Kerala?
There are 3 version of calculation of Raahu Kaal in Kerala and this is one of the most famous one which is practiced even today. Ashtamangal has assigned certain numbers to planets and it is used in famous Kerala Ashtamangal Prashn.

Sun ------------ 1
Mars ---------- 2
Mercury ------ 4
Jupiter ------- 3
Venus --------- 5
Saturn -------- 6
Moon ---------- 7
Raahu --------- 8

This is calculated on the basis of day and each Yaam (almost 1.5 hrs according to sunrise and sunset) and there are 8 Yaam in a day
So on Sunday first Kaal is Sun Kaal, then Mars and the 8th will be Raahu Kaal; so it will be from almost 4.30 to 6 PM, as there is 8 Yaam and 12 hrs (30 Ghatee). On Monday, as the number is 7, the next will be of Raahu's Kaal.

There is a website also to calculate Raahu Kaal --   http://rkc.shreeni.info/.
Select the city, and see the Raahu Kaal. Day Light Saving Time (DST) is already applied.

Guru Kaal, Yam Kantak Kaal, Gulikaa Kaal
In the same way, we can calculate Guru Kaal also when we start doing a Vaidik Karm - it is used in Muhoort selection.
Yam Kantak is Jupiter's son and the portion assigned to him will be Yam Kantak Kaal, but here the order will be on week day order, so on Sunday it will be from 12 to 1.30 PM as Jupiter comes 5th in order.
Same is true with Gulikaa Kaal; as Gulikaa is also Known as Shani's son, so the unoccupied portion after 7 Yam Gulikaa will take over in week day order.

 

 
 

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Created and Maintained by Sushma Gupta
Created on 05/18/2008 and Updated on 02/21/2014