The Mathematical Cycle of Choghadiya: Rules for Determining Auspicious and Inauspicious Moments

🌐 Read this in: हिन्दी · বাংলা

"Even the smallest portion of time is bound to the rhythm of the planets and stars in the heavens. The rules for dividing time in ancient Indian astronomy are the mathematical reflection of that very rhythm."

An extremely popular part of the Indian system of time-reckoning, the Panchang, is "Choghadiya". In North India, Western India (especially Gujarat and Rajasthan) and the Hindi belt, this method is the most widely used for seeing the daily auspicious and inauspicious moments — many people consult Choghadiya before opening a new shop, beginning a journey or making purchases. Just as the Bengali Panjika divides the day-span into fifteen parts to derive "muhurta" and from that Amrit Yog and Mahendra Yog, the mathematical cycle of Choghadiya is entirely different. Today we shall open up that cycle.

The name "Choghadiya" means "four ghari" — one ghari or ghati is 24 minutes, so four ghari is 96 minutes. The name indicates a rough measure, but the actual division is one-eighth of the day-span. When day and night are equal (12 hours each), one Choghadiya is exactly 90 minutes, that is, three and three-quarter ghari. In summer the daytime Choghadiya is longer than this, in winter shorter.

What Choghadiya Is and Its Astronomical Basis

Choghadiya is a method of dividing the entire day-and-night (aho-ratra) into specific parts, based on sunrise and sunset. Day and night here are two independent time-spans.

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Division of the day-span: The time from sunrise to sunset is the "day-span". This day-span is divided into 8 equal parts; each part is one Choghadiya of the day.

Division of the night-span: From sunset to the following sunrise is the "night-span"; this too is divided into 8 equal parts. Thus a Choghadiya is not a fixed clock-slot — each day, in each city, its length differs according to sunrise and sunset.

📖 Important part: Choghadiya always depends on the local sunrise and sunset. And the practice of taking sunrise is of two kinds — the Sun's upper limb or its central disc; therefore the start of Choghadiya in two Panchangs may differ by two or three minutes. In MyAstrology's Hindi Panchang, both conventions can be chosen.

The Seven Types of Choghadiya and Their Ruling Planets

Though the day-span and the night-span are each divided into 8 parts, Choghadiya is of 7 types, and each has a ruling planet:

Auspicious Choghadiya: 1. Amrit — ruled by the Moon; suitable for all work. 2. Shubh — ruled by Jupiter; held best for marriage, house-entry and religious work. 3. Labh — ruled by Mercury; held fruitful for business, financial work and beginning of learning.

Middling Choghadiya: 4. Char (moving) — ruled by Venus; middling result, held especially good for travel.

Inauspicious Choghadiya: 5. Udveg — ruled by the Sun. 6. Rog — ruled by Mars. 7. Kaal — ruled by Saturn. The practice is not to begin new auspicious work in these three.

The Mathematical Cycle of Choghadiya: The Hora Sequence of Planets

The order of Choghadiya follows the hora sequence of the planets — Sun → Venus → Mercury → Moon → Saturn → Jupiter → Mars, then Sun again. That is, the Choghadiya sequence is: Udveg → Char → Labh → Amrit → Kaal → Shubh → Rog → Udveg …

The first Choghadiya of the day belongs to the ruler of that weekday: on Sunday Udveg (Sun), on Monday Amrit (Moon), on Tuesday Rog (Mars), on Wednesday Labh (Mercury), on Thursday Shubh (Jupiter), on Friday Char (Venus), on Saturday Kaal (Saturn).

"Types are 7, but parts are 8 — so after passing through 7 Choghadiyas, the cycle turns and in the 8th part the first one returns."

A Complete Sunday Example — Day and Night Choghadiya

Sunday — Day: 1st Udveg · 2nd Char · 3rd Labh · 4th Amrit · 5th Kaal · 6th Shubh · 7th Rog · 8th Udveg again.

The night cycle moves a little differently: the first Choghadiya of the night is the sixth in hora-order from the first of the day (five places along), and thereafter each Choghadiya retreats by two places. Sunday — Night: 1st Shubh · 2nd Amrit · 3rd Char · 4th Rog · 5th Kaal · 6th Labh · 7th Udveg · 8th Shubh again. Here too the first returns in the 8th part.

A measured example — Sunday, 11 October 2026, Delhi (sunrise by upper limb at 6:20 AM): the day's Amrit Choghadiya is from 10:41 AM to 12:08 PM, and the night's first Shubh Choghadiya is from 5:56 PM to 7:29 PM.

Accurate Application of Choghadiya in Modern Panchangs

In ancient times there were no clocks; then these divisions were calculated by measuring the Sun and its shadow. Today, for an accurate Choghadiya one needs the correct sunrise and sunset for the given day, taken from the latitude and longitude of the specific city, then eight equal divisions of the day-span and the night-span. MyAstrology's Panchang shows the day and night Choghadiya in exactly this way, for the city chosen by the reader.

"The cycle of Choghadiya shows that every part of our time-reckoning is bound in a well-ordered mathematical rhythm."

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Question 1: In Choghadiya calculation, into how many parts are day and night divided?

Answer: The day-span (sunrise to sunset) into 8 equal parts, and the night-span (sunset to the following sunrise) into 8 equal parts. Each part is one Choghadiya.

Question 2: Though there are 7 types of Choghadiya, why 8 parts?

Answer: Parts are 8, types are 7 — so in the hora sequence, after passing through 7 the cycle turns and in the 8th part the first Choghadiya returns. This happens in both the day and the night.

Question 3: Does the length of a Choghadiya stay the same all year round?

Answer: No. Since Choghadiya is obtained by dividing the day-span or night-span by 8, when day and night are equal it is 90 minutes; longer on a summer day and shorter on a winter day.