Muhurtas

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Dear Radhe Govinda Prabhu.

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

Calculation of muhurtas is not to be taken over simplistic, what to speak of

playing with GOOD and BAD muhurtas. Oversimplify Jyotish, and you are

reducing it to the level of western popular astrology.

 

Regarding calculation of Muhurta, traditional method is to divide length of

day and night separately on 15 parts. Such muhurta is called proportional

muhurta. Modern methods use average length of day and night, taking them

both to be 12 hours, which may or may not be correct.

 

Here is part of 1989 paper from GBC Vaishnava Calendar Committee:

=======================

THE LENGTH OF A MUHURTA

 

There are different opinions on how long a muhurta is. Some say it is 48

minutes long, and some say that there are night muhurtas and day muhurtas,

and that their lengths are proportional to the length of the day and night

respectively. A night muhurta is a 15th of the night time. The day time is

from sunrise to sunset, and night time is from sunset to next sunrise. If

night and day are equal in length they will both be 12 hours long. Thus a

night muhurta and a day muhurta will both be 48 minutes long. But if the day

is 10 hours long and the night is 14 hours long then the day muhurta will be

40 minutes and the night muhurta will be 56 minutes. Those who use this

proportional system and thus differentiate between night muhurtas and day

muhuratas take the length of brahma muhurta to be 2 night muhurtas. Thus the

brahma muhurta may vary in length depending on the time of the year and the

latitude of the place.

 

The original definition of a muhurta seems to be a 15th of the day or night.

In the report from the Calendar Reform Committee, appointed in 1952 by the

Indian Government, it is stated that in the old system the muhurta was

defined in the proportionate way as the 15th of the day and a 15th of the

night, whereas more modern systems use the fixed length of 48 minutes.

=================

 

and more

 

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The length of a muhurta

 

The question of having a fixed length of 48 minutes, or the proportionate

length of a 15th of the daytime and a 15th of the night time as the duration

of a muhurta, is discussed in part 5.

 

The original concept seems to be the proportionate muhurta, whereas more

modern systems use the fixed length of 48 minutes.

 

Although the persons that I interviewed spoke in favor of both systems, I

personally, and I think Syamasundara das also, think that the proportional

muhurta should used.

==============

 

Eventually ISKCON GBC accepted proportional muhurta as standard in 1990 or

so. VCAL software for ISKCON vaisnava calendar is using proportional method

for calculating muhurta since 15 years. All ekadasis are calculated like

this.

 

It seems wrong to promote fixed muhurta in ISKCON. Although I know that it

is fun playing a bit of astrology here and there.

 

You decide for yourself. Still I suggest, that you leave it up to expert

astrologer. If you can find one Anyway, I do not recommend DIY Jyotish.

It hurts.

 

your servant Giri-nayaka das

 

>

> Names of the Different Muhurtas in the day

> (by Jaya Tirtha Charan Dasa)

>

>

> Muhurta is a Vedic time unit equal to either 1/15 of day/night, 1

> hour or 48 min (for calculations). It is also general term for auspicious

> time as well as branch of astrology defining it. Brahma muhurta = 2

> muhurtas = 96 min.

>

> MUHURTAS

>

> 1 06:00 - 06:48 RUDRA (BAD)

> 2 06:48 - 07:36 AHI (BAD)

> 3 07:36 - 08:24 MITRA (GOOD)

> 4 08:24 - 09:12 PITRU (BAD)

> 5 09:12 - 10:00 VASU (GOOD)

> 6 10:00 - 10:48 VARA (GOOD)

> 7 10:48 - 11:36 VISVADEVA (GOOD)

> 8 11:36 - 12:24 VIDHI (GOOD) (except Monday and Friday)

> 9 12:24 - 13:12 SATAMUKHI (GOOD)

> 10 13:12 - 14:00 PURUHUTA (BAD)

> 11 14:00 - 14:48 VAHINI (BAD)

> 12 14:48 - 15:36 NAKTANCARA (BAD)

> 13 15:36 - 16:24 VARUNA (GOOD)

> 14 16:24 - 17:12 ARYAMA (GOOD) (except Sunday)

> 15 17:12 - 18:00 BHAGA (BAD)

> 16 18:00 - 18:48 GIRISHA (BAD)

> 17 18:48 - 19:36 AJAPAD (BAD)

> 18 19:36 - 20:24 AHIRBUDHNYA (GOOD)

> 19 20:24 - 21:12 PUSA (GOOD)

> 20 21:12 - 22:00 ASVINI (GOOD)

> 21 22:00 - 22:48 YAMA (BAD)

> 22 22:48 - 23:36 AGNI (BAD)

> 23 23:36 - 24:24 VIDHATR (GOOD)

> 24 24:24 - 01:12 CANDA (GOOD)

> 25 01:12 - 02:00 ADITI (GOOD)

> 26 02:00 - 02:48 JIVA (GOOD)

> 27 02:48 - 03:36 VISNU (GOOD)

> 28 03:36 - 04:24 YUMIGADYUTI (GOOD)

> 29 04:24 - 05:12 BRAHMA (VERY GOOD)

> 30 05:12 - 06:00 SAMUDRAM (GOOD)

>

>

> Again all Muhurtas are taken at 06:00 AM sunrise. Adjust accordingly.