Published May 2026 · Updated Monday, 24 August 2026
Nishita Muhurta Today
Tonight’s midnight puja window — 100 Indian cities
Nishita Muhurta is the 8th of 15 equal night muhurtas — the exact midnight window, the sacred hour when Lord Shiva manifested as the Jyotirlinga on Shivaratri night (Shiva Purana). Select your city below to see tonight’s precise Nishita timing, calculated from your local sunset and tomorrow’s sunrise.
Major Cities
More Cities
Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
Kanpur
Uttar Pradesh
Nagpur
Maharashtra
Indore
Madhya Pradesh
Thane
Maharashtra
Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh
Visakhapatnam
Andhra Pradesh
Pimpri-Chinchwad
Maharashtra
Patna
Bihar
Vadodara
Gujarat
Ghaziabad
Uttar Pradesh
Ludhiana
Punjab
Agra
Uttar Pradesh
Nashik
Maharashtra
Faridabad
Haryana
Meerut
Uttar Pradesh
Rajkot
Gujarat
Kalyan-Dombivli
Maharashtra
Vasai-Virar
Maharashtra
Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh
Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir
Aurangabad
Maharashtra
Dhanbad
Jharkhand
Amritsar
Punjab
Navi Mumbai
Maharashtra
Prayagraj
Uttar Pradesh
Ranchi
Jharkhand
Howrah
West Bengal
Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu
Jabalpur
Madhya Pradesh
Gwalior
Madhya Pradesh
Vijayawada
Andhra Pradesh
Jodhpur
Rajasthan
Madurai
Tamil Nadu
Raipur
Chhattisgarh
Kota
Rajasthan
Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Guwahati
Assam
Solapur
Maharashtra
Hubli-Dharwad
Karnataka
Bareilly
Uttar Pradesh
Moradabad
Uttar Pradesh
Mysore
Karnataka
Gurgaon
Haryana
Aligarh
Uttar Pradesh
Jalandhar
Punjab
Tiruchirappalli
Tamil Nadu
Bhubaneswar
Odisha
Salem
Tamil Nadu
Mira-Bhayandar
Maharashtra
Warangal
Telangana
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
Guntur
Andhra Pradesh
Bhiwandi
Maharashtra
Saharanpur
Uttar Pradesh
Gorakhpur
Uttar Pradesh
Bikaner
Rajasthan
Amravati
Maharashtra
Noida
Uttar Pradesh
Jamshedpur
Jharkhand
Bhilai
Chhattisgarh
Cuttack
Odisha
Firozabad
Uttar Pradesh
Kochi
Kerala
Nellore
Andhra Pradesh
Bhavnagar
Gujarat
Dehradun
Uttarakhand
Durgapur
West Bengal
Asansol
West Bengal
Rourkela
Odisha
Nanded
Maharashtra
Kolhapur
Maharashtra
Ajmer
Rajasthan
Akola
Maharashtra
Gulbarga
Karnataka
Jamnagar
Gujarat
Ujjain
Madhya Pradesh
Loni
Uttar Pradesh
Siliguri
West Bengal
Jhansi
Uttar Pradesh
Ulhasnagar
Maharashtra
Jammu
Jammu and Kashmir
Sangli
Maharashtra
Mangalore
Karnataka
Erode
Tamil Nadu
Belgaum
Karnataka
Ambattur
Tamil Nadu
Tirunelveli
Tamil Nadu
Malegaon
Maharashtra
Gaya
Bihar
AstroSight Personalised Report
Is Midnight Your Power Hour? Your Janam Patri Knows.
Nishita Kaal is supremely powerful — but how it affects you depends entirely on your birth chart. Your Janam Patri reveals which planetary yogas activate at midnight, your personal deity connection by lagna, and the exact mantra that will resonate with your chart’s midnight energy.
Get My Janam Patri ReadingWhat is Nishita Muhurta?
Nishita (निशित) means “night” or “midnight hour” in Sanskrit. Nishita Muhurta is the 8th of 15 equal muhurtas that divide the night — from tonight’s sunset to tomorrow’s sunrise — making it the exact midnight centre of the nocturnal cycle. It is the night’s direct counterpart to Abhijit Muhurta (the 8th of 15 daytime muhurtas, which falls at solar noon).
Each of the 15 night muhurtas spans approximately 46–52 minutes, depending on the night’s length (longer in winter, shorter in summer). In Indian cities, Nishita Kaal typically falls between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM, shifting slightly by longitude — Kolkata’s window begins about an hour before Mumbai’s on any given night.
The Shiva Purana establishes Nishita Kaal as the most sacred time on Shivaratri night — the moment Shiva manifested as the infinite Jyotirlinga column. The Devi Bhagavata Purana prescribes it for Kali Puja. Kashmir Shaivism’s Tantrasara (Abhinavagupta) identifies it as the peak hour for tantric sadhana. All three traditions are in agreement: Nishita Kaal is the hour of midnight transcendence.
Is Nishita Kaal Good or Bad?
Nishita Kaal is neither universally good nor universally bad — it is powerful for its specific purpose. The Muhurta Chintamani classifies it as "tamas-dominant but transcendence-conducive": the energy of dissolution and depth, not creation. For Shiva worship, Kali puja, tantric sadhana, and deep meditation, it is the most auspicious hour of the 24-hour cycle. For starting worldly activities — a business, a journey, a medical treatment, a marriage — it is clearly inauspicious, as tamas energy suppresses the creative and social forces those activities require.
Auspicious for:
- ✓Shiva Puja (Rudrabhishek)
- ✓Kali Puja (Diwali Night)
- ✓Tantric Sadhana
- ✓Deep Meditation & Yoga Nidra
- ✓Durgashtami Midnight Puja
- ✓Mantra Japa for Siddhi
Inauspicious for:
- ⚠Starting a new business or venture
- ⚠Marriage or engagement ceremonies
- ⚠Grihapravesh or property purchase
- ⚠Medical treatments or surgeries
- ⚠Departing for important journeys
Scriptural Authority
Shiva Purana— Sage Veda Vyasa (compiler)
“Nishite paramam shivam jyotirlingam pradrishyate”
The Shiva Purana narrates that Lord Shiva manifested as an infinite column of light — the Jyotirlinga — precisely at Nishita Kaal on the night of Shivaratri. This is the canonical basis for Nishita Kaal being the most sacred window of the Shivaratri observance.
Linga Purana— Sage Veda Vyasa (compiler)
Documents that the four prahar (watches) of the Shivaratri night each carry distinct spiritual potency, with Nishita Kaal — the third prahar's peak — representing the highest concentration of Shiva tattva. The text prescribes Rudrabhishek with Panchamrit specifically during this window.
Devi Bhagavata Purana— Sage Veda Vyasa (compiler)
Establishes Nishita Kaal as the sacred window for Kali and Devi worship during Diwali night (Kali Puja) and Durgashtami. The text states that the Goddess is most receptive to midnight invocation — "Nishite devi prasanna bhavati" — at midnight the Goddess becomes pleased.
Common Myths Clarified
Myth: Nishita Kaal is always inauspicious — you should sleep through it
This conflates "tamas-dominant" with "universally inauspicious." Tamas is the energy of dissolution and depth, not destruction. It is perfectly suited to midnight worship practices. The Shiva Purana and Devi Bhagavata Purana both explicitly prescribe waking and worshipping during Nishita Kaal. The correct guidance: sleep through it for ordinary nights; wake for it on festival nights (Shivaratri, Kali Puja, Navratri Ashtami).
Myth: Nishita Muhurta is the same as Brahma Muhurta
They are distinct and non-overlapping. Nishita is the 8th of 15 night muhurtas — the exact midnight window (~11:30 PM–12:30 AM). Brahma Muhurta is the 14th and 15th — the final pre-dawn period (~4:00–5:30 AM). They serve completely different purposes: Nishita for Shiva/Kali midnight worship; Brahma Muhurta for morning spiritual discipline and waking.
Myth: Nishita Kaal timing is the same every night
False. Nishita Kaal is calculated from the local sunset and next sunrise for each city. As sunset and sunrise shift seasonally (earlier in winter, later in summer), Nishita Kaal shifts accordingly — it can vary by 30–60 minutes across seasons. In Kolkata, it also arrives ~1 hour earlier than in Mumbai on any given night due to the east-west longitude difference.
Related Auspicious Timings
Dr. Meenakshi Sharma
PhD in Vedic Astrology • 20+ Years Experience
Distinguished Vedic astrologer specializing in natal chart analysis, predictive astrology, and Vedic remedial measures. Trusted by thousands for accurate Nishita Muhurta interpretations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Nishita Muhurta?
Nishita Muhurta is the 8th of 15 equal night muhurtas — the exact midnight window, calculated by dividing the night (sunset to next sunrise) into 15 equal parts and taking the 8th (central) slot. It is the most sacred time for Shiva puja, Kali puja, and tantric sadhana according to the Shiva Purana and Devi Bhagavata Purana.
Is Nishita Kaal good or bad?
Nishita Kaal is highly auspicious for midnight deity worship (especially Shiva and Kali) and tantric practice, but inauspicious for starting worldly activities like business, marriage, or travel. It is tamas-dominant — powerful for dissolution and transcendence, not for worldly creation.
What is nishita puja muhurat?
Nishita puja muhurat is the midnight window used for Maha Shivaratri’s most sacred Rudrabhishek puja, Kali Puja on Diwali night, and Durgashtami during Navratri. The exact timing varies by city and night — select your city above for precise local timings.
What is the reference in Bruhat Parashara Hora Shastra?
Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra (Parashara) establishes the framework of dividing day and night into 15 equal muhurtas each. The night cycle’s 8th muhurta — Nishita — falls at the exact midnight midpoint, which Parashara identifies as the peak of tamas guna, making it uniquely suited for propitiation of Shiva and dissolution-energy deities.
Published May 2026 · Reviewed by Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, PhD in Vedic Astrology. Last updated: Monday, 24 August 2026. Calculations follow the classical Vedic formula: Nishita Muhurta is the 8th of 15 equal night muhurtas (sunset to next sunrise), as documented in the Muhurta Chintamani and Shiva Purana.