Rahu Kaal Today — Find Your City's Timing
Monday, Monday, 4 May 2026
100 Indian cities · calculated from local sunrise · daily refresh
Top 10 Cities (Tier 1)
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Tier 2 — population rank 11–50
- Lucknow
- Kanpur
- Nagpur
- Indore
- Thane
- Bhopal
- Visakhapatnam
- Pimpri-Chinchwad
- Patna
- Vadodara
- Ghaziabad
- Ludhiana
- Agra
- Nashik
- Faridabad
- Meerut
- Rajkot
- Kalyan-Dombivli
- Vasai-Virar
- Varanasi
- Srinagar
- Aurangabad
- Dhanbad
- Amritsar
- Navi Mumbai
- Prayagraj
- Ranchi
- Howrah
- Coimbatore
- Jabalpur
- Gwalior
- Vijayawada
- Jodhpur
- Madurai
- Raipur
- Kota
- Chandigarh
- Guwahati
- Solapur
- Hubli-Dharwad
Tier 3 — population rank 51–100
- Bareilly
- Moradabad
- Mysore
- Gurgaon
- Aligarh
- Jalandhar
- Tiruchirappalli
- Bhubaneswar
- Salem
- Mira-Bhayandar
- Warangal
- Thiruvananthapuram
- Guntur
- Bhiwandi
- Saharanpur
- Gorakhpur
- Bikaner
- Amravati
- Noida
- Jamshedpur
- Bhilai
- Cuttack
- Firozabad
- Kochi
- Nellore
- Bhavnagar
- Dehradun
- Durgapur
- Asansol
- Rourkela
- Nanded
- Kolhapur
- Ajmer
- Akola
- Gulbarga
- Jamnagar
- Ujjain
- Loni
- Siliguri
- Jhansi
- Ulhasnagar
- Jammu
- Sangli
- Mangalore
- Erode
- Belgaum
- Ambattur
- Tirunelveli
- Malegaon
- Gaya
What is Rahu Kaal?
Rahu Kaal (also spelled Rahu Kalam) is a daily ~1.5-hour window considered inauspicious for starting new activities in Vedic tradition. It is one of the eight equal segments between sunrise and sunset, with the day-of-week determining which slot it occupies. Because each city has its own sunrise time, each city has its own Rahu Kaal window — sometimes differing by 30+ minutes across India east-to-west.
The traditional rule is documented in the Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra and codified for muhurta selection in the Muhurta Chintamani. During Rahu Kaal, classical guidance is to avoid starting weddings, signing major contracts, big purchases, or important journeys. Ongoing work, daily routines, mantra chanting, and devotional practice are unaffected.
Rahu Kaal by Weekday
What to Avoid & What is Permitted
Activities to avoid
- ⚠Weddings, engagement ceremonies, and griha pravesh
- ⚠Signing major contracts, joining a new job, or business launches
- ⚠Large purchases — gold, vehicles, property, electronics
- ⚠Starting a new course of study or first day of school
- ⚠Beginning long-distance travel for important purposes
- ⚠Filing key applications (visa, loan, examination) for the first time
- ⚠Investing fresh capital in stocks, mutual funds, or new ventures
- ⚠Buying a new wallet, opening a bank account, or initiating financial relationships
Permitted & encouraged
- ✓Continuing ongoing work — Rahu Kaal does not pause work already in progress
- ✓Daily routines — eating, sleeping, bathing, household chores
- ✓Mantra chanting and devotional practice (especially Durga, Bhairav, and Rahu mantras)
- ✓Light reading, study revision, and memorisation of existing material
- ✓Routine medical care and health check-ups
- ✓Returning home from travel (the rule applies to starting new things, not finishing them)
- ✓Emergency action — life and safety always override muhurat considerations
Rahu Kaal vs Yamagandam vs Gulika Kalam
Three time-bands feature in classical muhurta selection. Rahu Kaal is the most universally observed — Yamagandam is consulted especially for travel, and Gulika Kalam is used in selecting auspicious times for important rites.
| Window | Ruler |
|---|---|
| Rahu Kaal | Rahu (north lunar node) |
| Yamagandam | Yama (lord of dharma and death) |
| Gulika Kalam | Gulika (sub-shadow of Saturn) |
Common Myths & Clarifications
Myth: Rahu Kaal will ruin a good day or override an auspicious muhurat.
Rahu Kaal is a "do not initiate" window, not a "doom" window. A pre-existing favourable muhurat retains its strength; one only avoids starting new work during the Rahu Kaal hour and a half.
Myth: You cannot travel at all during Rahu Kaal.
A long journey already underway continues normally. Only the act of beginning a new important journey is traditionally avoided. Daily commutes are unaffected.
Myth: Rahu Kaal is the same time every day.
Rahu Kaal shifts with the day of the week and with the local sunrise/sunset. The exact window in your city may differ by 5–15 minutes from a neighbouring city, and by an hour or more across India east-to-west.
Myth: Online activities — clicking "buy now" or signing forms digitally — escape Rahu Kaal.
Traditional muhurta scholars treat the moment of intent and commitment as the muhurta-defining act, regardless of medium. The convention applies to digital transactions too.
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 Rahu Kaal interpretations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Rahu Kaal?
Rahu Kaal is a ~1.5-hour daily window considered inauspicious for starting new activities in Vedic tradition. It is one of the eight equal segments between sunrise and sunset, with the day-of-week determining which slot is occupied. The exact start and end times vary by city — they shift with local sunrise.
Why does Rahu Kaal differ between cities?
Sunrise and sunset shift with longitude and latitude. Two cities at different longitudes will have different Rahu Kaal start times — sometimes by 30 minutes or more across India east-to-west. Each city page on this site computes Rahu Kaal from that city's precise coordinates.
How do I find Rahu Kaal for my city?
Click on your city in the list below, or search via the city grid. We cover 100 Indian cities with daily-refreshed Rahu Kaal timings calculated from each city's sunrise and sunset.
Is Rahu Kaal observed on weekends?
Yes. Rahu Kaal occurs every day of the week, but the specific 1-of-8 daylight slot it occupies changes with the weekday. See the weekday table below for the full schedule.
Reviewed by Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, PhD in Vedic Astrology. Last updated: Monday, 4 May 2026. Calculations follow the standard Vedic eight-fold daylight division as documented in the Brihat Parasara Hora Shastra and Muhurta Chintamani.