Rahu Kaal Today (Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda & Gulika Timings)
Today’s Rahu kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika for your town — with a countdown.
Periods of the day
Seven days
About the Rahu Kaal Today (Rahu Kalam, Yamaganda & Gulika Timings)
See today’s Rahu kalam (Rahu kaal), Yamaganda (Yamagandam) and Gulika (Kuligai) kalam for your own town, a seven-day table, and a countdown to the next Rahu kalam. Each period is one eighth of the daytime from the town’s sunrise to its sunset, so the times move with the seasons and from place to place — in Delhi a June Rahu kalam lasts about 1 h 45 min and a December one about 1 h 17 min.
Sunrise and sunset follow the Rashtriya Panchang rule (the Sun’s upper limb on the horizon) and are calculated on your device, so the page works offline once loaded. A clearly labelled fixed 6 am mode gives the simplified times some calendars print (Monday 07:30–09:00 and so on), and the optional night periods add Yamaganda and Gulika between sunset and the next sunrise. The periods are shown as tradition, with no claim about their effect.
How to use it
- Search for your town or enter coordinates. The town is remembered for the other panchang tools.
- Check the readout: the Rahu kalam running now and when it ends, or the next one and how long until it starts. It updates every few seconds while the page is open.
- Choose another date to plan ahead; the week table starts on the date you pick.
- Switch Daytime to Fixed 6 am – 6 pm to see the simplified table, or tick Night periods.
- Use Copy or Share for the day, or Copy week, CSV and Print week for the table.
Examples
Daytime: Fixed 6 am – 6 pm
Rahu kalam — Mon 07:30–09:00 · Tue 15:00–16:30 · Wed 12:00–13:30 · Thu 13:30–15:00 · Fri 10:30–12:00 · Sat 09:00–10:30 · Sun 16:30–18:00
Sunrise 05:16, sunset 18:37 (daytime 13 h 21 min, eighths of 1 h 40 min)
Rahu kalam 10:17–11:57 (4th eighth) · Yamaganda 15:17–16:57 · Gulika 06:56–08:37
How Rahu kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika are calculated
The daytime — from sunrise to sunset — is divided into eight equal parts. Each weekday has its own part for each period:
- Rahu kalam: Sunday 8th, Monday 2nd, Tuesday 7th, Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th, Friday 4th, Saturday 3rd.
- Yamaganda: Sunday 5th, Monday 4th, Tuesday 3rd, Wednesday 2nd, Thursday 1st, Friday 7th, Saturday 6th.
- Gulika kalam: Sunday 7th, Monday 6th, Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 4th, Thursday 3rd, Friday 2nd, Saturday 1st.
Yamaganda and Gulika are the parts of Jupiter and of Saturn when the eight parts are given in turn to the weekday lords (Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn), starting with the lord of the day; the eighth part has no lord. With a 6 am sunrise and a 6 pm sunset every part lasts 1 h 30 min, which gives the familiar fixed tables. Sunrise and sunset here are the moments the Sun’s upper limb meets the horizon, with 31′ of refraction and a 16′ semi-diameter, as the Rashtriya Panchang defines them.
Night periods
The night from sunset to the next sunrise is also divided into eight parts. By the same rule the night’s parts start with the lord of the fifth weekday counted from the day — Sunday night starts with Jupiter — which gives the night Yamaganda (Jupiter’s part) and Gulika (Saturn’s part). Rahu kalam is given for the daytime only.
Sources
- India Meteorological Department, Positional Astronomy Centre: Rashtriya Panchang: Explanation, for the sunrise and sunset rule; the tests compare the sunrise and sunset times with the Rashtriya Panchang’s values for its central station.
- D. Cross, astronomy-engine (MIT licence): the positions of the Sun and the Moon and the searches for sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset.
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): town names, coordinates and time zones of the place search; the IANA time zone database in your browser for daylight saving time.
Limitations
- The fixed 6 am table ignores the real sunrise, so it can be more than an hour off in summer or winter, in the far east or west of a time zone, and abroad. Use it only to compare with a printed table.
- Sunrise and sunset are for a level horizon at sea level; hills and tall buildings change them by a few minutes.
- Where the Sun does not rise or set on a date (near the poles), the periods cannot be divided and are left out.
- Some traditions divide the day differently or use other rules; follow your family or temple where they differ.
Privacy
Everything is calculated in your browser, and the page never asks for your device’s position. A town or coordinates you choose are remembered in this browser for the panchang tools; Reset forgets them. A link you share holds the date and the town or coordinates you chose.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my Rahu kalam different from the one in the newspaper?
Many printed tables assume a 6 am sunrise and a 6 pm sunset everywhere. The real daytime is longer in summer and shorter in winter, and sunrise in Kolkata is much earlier on the clock than in Mumbai, so the real eighths move. Switch to Fixed 6 am – 6 pm to see the printed version.
How long is Rahu kalam?
One eighth of the daytime: 1 h 30 min for a 12-hour day, more in summer and less in winter. In Delhi it is about 1 h 45 min in mid-June and about 1 h 17 min in mid-December.
Is Rahu kalam the same everywhere in India at the same time?
No. It depends on the local sunrise and sunset, so Kolkata’s Rahu kalam starts well before Mumbai’s on the same weekday, and Srinagar’s summer daytime is longer than Chennai’s. Choose your own town.
What are Yamaganda and Gulika?
Two more periods of one eighth of the daytime each, kept by the same tradition: Yamaganda (Yamagandam) is Jupiter’s part of the day and Gulika (Kuligai) Saturn’s part, counted from the lord of the weekday.
Can I use it outside India?
Yes. Times are in the town’s own time zone with daylight saving, and the periods come from that town’s sunrise and sunset — useful for families in the UK, the US, Canada, the Gulf or Australia.