Many Hindus believe that establishing correct patterns of thought and behav-
ior leads to actions (karmas) that will improve life. These patterns (samskaras) are
established from birth onward by means of rituals that refine the human being on
individual and social levels of life including physical, psychological, intellectual, and
spiritual levels. There are usually 16 samskaras, including naming ceremonies, the first
feeding of a child, commencement of education, marriage, cremation, and similar rites
of passage in human maturation. Because each of these samskaras requires a proper
muhurta or commencement time, muhurta is an essential part of the process of evolv-
ing towards the state of optimal human maturity known as mokshaor liberation,
whereby the soul completes the wheel of karma. In much of Indian thought, such an
enlightened state is the ultimate goal of right action arising from the influence of the
samskaras. This function of muhurta is very different from the typical contemporary
situation of a client asking the astrologer for a good time to go on a vacation or start a
business. Nevertheless, these latter concerns are the subject of most of the muhurtas
that the modern jyotishi (practitioner of Vedic astrology) will encounter, whether in
the West or in India.
The essential data for establishing a proper muhurta is found in a panchanga, a
yearly sidereal almanac used by priests in ancient times as the central guide for arriv-
ing at the timing of personal and community rites. To this day, the panchanga is still
the primary resource for determining religious festival days in India. Contemporary
astrologers use it to arrive at the best available time to start any action within specific
parameters. Panchangameans “five limbs” and is so named because it sets forth tables
for five measurements of time vital for selecting a good muhurta. Panchangas are
available worldwide, mostly in Indian communities, and in most Vedic astrology soft-
ware packages.
The panchanga is organized through the mechanism of soli-lunar cycles. Its
five limbs are the seven varanas (day of the week), 27 nakshatras (the Moon’s daily
position in a lunar constellation), 30 tithis (one of the 30 phases or lunar days in a
lunar month), 60 karanas (half of a tithi) and 27 soli-lunar yogas (generated by the
relative positions of the Sun and Moon with respect to each other). Although all
these contribute to setting a muhurta within the context of a large number of addi-
tional ornate rules, primacy is given to the day of the week (varana), lunar day (tithi)
and the star group that the Moon is in at the time under consideration (nakshatra). If
all the many rules to construct a good muhurta for a particular event are followed, the
recommendation might be for a time 200 years in the future due to the infrequent
occurrence of all ideal primary astrological patterns. Consequently, secondary consid-
erations are used along with the primary considerations from a panchanga, thereby
rendering the process practical.
The varana (day of the week) is the first consideration. Each weekday takes its
name from one of the seven main planets including the Sun and Moon. The charac-
teristics of the planet indicate what activities are most appropriate under the influ-
ence of its day. In this context, dating might be better on a Friday night (Venus) than
on Saturday night (Saturn). Embedded in the varana are the twenty four hours of the
day (horas). The first hora or hour of each day is ruled by that day’s planetary ruler. In
Indian astrology, the day starts at sunrise and therefore, for example, the first hourMuharta
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