Choghadiya

What it is

Choghadiya (also Chogadia or Chaughadiya) is a simple way of finding good and less good times of day. It is popular in Gujarat and much of North and West India. The name is said to mean "four ghadis", since a ghadi was a traditional unit of about 24 minutes, and four of them make about 96 minutes. In practice the slot length depends on the length of the day.

How the slots are counted

The daytime, from sunrise to sunset, is divided into eight equal slots. The night, from sunset to the next sunrise, is divided into eight equal slots. So there are 16 slots in each Hindu day.

Each slot is about 90 minutes on a day with equal day and night. In summer the day slots are longer and the night slots shorter. In winter it is the other way round. The site calculates the exact clock times for your city.

The seven names

Amrit = nectar. Shubh = auspicious. Labh = profit. Char = moving. Rog = illness. Kaal = time or death. Udveg = anxiety.

So three are favourable (Amrit, Shubh, Labh), one is neutral (Char) and three are generally avoided for new beginnings (Rog, Kaal, Udveg). Some texts say Udveg and Rog suit only certain tasks. Opinions differ.

The order of the slots

The seven names repeat in a fixed cycle:

Udveg, Char, Labh, Amrit, Kaal, Shubh, Rog, and then back to Udveg.

With eight slots and seven names, the first name is repeated in the eighth slot.

Where each day starts

The first slot of the day depends on the weekday, and is the one ruled by the weekday's own planet (the Sun on Sunday, the Moon on Monday, and so on).

From there, follow the cycle above. On Sunday, for example, the day goes Udveg, Char, Labh, Amrit, Kaal, Shubh, Rog, Udveg. On Monday the day starts with Amrit and then continues Kaal, Shubh, Rog, Udveg, Char, Labh, Amrit.

The night slots

The night uses the same seven names in the same repeating order, but the first slot of the night is set by a different rule. Sources describe the rule in different ways, and practices vary among almanacs, so the night table is the part to take from a local panchang. The site shows its night slots for your city.

Using Choghadiya

Many people choose the Amrit, Shubh or Labh slot to start a journey, a purchase, a new job or a puja. Char is acceptable for travel. People tend to avoid starting something important in Rog, Kaal or Udveg.

It is only a quick guide, and its use is more popular in some regions than others. Muhurats for marriage, house entry and other major events are normally set by a priest using the tithi, nakshatra and other factors, not by Choghadiya alone. Other timings such as Rahu Kalam can also overlap with a good Choghadiya. In that case many people prefer to avoid the overlap.

Reading it in the USA

Slots are based on the sunrise and sunset of your own city, so they will not match an Indian website. They also move with daylight saving time. If you need to start a ceremony within working hours, look for the nearest Amrit, Shubh or Labh slot.