Rahu Kalam on 20 August 2026 in Thiruvananthapuram

What Is Rahu Kalam?

Rahu Kalam (also written Rahukalam or Rahu Kaal) is a window of roughly 90 minutes every day that's considered inauspicious for starting anything new.

Rahu is one of the two shadow planets in Vedic astrology. It has no body of its own, and it's blamed for eclipses in the old stories. So the slot of the day ruled by Rahu is kept free of fresh beginnings.

In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, people check it almost daily. Before signing a deal. Before a marriage talk. Before leaving on a journey.

How We Calculate It

We take the actual sunrise and sunset for your district, split the daylight into eight equal parts, and give Rahu its fixed part for that weekday.

That's why the times on this page change a little every day. A fixed "7:30 to 9:00" chart only works when sunrise is exactly 6:00 AM, which rarely happens in Kerala.

Yamagandam and Gulika Kalam are worked out the same way, just with different parts of the day.

Rahu Kalam by Weekday

Reference timings for a 6:00 AM sunrise and 6:00 PM sunset. Use the live times above for your district.

An easy way to remember the order is the old saying "Mother Saw Father Wearing The Turban on Sunday": Monday, Saturday, Friday, Wednesday, Thursday, Tuesday, Sunday. That's the order Rahu Kalam moves through the day, from morning to evening.

What to Avoid, and What's Fine

The rule is about beginnings, not about the whole day stopping.

• Usually avoided: starting a job or business, marriage and engagement talks, house warming, buying a vehicle, signing agreements, starting a long trip.
• Usually fine: work that's already going on, daily routines, medical emergencies, and prayer.

Many temples in South India actually hold Rahu Kala pooja in this window, especially at Durga and Bhadrakali shrines on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Yamagandam and Gulika Kalam

Yamagandam is ruled by Yama. Families avoid it for auspicious work in the same way as Rahu Kalam.

Gulika Kalam belongs to Gulika (Mandi), Saturn's son. Whatever starts in it is believed to repeat. So it's avoided for funerals or taking loans, but some people prefer it for buying land or gold.

Want a proper good time instead? Check Subha Muhurtham in the Panchangam or match your stars on our Jathaka Porutham page.