Muhurtha

|| Om Gurave Namah ||
|| Om Gam Ganapataye Namah ||

Dear Friends,

  In one of the lectures of Pt. Sanjay Rath, He had mentioned about the muhurtha and nakshatra assignments. The nakshatra assignments are seemingly different from Varahamihira and Ramacharya. There seems to be some inconsistency in interpretations. Here is my attempt to understand them better.

Definition: Muhurthas are time units created by moon and tides. There are two tides daily. The tides are created by the moon. The moon rising lags behind everyday by about 48 minutes from it's previous day. Since there are two tides daily each tide lags behind the other by half the period, which is 24 minutes. Thus the zodiac is cut in 24 minutes(Ghatika/naligai) and 48 minutes (muhurtha) segments by each rising of tide and moon respectively. 60 ghatikas/naligai or 30 Muhurtha's make a complete zodiac. Each muhurtha is given a name and ruler.

Usage of Muhurtha: Each muhurtha is given a deity corresponding to the nakshatra deity. It's said that whatever is prescribed to done on a nakshatra can be done in the muhurtha occuring on the day. Just like whatever is prescribed for a vaara (weekday) can be done the hora occuring on the day. So this gives a opportunity within the same day rather than wait for another cycle of moon around zodiac.

Calculations:  The complete calculation of muhurtha is fixed around Abhijit nakshatra. The mid-day is called called Abhijit Muhurtha. So one muhurtha(48 minutes) is assigned to Abhijit Nakshatra. [Please refer the table below] Since Tide and moon risings are lagging phenomena, The nakshatra's are assigned in reverse direction from noon onwards from Abhijit nakshatra.

The Just before Sunrise and SunSet one muhurtha is given for Brahma the creator (Lagna) and Shiva the emancipator. These are called as Brahma Muhurta and Pradosha respectively.

Explanation: Lets assume we wakeup in the morning, The Ashwini nakshatra indicates the waking up, The Ashwini's are the children of Surya indicating the birth after sunrise.
As the day progresses, We take breakfast etc and get fresh Revati Nakshatra lorded by Pushan the one who gives growth and increase. As the day progresses we go to work which is Karmabhoomi, The nakshatra's get more suitable for karma. The abhijit indicates the success in one's karma. The Vishwadeva's ( U.Ashada) is the ruler of this karmic world, This indicates what one attains after success. The Moola indicates the competition and opposition one faces to retain the world we have won.

As evening comes "Anuradha"  lorded by Mitra, the winner friends, makes one seek company of friends. As evening progresses passion increases indicated by Vishaka, ruler by Indra(lord of heavens) and Agni(The fire, here of passion). The Pradosha ruled by Lord Shiva rules this junction, He can burn Kaama deva. He is worshipped in this juncture. Then comes swati nakshatra, This nakshatra indicates the happiness from a good partner. It sits in the natural zodiac. Swati rules good marriages. Then comes Chitra nakshatra ruled by Viswakarma, Chitra also indicates movies, paintings and architecture. Here one gets materials for good entertainment and living. Then the later nakshatras are ruled by Arka, Aryama, bhaga and pitri respectively. Indicates the creating strength one gets with partners at various levels. At Magha nakshatra's the pitri's are forefathers get happy due our creation of childrens. As midnight comes, The nakshatra Ashlesha, ruled by Shesha Naaga, On which Lord Vishnu sleeps comes up. Indicating the time to wind up. The Pushya Nakshtra is in natural 4th house indicates going back to mother or creation.

After the first cycle of creation comes Punarvasu, Literally means "Light Again", Ruled by Aditi mother of all Aditya(Sun's) and Manu (The 1st creator). Indicates the next cycle of creation. Next again we meed Rudra Again in Ardra. Rudra was always against Brahma against imperfect creations. After Brahma succeeds, we meet Mriga ruled by Passionate moon, lord of all nakshtra's indicating passion causing another cycle of creation. Then comes Rohini ruled by Prajapati himself, Getting his chances the create the world. Krittika, Ruled by Agni is first requirement the create in Homa. The Veda (Held Brahma) begins with first mantra for Agni. Next comes Bharani, whose Symbol is Yoni

In Similar lines one can understand all the nakshatras.

Warm Regards
Sanjay P

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A408241
http://srijagannath.org/sjc_delhi/
http://srath.com/blog/2006/05/muhurta-notes.html
http://srath.com/lessons/beginner/muhurta1.htm

Muhurtha Table:  Assuming Sunrise, Sunset, Mid-Noon and Mid-Night are at 6AM, 6PM 12Noon and 12Night respectively. Note, that these can vary depending on location and day of the year.

	Time	Start	End	Muhurtha #	Deity	Nakshatra Number	Nakshatra
DAY	Abhijit (Noon)	11:36	12:24	8	Hari (aja)	22	Abhjit
		12:24	13:12	9	viśvesha	21	U. Ashada
		13:12	14:00	10	udaka	20	P. Ashada
		14:00	14:48	11	nirṛti	19	Moola
		14:48	15:36	12	vāsava	18	Jyeshta
		15:36	16:24	13	mitra	17	Anuradha
		16:24	17:12	14	śakrāgni	16	Vishaka
	Pradosha (Dusk)	17:12	18:00	15			PRADOSHA
NIGHT		18:00	18:48	16	maruta	15	Swati
		18:48	19:36	17	tvaṣṭṛ	14	Chitra
		19:36	20:24	18	arka	13	Hasta
		20:24	21:12	19	aryama	12	U. Phalguni
		21:12	22:00	20	bhaga	11	P. Phalguni
		22:00	22:48	21	pitaro	10	Magha
		22:48	23:36	22	ahi	9	Ashlesha
	Kaali (Mid Night)	23:36	00:24	23	jīva	8	Pushya
		00:24	01:12	24	aditi	7	Punarvasu
		01:12	02:00	25	iśa (Rudra)	6	Ardra
		02:00	02:48	26	candra	5	Mriga
		02:48	03:36	27	pitāmaha	4	Rohini
		03:36	04:24	28	vahni	3	Krittika
		04:24	05:12	29	yama	2	Bharani
	Brahma Muhurta	05:12	06:00	30			BRAHMA
DAY	Morning	06:00	06:48	1	dasra	1	Ashwini
		06:48	07:36	2	pūṣā	28	Revati
		07:36	08:24	3	ahirbudhnya	27	U. Bhadrapada
		08:24	09:12	4	ajapād	26	P. Bhadrapada
		09:12	10:00	5	ambupa	25	Shatabhishaj
		10:00	10:48	6	vasava	24	Dhanishta
		10:48	11:36	7	govinda	23	Sravana
	Abhijit (Noon)	11:36	12:24	8	Hari (aja)	22	Abhjit
		12:24	13:12	9	viśvesha	21	U. Ashada
		13:12	14:00	10	udaka	20	P. Ashada
		14:00	14:48	11	nirṛti	19	Moola
		14:48	15:36	12	vāsava	18	Jyeshta
		15:36	16:24	13	mitra	17	Anuradha
		16:24	17:12	14	śakrāgni	16	Vishaka
	Pradosha (Dusk)	17:12	18:00	15			PRADOSHA
NIGHT		18:00	18:48	16	maruta	15	Swati
		18:48	19:36	17	tvaṣṭṛ	14	Chitra
		19:36	20:24	18	arka	13	Hasta
		20:24	21:12	19	aryama	12	U. Phalguni
		21:12	22:00	20	bhaga	11	P. Phalguni
		22:00	22:48	21	pitaro	10	Magha
		22:48	23:36	22	ahi	9	Ashlesha
	Kaali (Mid Night)	23:36	00:24	23	jīva	8	Pushya
		00:24	01:12	24	aditi	7	Punarvasu
		01:12	02:00	25	iśa	6	Ardra
		02:00	02:48	26	candra	5	Mriga
		02:48	03:36	27	pitāmaha	4	Rohini
		03:36	04:24	28	vahni	3	Krittika
		04:24	05:12	29	yama	2	Bharani
	Brahma Muhurta	05:12	06:00	30			BRAHMA

http://sanjayprabhakaran.blogspot.com