Choghadiya (also Chaughadiya) is a simple, popular way to pick a suitable time within the day. It is especially widely used in Gujarat, Rajasthan and western India for travel, opening a shop, business deals and small ceremonies.
Eight parts of day, eight of night
The name comes from chau (four) and ghadi (a unit of 24 minutes): a choghadiya is nominally four ghadis, about 96 minutes. In practice the daytime (sunrise to sunset) is divided into eight equal parts, and the night (sunset to next sunrise) into another eight. Their actual length therefore changes with the season and your location.
The seven choghadiyas
Each choghadiya is associated with a planet and carries a traditional quality:
- Amrit — Moon — auspicious
- Shubh — Jupiter — good
- Labh — Mercury — good
- Chal (Char) — Venus — neutral, traditionally suited to travel
- Udveg — Sun — inauspicious
- Kaal — Saturn — inauspicious
- Rog — Mars — inauspicious
How the sequence is arranged
The seven follow a fixed planetary order: Udveg (Sun), Chal (Venus), Labh (Mercury), Amrit (Moon), Kaal (Saturn), Shubh (Jupiter), Rog (Mars), then back to Udveg.
- Day: the first choghadiya belongs to the weekday lord — Udveg on Sunday, Amrit on Monday, Rog on Tuesday, Labh on Wednesday, Shubh on Thursday, Chal on Friday and Kaal on Saturday. It then advances one step at a time; with eight slots and seven names, the eighth repeats the first.
- Night: the first night choghadiya is the one five steps after the weekday lord in that same order, and each following one advances five steps (equivalently, two steps back). On Sunday night, for example, the sequence runs Shubh, Amrit, Chal, Rog, Kaal, Labh, Udveg, Shubh.
Amrit, Shubh and Labh are generally preferred for new work, while Chal is often chosen for journeys. Some families also combine choghadiya with Rahu Kaal or Bhadra. Traditions may vary by region and Panchang convention.
How this platform calculates it
We compute sunrise, sunset and the next sunrise for your location, divide day and night into eight parts each, and apply the sequence above. See today's table on the Choghadiya page, or compare it with the Hora system.