Want to Start Something New? Don't Miss These Auspicious Dates!

It is the auspicious day, date, and time set to conduct a specific puja, start a new activity such as opening a new business, laying the foundation of a new building or house to start living in a new house or place, or buying a new vehicle.

A Muhurta is also followed for personal events such as engagement, wedding, and a child's naming ceremony.

It is believed that starting these activities or holding auspicious ceremonies at a predetermined muhurta will help the person begin the new journey or chapter in life on a positive note. It may also improve the chances of success.

For occasions such as engagements, weddings, a child's naming ceremony, laying the foundation of a new office or home and to start using the premises, the muhurta is determined by using the owner's or the child's (in case of a naming ceremony) date of birth details. It is a personalized muhurta determined by astrologers.

There are also certain days in the Hindu calendar which are considered to be auspicious, for example, Akshaya Tritiya and Devuthani Ekadashi better known as the first day for Tulsi Vivah. Each day also has certain time slots which are considered to be auspicious or inauspicious.

Each day is divided into 16-time slots, eight for the daytime and eight for the nighttime. Each slot is known as a Chaughadiya which lasts approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. These Chaughadiya are further divided into auspicious time slots, neutral time slots, and inauspicious time slots.

The positive time slots are known as Amrit, Shubh, and Labha. The neutral time slot is called Chara. And, the negative time slots are known as Kala, Udvega, and Roga.

It is believed that any auspicious activity conducted in the positive time slots has a higher probability of bringing fruitful results or resulting in success. But if you can't get or wait for it, then you must at least try to do it in the neutral time slot.

In the daytime Chaughadiya, there are time slots (auspicious and inauspicious) marked as Vaar Vela and Kaal Vela. These Vela's are considered to be unfavourable. So even if the time slot is a favourable one, if it is marked as a Vaar Vela or Kaal Vela, then you should avoid starting or conducting any important or auspicious task during the period.

Similarly, there are time slots marked as Kaal Ratri in the nighttime Chaughadiya. This period is considered to be negative and you must avoid doing any positive activity in this time slot even if it is otherwise an auspicious time slot.

In the Chaughadiya, there's another time period referred to as Rahu Kala. This is considered to be the most inauspicious time of the day. It makes even the most auspicious time of the day unfavourable.

So if a time slot is marked as Rahu Kala, then you must avoid any kind of positive or auspicious activity during the period.

This is the time period which falls approximately 1 hour 30 minutes before sunrise, i.e. between morning 3.30 am to 5.30 am. This is considered to be one of the most auspicious time periods of the day.

It is believed that waking up during this period is beneficial for health and is ideal for doing meditation, yoga, chanting mantras, and studying. This muhurta is also considered favourable for the grihapravesh of a new bride.

This is another period which is considered to be auspicious. The Shubh hora is determined by the planet ruling the time period. The major seven planets - Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, are considered for determining if the time is favourable or not.

The result of the hora depends on the day and the activity you are conducting. Hence, like the Chaughadiya, this needs to be checked day-wise.

This is considered to be one of the most favourable muhurta of the day. It is the eighth muhurta of the day. considered to be good for making money-related decisions. This time slot is good for all activities except conducting marriage-related ceremonies and thread ceremonies.

While a time period may be considered auspicious, its strength depends on your planetary alignment as well. So when finding a muhurta for any important and auspicious activity, you must also check the following:

1. Ascendant - Your ascendant is important for getting a strong and positive muhurta. You must check if your ascendant is positive, is in a favourable position, located on a favourable planet. The ascendant must also not be placed with the Moon or there is no Paap kartari dosh. The ascendant should not be placed in the second house from the Moon. If not, then you may need to get your ascendant purified before taking a muhurta or proceeding with the activity.

2. Eighth House - Check if your eighth house has any planets. It is considered good to have no planets in the eighth house to get a favourable muhurta.

3. New Moon Day/Amavasya - No positive activity or task should be initiated on the new moon day or Amavasya.

4. Specific days - You must avoid undertaking any auspicious work on the 4th, 6th, 9th, 11th and 14th day of the lunar month

5. Specific Tithis - Rikta tithi and Nanda tithi should be avoided to initiate any new activity or auspicious events.

6. Full Moon Day - Also known as Poornima is a good day to conduct puja and certain auspicious tasks. However, anything involving mental stamina or a task which may result in injury or high risks. So activities such as surgeries and long-distance travel, especially by road, must be avoided on Poornima.

7. Devshayani Months - Months falling between Devshayani Ekadashi and Devuthani Ekadashi are not favourable for any auspicious activities such as engagements, marriage, grah pravesh, etc.

8. Akshaya Tritiya - It is considered to be a very auspicious day in the Hindu calendar. On Akshaya Tritiya, both the Sun and the Moon are in an exalted state. This day is considered auspicious for buying gold ornaments, investing, and starting new work.

9. Eclipses - Eclipses are considered to be unfavourable. Hence you should not plan any important activity on days with either Solar or lunar eclipses.