Today’s choghadiya — London

Choghadiya is a classical Vedic system that divides the daylight (sunrise to sunset) and night (sunset to next sunrise) into eight equal segments each — 16 windows in a 24-hour day. Each window carries a name, a planetary lord, and a classification — auspicious (Shubh, Amrit, Labh), neutral (Char), or inauspicious (Udveg, Kaal, Rog). The classification tells you whether the window favours starting work, signing contracts, beginning a journey, or holding back.

Sunrise and sunset are computed from VSOP87D + a refraction model for your latitude/longitude on the requested date. Daylight is divided into eight equal segments — note that this means a 'day choghadiya' is not always 90 minutes; it's longer in summer and shorter in winter, depending on how long the daylight actually lasts at your latitude. Night choghadiyas use the night length (sunset → next-day sunrise) the same way.

Each weekday is ruled by a planet, and that planet's nature seeds the first choghadiya of the day. Sunday is ruled by the Sun, so day starts with Udveg (the Sun's choghadiya, often inauspicious because the Sun's rays burn strongest). Monday is ruled by the Moon — day starts with Amrit, the most auspicious. The seven choghadiyas cycle in fixed order; only the starting point shifts by weekday.

Amrit (Moon — nectar) is the broadest auspicious window — good for almost any start. Shubh (Jupiter — auspicious) is excellent for spiritual work, contracts, and travel. Labh (Mercury — gain) favours commerce, communications, and learning. Char (Venus — movement) is neutral, useful for routine activities. The avoid-windows: Udveg (Sun — anxiety) for spiritual work; Kaal (Saturn — death) for new beginnings; Rog (Mars — illness) for medical procedures and starting anything fragile.

Latitude matters most for the absolute timing. The classification rules don't change by city — Amrit is Amrit everywhere — but the clock-time for each window does, because sunrise/sunset depend on latitude and longitude. We support a curated city list. The same algorithm applies to any latitude/longitude pair the engine accepts.