What is Hora?

Hora is the smallest unit of time which is considered for selection of Muhurta or auspicious time. It is used
to determine the quality of time which spans a very short duration, approx 60 minutes. The English word
hour has been derived from Hora. Since we have 24 hours in a solar day (Vedic day commences from
sunrise to sunrise while English day starts from midnight to midnight), therefore we have 24 Horas during
one solar day on Earth. Each Hora has is lorded by a certain planet. The lordship is based on a
chronological sequence of the planetary speeds going from fastest first (Chandra/Moon) to slowest
(Shani/Saturn) with the exception of first Hora of the week being lorded by Sun as a respect since it is the
lord of the Solar system and significator of Life or Srushti.
If we consider the heliocentric system of planets and consider the speeds of planets the Moon has the
highest speed among all (Seven only considered). Now, list all these planets based on their speeds and
distances from Sun, we get the order as Moon, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Although Moon is a satellite of Earth but in Vedic astrology it is a planet as it moves, and a necessary
condition for heavenly body to qualify as a planet is that it must be a moving object. Hence in Geocentric
system which is the basis of Vedic astrology observation of planets and their movements, Moon replaces
Earth. Moreover, moon has a major influence in sustenance of human life and thus gets extreme
importance in the Vedic Astrology system.

Hora Chakra
A sequential matrix arrangement of lord of different horas in a day over a week is known as a Hora
Chakra. It is 24X7 or vice-versa matrix. The Hora Chakra can be easily used by anybody to plan her day
in the most beneficial manner optimizing planning of events for the day (Bucket List discharged in the best
way). The Hora Lord offers its focused energy of the day during that particular time segment. Tasks or
decisions and events in alignment with the subject matter relevant to the particular planet receive a
special blessing from that planet. So for example, if you want to discuss an important matter with your
Boss, then hora of Sun is best similarly for personal matters and romance hora of Venus will be relevant.
The Hora lord provides a special boost to the subject matter of it’s domain, hence if one gets congruency
of event planned with the relevant Hora, the results can be ‘tweaked’. The Hora Chakra is thus a great
tool to get successful in day to week to year or say life by optimization and avoiding the minefield or
adverse timings. This is a general way of using the Hora. For more customized and personalized use, one
should consult a learned astrologer to ascertain particular planets giving success in profession, health,
relationship from one’s horoscope. This could then be applied or suitably aligned with the Horachakra to
get success.

Calculating Hora
A vedic solar day starts from sunrise and lasts till next sunrise. The total time elapsed is called Kul-mana
(Total time available in one solar day) and is generally around 24 hours. Kul Mana is made up of two parts
i.e Din-Mana (Sunrise to sunset) and Ratri-Mana (Sunset to next sunrise). There are 12 horas in the Dina-
Mana and 12 in Ratri-Mana.

 Dina or Day Hora: Divide Dina-Mana (sunrise to sunset) by 12.

 Ratri or Night Hora : Divide Ratri-Mana(sunset to sunrise) by 12.

 For example: You have to find the shubha hora for wearing an Emerald on a Wednesday, so here
is how you go.
 o Check the local sunrise and sunset time from internet or local almanac / panchanga.
Calculate Dina and ratri mana as above and also the horas. This will give you the average
time of each day or night hora.
o Go to Hora Chakra and you will see that the first Hora is of Mercury then moon, Saturn and
so on so forth. Since Emerald is the gemstone of Mercury so we will use the hora of
mercury for auspicious time. The first Hora on Wednesday is ruled by Mercury. Therefore
the auspicious time will be from Sunrise to (Sunrise + Average Dina/day Hora). Say the
sunrise is 6 am and the average day hora is 55 minutes, then the auspicious time to wear
Emerald in morning is 6 am to 6.55 am. One can make similar calculations for evening or
night hora depending upon one’s requirement. Similarly we can ascertain auspicious time
for any event by using the above method.

Day time Horas - From Sunrise to Sunset

Weekday 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora hora

Sunday Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat

Monday Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun

Tuesday Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon

Wednesday Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars

Thursday Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer

Friday Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup

Saturday Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven

Night time Horas - From Sunset to Next Sunrise

Sunday Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer

Monday Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup

Tuesday Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven
Wednesday Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat

Thursday Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun

Friday Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon

Saturday Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars Sun Ven Mer Moon Sat Jup Mars

Notes
1. The time of Horas will vary from place to place as it depends on Sunrise time. E.g a Sun Hora on a Sunday will be
different in one state of India and different in another state, similarly the Hora itself will be different in different countries
due to higher difference in Longitudes and Latitudes.

2. Day Horas will be longer in Summers and shorter in winters and vice-versa.

3. Sunrise means natural sun rise as usual every day, irrespective of the clouds or weather which may shield the rays of
sun.

Nature of Hora
The nature of Hora will be the same as the nature of the planet. Some activities are listed as under to give
an idea of the nature of activities and making the appropriate choice of hora.

Sun Hora (Surya Hora): . It is good for government undertakings, politics, Matters related to Bosses and superiors,
Yagnas (Rituals with offerings to holy fire) and commencement of rituals or fasts.

Venus Hora (Shukra Hora): Love, Romance, marriage, music, Luxuries, Properties, Vacations, cruise, Movies etc

Mercury Hora (Budha Hora): Learning, Commencing education, Schooling, Languages, Music, Stage, Sports
competition, Theatre or Stage, Drawing and Designing, learning Mantras..

Moon Hora (Chandra Hora): Good for all activities, Travel and tour, Food or Dining out, Poetry, Social gatherings and
parties, Ladies get together .

Saturn Hora (Shani Hora): Heavy Machinery work, cleaning, repair and maintenance of any kind, handling old and
antiques, visiting Museums, Labour and personal effort.

Jupiter Hora (Guru Hora): Learning Vedas and philosophy, reciting Mantras, visiting temples, Chanting and prayers,
Spiritual discussions, holy activities, Donations and offerings, Administering Medicines, commencing treatment of difficult
and chronic diseases. .

Mars Hora (Mangal Hora): Surgeries, Self Defence training, Mountaineering, Outdoor Sports, Vigorous activities, Riding
and Fencing, Racing, Blood donation, competition.