Abhijit Muhurta and Abhijit Nakshatra

Abhijit means "the victorious one". The name is used for two different things in Vedic astrology: a time of day around noon that almost every panchang lists, and a 28th nakshatra that appears only in certain techniques. This guide explains both.

Part 1: Abhijit Muhurta, the midday muhurta

What a muhurta is

In the traditional division of time, the daytime, from sunrise to sunset, is divided into 15 equal parts called muhurtas, and the night into another 15. When day and night are equal, a muhurta is 48 minutes. On a longer or shorter day it is a little more or less.

The 8th muhurta of the daytime is Abhijit. Since seven muhurtas come before it and seven after, it sits exactly around local midday, when the Sun is highest in the sky.

How to calculate it

1. Take the local sunrise and sunset times for your place and date.
2. Day length = sunset minus sunrise. Divide by 15 to get one muhurta.
3. Midday = the midpoint between sunrise and sunset.
4. Abhijit begins half a muhurta before midday and ends half a muhurta after midday.

Example. Sunrise 6:10 a.m., sunset 6:02 p.m.

• Day length = 11 hours 52 minutes = 712 minutes. One muhurta = 712 / 15 = about 47.5 minutes.
• Midday = 6:10 a.m. + 356 minutes = 12:06 p.m.
• Abhijit = 12:06 minus and plus about 24 minutes: 11:42 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Two things follow from the method. First, Abhijit is not "12:00 on the clock"; it depends on your local sunrise and sunset, so it shifts with the city and the season. Second, a rough rule works well in most of India: about 24 minutes either side of local midday.

What it is used for

Abhijit is regarded as a naturally strong time, traditionally said to offset many smaller flaws of the day. It is a practical choice when you need a good time on a day you did not choose: starting a journey, opening a shop or an account, signing papers, beginning a course, making an important call or purchase.

Limits to keep in mind

• Not on Wednesdays. Most panchangs leave Abhijit out on Wednesday. It is worth knowing that on Wednesdays Rahu Kalam begins at midday, so the two overlap.
• Not a substitute for a full muhurtha. For major ceremonies such as a wedding, astrologers still select the date and time from the full panchang, including the tithi, weekday, nakshatra and nithya yoga, and the rising sign.
• It is general, not personal. Abhijit is the same for everyone in a place. For a personal check, the day's star is counted from your birth star; see Tara Bala.

Part 2: Abhijit, the 28th nakshatra

The familiar scheme has 27 nakshatras of 13°20' each. Older lists have a 28th star, Abhijit, associated with the bright star Vega and presided over by Brahma. In the zodiac it is given a small space taken from two neighbours:

• it begins at 6°40' Capricorn, where the last quarter of Uttara Ashadha begins, and
• it ends at 10°53'20" Capricorn, a little way into Shravana.

That is a span of 4°13'20", much smaller than a normal nakshatra.

Where Abhijit is used

• Not in everyday birth-star work. Your birth star, the Vimshottari dasha, porutham matching and Tara Bala all use the 27-star scheme. A Moon at 8° Capricorn is counted as Uttara Ashadha, fourth pada.
• In special techniques. Abhijit appears in the Ashtottari dasha, in 28-star charts such as the Sarvatobhadra Chakra, and in some muhurtha and transit rules.

So there is no need to wonder whether your star "is really Abhijit". In ordinary practice it is not treated as a birth star.

The link between the two

The muhurtas of the day are named after deities and stars, and the midday muhurta carries the name Abhijit. They share the idea of victory, but they are calculated in completely different ways: one from the Sun's daily path over your town, the other from a fixed place in the zodiac.

Summary

Abhijit Muhurta is the eighth of the fifteen daytime muhurtas: find midday as the midpoint of sunrise and sunset, and take about 24 minutes on either side. It is a handy favourable time on any day except Wednesday, though not a replacement for a properly chosen muhurtha. Abhijit Nakshatra is the small 28th star at 6°40' to 10°53'20" of Capricorn, used only in a few special techniques.

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