Rahu Kaal on Saturday
On Saturday — Shanivara, ruled by Saturn — Rahu Kaal is the third of the day's eight parts. On a day where the sun rises at 6:00 and sets at 18:00 that works out to 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM, which is the figure the almanacs print. Your city's actual window is below.
Rahu Kaal on Saturday, 26 September 2026
Computed from each city's own sunrise and sunset, not from the nominal 6-to-6 day.
| City | Rahu Kaal | Sunrise |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 9:12 AM – 10:42 AM | 6:12 AM |
| Mumbai | 9:29 AM – 10:59 AM | 6:29 AM |
| Bengaluru | 9:09 AM – 10:40 AM | 6:09 AM |
| Chennai | 8:58 AM – 10:29 AM | 5:58 AM |
| Kolkata | 8:27 AM – 9:57 AM | 5:27 AM |
| Hyderabad | 9:06 AM – 10:36 AM | 6:06 AM |
| Pune | 9:25 AM – 10:55 AM | 6:25 AM |
| Ahmedabad | 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM | 6:30 AM |
What Saturday is for
Saturday is Saturn's day, and Saturn rules labour, patience, iron, service and delay. It is not a day the tradition hurries: work that must be done slowly and properly belongs here, and so does anything involving machinery or long obligation. Rahu Kaal is the third part, mid-morning. Saturn is Rahu's ally in classical reckoning, which is one reason Saturday carries more caution than most.
Why the time is different in each city
Rahu Kaal is a share of daylight rather than a fixed hour. Take the interval from sunrise to sunset, divide it into eight equal parts, and on Saturday the third part is Rahu Kaal.
That is why Kolkata's window opens well before Ahmedabad's: the sun reaches Kolkata first, and India keeps a single time zone across nearly thirty degrees of longitude. It is also why the window drifts through the year — a longer summer day makes each of the eight parts longer.
So a fixed 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM is a rounded convenience, accurate only on a day of exactly twelve hours. For anything you actually care about, use your own city's sunrise.
How far it moves — Delhi, across a year
The same weekday, four points in the year, same city.
| Season | Rahu Kaal | Sunrise |
|---|---|---|
| Late March | 9:22 AM – 10:54 AM | 6:18 AM |
| Late June | 8:54 AM – 10:39 AM | 5:26 AM |
| Late September | 9:11 AM – 10:41 AM | 6:11 AM |
| Late December | 9:46 AM – 11:03 AM | 7:12 AM |
What it is for
Rahu Kaal is treated as an inauspicious window — traditionally avoided for starting something new: a journey, a purchase, a signing, a first meeting. Work already under way is not thought to be affected, and neither is anything routine.
Two other periods work the same way and are usually read alongside it: Yamaganda and Gulika Kaal, each another of the eight parts. Against them sits Abhijit Muhurat around midday, considered broadly favourable. All three, for today and your city, are on the panchang page.
Common questions
What time is Rahu Kaal on Saturday?
On Saturday Rahu Kaal is the third of the eight equal parts between sunrise and sunset. On a day running from 6:00 to 18:00 that works out to 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM, which is the figure almanacs print. For Delhi on 26 September 2026 it is 9:12 AM to 10:42 AM, because the sun rises there at 6:12 AM rather than at six.
Why is Rahu Kaal on Saturday different in each city?
Rahu Kaal is a share of daylight rather than a fixed hour, so it moves with local sunrise. India keeps one time zone across nearly thirty degrees of longitude, which means the sun reaches Kolkata well before Ahmedabad. On 26 September 2026 the window opens at 8:27 AM in Kolkata and 9:30 AM in Ahmedabad.
Does Rahu Kaal on Saturday stay the same all year?
No. The eight parts are slices of daylight, so they stretch in summer and shrink in winter, and every boundary moves with them. In Delhi the Saturday window runs 8:54 AM to 10:39 AM near the June solstice and 9:46 AM to 11:03 AM near the December one. The part number never changes; only the clock time does.
Which planet rules Saturday, and what is the day used for?
Saturday is Shanivara, ruled by Saturn and kept for Shani. Saturday is Saturn's day, and Saturn rules labour, patience, iron, service and delay. It is not a day the tradition hurries: work that must be done slowly and properly belongs here, and so does anything involving machinery or long obligation. Rahu Kaal is the third part, mid-morning. Saturn is Rahu's ally in classical reckoning, which is one reason Saturday carries more caution than most.
What should you avoid during Rahu Kaal?
Custom treats it as unsuitable for starting something new — a journey, a purchase, a signing, a first meeting. Work already under way is generally considered unaffected, and so is anything routine. It is guidance about when to begin, not a prediction about how things will turn out.