Panchang
Hora
Planetary hours through the day and night — twelve slices of sunlight and twelve of darkness.
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What a Hora Is
A hora is a planetary hour. Tradition divides the time from sunrise to sunset into twelve horas and the time from sunset to the next sunrise into another twelve, and gives each one to a planet. Astrologers use the hora to match an activity to the planet whose nature suits it, for example a Mercury hora for writing or a Jupiter hora for study.
The free Hora calculator on GyaaniJyotish lists all 24 horas for your city and date, with no sign-in.
How to Read the Hora Table
The Hora section shows two lists, Day and Night. Each row names the ruling planet and gives the start and end in 24-hour local time. Rows are shaded by traditional nature: Mercury, Jupiter and Venus horas carry a light favourable tint, Mars and Saturn horas a light caution tint, and Sun and Moon horas are left plain as neutral.
| Hora lord | Traditional nature | Often chosen for |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Neutral | Meeting officials, matters of authority and government |
| Moon | Neutral | Travel, home matters, dealing with the public |
| Mars | Unfavourable for gentle work | Physical effort, sport, tasks needing courage |
| Mercury | Favourable | Writing, study, trade, phone calls and paperwork |
| Jupiter | Favourable | Learning, teaching, prayer, seeking advice |
| Venus | Favourable | Arts, music, social visits, buying clothes or decor |
| Saturn | Unfavourable for new starts | Repairs, routine labour, clearing backlogs |
The Order of the Horas
The first hora after sunrise always belongs to the weekday's own lord: the Sun on Sunday, the Moon on Monday, and so on. After that the horas follow a fixed sequence, from the slowest planet to the fastest as seen from Earth: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, then back to Saturn. Starting from the Sun on Sunday, the sequence is therefore Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars.
The length of a hora is not a fixed sixty minutes. A day hora is one-twelfth of local daylight and a night hora one-twelfth of the night, so in winter the day horas are shorter than an hour and the night horas longer. This is why the table changes with your city and date.
Common Questions
Is a hora the same as a clock hour?
No. It equals sixty minutes only when day and night are exactly twelve hours each, which happens near the equinoxes. The rest of the year, horas stretch or shrink with daylight.
How does Hora differ from Choghadiya?
Choghadiya divides daylight into eight periods and rates each as good or bad. Hora divides it into twelve and tells you which planet is in charge, so you can pick a period whose planet suits the task.
Should a good hora override Rahu Kaal?
Most practitioners still avoid starting important work in Rahu Kalam, even inside a favourable hora. Choose the part of the hora that falls outside the inauspicious periods.
Which hora suits my own chart best?
That depends on how each planet is placed in your birth chart. A GyaaniJyotish AI astrologer can tell you by chat in ten Indian languages which planetary hours tradition would favour for you; voice is available in English, Hindi and Tamil.