Muhurta

Muhūrta (Sanskrit: मुहूर्त, romanized: muhūrtaṃ)[1] is a Hindu unit of time along with nimiṣa, kāṣṭhā, and kalā[2] in the Hindu calendar.

In the Brāhmaṇas, muhūrta denotes a division of time: 1/30 of a day, or a period of 48 minutes.[3] An alternative meaning of "moment" is also common in the Brāhmanạs.[4] In the Rigveda[5] muhūrta exclusively means, "moment".[6]

Each muhūrta is further divided into 30 kalā, (1 kalā = 1.6 minutes or 96 seconds). Each kalā is further divided into 30 kāṣṭhā (1 kāṣṭhā ≈ 3.2 seconds).

  1. ^ Scharf, Peter M. (2003). Rāmopākhyāna: The Story of Rāma in the Mahābhārata : an Independent-study Reader in Sanskrit. Psychology Press. p. 354. ISBN 978-0-7007-1390-5.
  2. ^ Verma, Dinesh (2008). Hinduism for Children Activity Workbook. Chanda Books. p. 101. ISBN 9781440499913.
  3. ^ Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, iii. 10, I, I (for the names); 9, 7; 12, 9, 6; Śatapata Brāhmaṇa, x. 4, 2, 18. 25. 27; 3, 20; xii. 3, 2, 5; x. 4, 4, 4, etc.
  4. ^ See Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, 9, 139 et seq.; Indische Streifen, I, 92, et seq.
  5. ^ Rigveda iii. 33, 5: 53, 8.
  6. ^ Arthur Anthony Macdonnell and Arthur Berriedale Keith, Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, vol. 2, p. 169. Motilal Banarsidas, London 1912, reprint 1995.