Muhà «rta () is a Hindu unit of time along with nimiá¹£a, kÃÂá¹£á¹ÂhÃÂ, and kalàin the Hindu calendar.
In the BrÃÂhmaá¹Âas, muhà «rta denotes a division of time: 1/30 of a day, or a period of 48 minutes. An alternative meaning of "moment" is also common in the BrÃÂhmanạs. In the Rigveda muhà «rta exclusively means, "moment".
Each muhà «rta is further divided into 30 kalÃÂ, (1 kalà= 1.6 minutes or 96 seconds). Each kalàis further divided into 30 kÃÂá¹£á¹Âhà(1 kÃÂá¹£á¹Âhàâ 3.2 seconds).
Muhurta is a combination of the Sanskrit root words muhu (moment/immediate) and á¹Âta (order). The á¹Âg Ved III.33.5 accordingly mentions this descriptive term. á¹Âta refers to the natural, yearly order of the seasons, so muhà «rta refers to the daily reflection of these. Also, cf., à Âatapatha BrÃÂhmaá¹Âa X.4.2.18, as below.
The Muhà «rtas are traditionally calculated by assuming sunrise at 06:00 am on the vernal equinox, which is the Vedic New Year. Not all of the constellations cross the zenith, so that it is not in every case clear which constellation presides over the Muhà «rta. Yet it is clear that one or more prominent features of the correlate constellations, from which the later Muhà «rtas draw their respective names, falls within the celestial longitude of the same, drawn from the polar axis.
The term appears as early as the á¹Âg Veda, where, according to Monier Williams, it means "a moment", but does not evidence any specification of an exact periodicity there as received in later works, such as the à Âatapatha-BrÃÂhmaá¹Âa, "The One Hundred Path Riddle" or the Taittirëya-BrÃÂhmaá¹Âa, "The Partridge's Riddle".
Pt. Vijay Shrikrishna Jakatdar points to two specific á¹Âg Veda passages that employ the term, III.33.5, and III.53.8:
and
Taittirëya-BrÃÂhmaá¹Âa mentions the names of 15 muhà «rtas as follows:
à Âatapatha BrÃÂhmaá¹Âa describes a muhà «rta as 1/15th portion of a day:
It is stated in Manusmá¹Âti that 18 nimeá¹£as ("twinklings of the eye") are 1 kÃÂá¹£á¹ÂhÃÂ, 30 kÃÂá¹£á¹ÂhÃÂs are 1 kÃÂla, 30 kÃÂlas are one muhà «rta, and 30 muhà «rtas are one day and night.
It is a common practice in Hinduism to perform or avoid activities like important religious ceremonies on the basis of the quality of a particular Muhà «rta. One or more Muhà «rtas are recommended by the Vedic scriptures when performing rituals and other ceremonies. This is demonstrated in the way "Muhà «rt" is used in present-day South Asia for calculating the most auspicious moment for a Vedic-Hindu Wedding ceremony. Astrologers are often hired to calculate a moment for the wedding so that any possible divinely-sourced problems can be averted. Jakatdar suggests a shift in the contemporary temperament regarding the traditional approach to calculating such events, to accommodate the ever increasing complexity of modern life. The muhà «rt has the same utility in the marriage rites in Hinduism.
Another example is the so-called Brahma Muhà «rta, which is about one and a half hours before sunrise. This particular time, which is associated with the constellations during the Vernal Equinox, is said to be auspicious for practicing yoga. There is also the case of samayik, which is part of the initiation rite for the Svetambar mendicants or those who pursue a perpetual state of heightened meditative awareness. They take the samayik, a vow for life taken for short periods, preferably one or two muhà «rts, where one muhà «rt constitutes forty minutes.
Traditionally, it is common practice amongst Hindus to start or avoid starting significant tasks like religious ceremonies, etc. on the basis of the quality of a particular Muhà «rta. The Vedic scriptures also generally recommend one or more Muhà «rtas to perform rituals and practices. The most widely known example of this practice:
Brahma Muhà «rta, approximately one and a half hours before sunrise or more precisely is 1Hr 36 Mins. i.e. 96 Minutes = 2 Muhà «rta or 4 Ghaá¹ÂëkÃÂ, is recommended in all practices of yoga is traditionally considered most apt for meditation. However, it is clear from the associations of the names with specific constellations that the present Brahma-Muhà «rta starts just before 6:00 am during the Vernal Equinox. At present, Jëva-Amá¹Âta and Viá¹£á¹Âu comprise the two twilight muhà «rtas prior to sunrise.