Most Vedic apps show the same Rahu Kaal for all of India, calculated from a generic IST formula. But Rahu Kaal is 1/8th of the actual daytime from today's sunrise at your location. Mumbai (72.9°E) sunrise is 38 min later than IST standard meridian, and 62 min later than Kolkata. Your Rahu Kaal is different from Delhi's by up to 10 min. CosmosPandit uses precision astronomy (Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms) to calculate the exact sunrise at Mumbai's coordinates (19.076000°N, 72.877700°E), giving you the correct Rahu Kaal every day.
Rahu Kaal is the roughly 90-minute window each day ruled by the shadow planet Rahu, traditionally avoided for starting anything new, travel, deals, purchases, or ceremonies. It is the eighth part of the daytime (sunrise to sunset), and which part it falls in is fixed by the weekday, so the clock time shifts daily and by city.
Mumbai is India's financial capital and home to the revered Siddhivinayak Ganpati in Prabhadevi, the Mahalakshmi temple, and hundreds of neighbourhood mandirs. For Mumbai's traders, entrepreneurs, and film industry, auspicious timing is built into every major decision, from stock trades to film muhurats. Mumbai's location at 72.9°E means its sunrise is 62 minutes later than Kolkata's on the same IST day.
During Rahu Kaal, it is best to hold off on launching anything new or consequential. Whether you are a Mumbai entrepreneur eyeing a business launch, a family finalising a property deal in the city, or a couple choosing a wedding date, avoid scheduling those beginnings within this window. Signing contracts, taking out loans, purchasing a vehicle, and setting out on an important journey are all better reserved for a more auspicious time.
Rahu Kaal is perfectly fine for work that is already in motion, so carry on with ongoing projects, meetings, or tasks without any concern. It is actually a supportive time for prayer, chanting, and spiritual practice, and reciting the Rahu mantra, Om Raam Rahave Namah, is considered especially beneficial during this period. Planning sessions, studying, and quiet reflection are all well suited to this window, as are everyday routines and household chores. Think of Rahu Kaal less as a time to fear and more as a natural pause that invites focus and intention.
India uses a single timezone (IST, UTC+5:30) across 30° of longitude. But sunrise follows the sun, not the clock, every 1° of longitude, 4 minutes difference. Kolkata’s sunrise is 80 minutes earlier than Mumbai’s on the same IST day, so Rahu Kaal falls at genuinely different times in each city.
This Rahu Kaal page is just the start. The CosmosPandit app gives every Indian the full Vedic astrology toolkit, in their own language, with timings precise for their city:
No. Pune (73.86°E) is slightly east of Mumbai (72.88°E), so Pune's sunrise is about 4 minutes earlier. Thane (73.0°E) is very close to Mumbai, about 1 minute difference. The CosmosPandit app calculates for your exact city.
Mumbai (72.9°E) is 4.3 degrees of longitude west of Delhi (77.2°E). Each degree = 4 minutes. So Mumbai's sunrise is about 17 minutes later than Delhi's. Since Rahu Kaal starts from sunrise, Mumbai's Rahu Kaal is shifted accordingly.
Yes. CosmosPandit supports all 8 Indian languages, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Punjabi, and English. Download the app and select your preferred language from Settings.
Astronomically precise Rahu Kaal timings for 25 major Indian cities.