Planting Muhurta

The “Planting” item covers two old sections of agricultural muhurta: bija vapana, the sowing of seed, and vriksha ropana, the planting of trees and shrubs. For a community that lived by its harvest this was a vital undertaking. An undertaking has a moment of birth, and what is planted on a favourable day is held by tradition to take root more easily and to bear fruit.

Today this covers the vegetable bed, the orchard and house plants. Muhurta does not replace gardening knowledge: the season and the soil come first, and the day is chosen within the period that suits the plant.

What answers for growth

The main significator is the Moon. It rules water, sap and the growth of everything living, and in muhurta it determines the nakshatra, tithi and yoga of the day. Venus answers for fertility and flowering, Jupiter for growth and increase, Saturn for land and longevity: a tree planted for decades is his subject. In the chart of the moment the land is the fourth house.

Favourable nakshatras

The calculator counts sixteen nakshatras as suitable for planting: Ashwini, Rohini, Mrigashira, Pushya, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, Mula, Uttara Ashadha, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati.

The core of the list is the fixed, or dhruva, nakshatras — Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada: what is planted must take root and stay in place. Rohini, the Moon’s nakshatra with the creator Prajapati as its deity, is traditionally counted the best for sowing. The soft, or mridu, nakshatras — Mrigashira, Chitra, Anuradha, Revati — suit careful work with living things; Revati is ruled by Pushan, “the nourisher”. The light, or kshipra, nakshatras — Ashwini, Pushya, Hasta — give a quick and lucky start; Pushya means “nourishment”, and the symbol of Hasta is the hand, work done by hand. The movable, or chara, nakshatras — Swati, Shravana, Dhanishta, Shatabhisha — are linked with wind, water and the movement of sap.

Mula is a special case. In the general classification it belongs to the sharp nakshatras, but its name means “root”, and for planting tradition accepts it: it is the time of roots and of everything that grows in the ground.

Tithis and weekdays

Planting is not done on the rikta tithis — the 4th, 9th and 14th of both halves of the month: “rikta” means “empty”, and by tradition what is sown on such a day stays fruitless. Amavasya, the invisible new Moon, is not taken either. Shukla pratipada, the first tithi of the waxing Moon, counts as weak: the Moon still stands under the Sun’s rays. More on lunar days in the article on tithis.

The favourable weekdays are Monday (Moon), Wednesday (Mercury), Thursday (Jupiter) and Friday (Venus). Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday are not forbidden, but such a day will not receive the rating “excellent”.

A word on the phase. The calculator does not restrict planting to the waxing Moon: the waning half of the month does not lower the rating by itself. The traditional advice, which the calculator does not take into account, is this: what grows above ground — greens, flowers, fruiting plants — is planted in the waxing Moon, while root crops and bulbs go in during the waning Moon and in Mula. The phase is shown in the lunar calendar.

Yoga, karana and the time within the day

Of the 27 yogas nine are unfavourable: Vishkambha, Atiganda, Shula, Ganda, Vyaghata, Vajra, Vyatipata, Parigha, Vaidhriti. The karana Vishti (Bhadra) is avoided for any undertaking, and the calculator does not admit such a day at all. All indicators are taken at sunrise, since in Jyotish the day begins there.

The daylight part of the day is divided into eight parts; Rahu kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika kalam each take one of them depending on the weekday, and no planting is done in them. Abhijit muhurta — the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, around noon — is the best time for almost any undertaking, though it is not used on Wednesday. If you plant in the morning or evening, simply stay clear of the three bad stretches.

The personal part: tara bala and chandra bala

Tara bala counts the nakshatra of the day from your natal Moon nakshatra. The third tara (Vipat), the fifth (Pratyak) and the seventh (Naidhana) are bad, and the day is rated “avoid”; the first, Janma, is weak. Chandra bala compares the Moon’s sign on the day with the natal Moon sign: the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th give a strong Moon; the 2nd, 5th and 9th a middling one, usable only in the waxing Moon; the 4th, 8th and 12th a weak one, the eighth, chandrashtama, being the worst. Weak chandra bala also means “avoid”.

How to use the “Muhurta” tab

Calculate your chart on the home page, open the “Muhurta” tab in the report and choose “Planting” from the list. The calculator shows 30 days ahead: “excellent” — all indicators agree; “good” — nothing bad is present; “acceptable” — one hindrance, but not a personal one (not the tara, not chandra bala and not Vishti); “avoid” — everything else. The calculation uses the Surya Siddhanta mode, like the natal chart.

The calculator chooses a day, not a minute: the exact moment — lagna shuddhi — is chosen by an astrologer. The hours of Rahu kalam and the other stretches are reckoned for the time zone and sunrise of the birthplace; if your garden is in another town, recalculate them for it. The general principles are in the date selection section.

Practical advice

• The gardening calendar first, muhurta second: the best day will not save a planting in frozen ground.
• The beginning is what matters — the first seed or the first tree.
• For trees and perennials look for dhruva nakshatras; for quick greens the kshipra ones will do.
• Do not take dates from someone else’s table: tara bala and chandra bala are individual.