Muhurta for Starting Construction or Renovation

In the tradition the start of building is called griha arambha, "the beginning of a house", and the laying of the foundation, the first stone set into the ground, is shilanyasa. Both rites have their place in the "Muhurta Chintamani" and in the Vastu texts. The reasoning is simple: a house is built once and serves for decades, so the moment when the first spade goes into the earth or the first brick is laid is treated as the birth moment of the future building.

The same rules are applied to renovation: starting a rebuild, taking down a wall or replacing a roof is also an intervention in the house and the land. For small jobs the rules are applied more gently, but the day is chosen on the same principle: what is begun should stand firm and not drag a chain of rework behind it.

What answers for house and land

The main house of the chart for this undertaking is the fourth: dwelling, land, property and the peace of the family. The natural significators are Mars as lord of land and building work, Saturn as the planet of stone, foundations and durability, and the Moon as the indicator of comfort and of whether the house will be a calm place to live. So above all the day is asked for stability: what is started should not move but hold.

Favourable nakshatras

The calculator counts thirteen nakshatras as suitable for starting construction or renovation: Rohini, Mrigashira, Pushya, Uttara Phalguni, Hasta, Chitra, Swati, Anuradha, Uttara Ashadha, Dhanishtha, Shatabhisha, Uttara Bhadrapada, Revati.

The core of the list is the fixed, or dhruva, nakshatras — Rohini, Uttara Phalguni, Uttara Ashadha, Uttara Bhadrapada: tradition holds them best for whatever is laid down for a long time, such as foundations, walls and the planting of trees. Beside them stand the soft, or mridu, nakshatras (Mrigashira, Chitra, Anuradha, Revati) and the light, or kshipra, ones (Pushya, Hasta). Chitra is especially tied to building: its deity is Vishvakarma, the celestial architect. Pushya and Anuradha are ruled by Saturn, Hasta by the Moon. Of the movable nakshatras, Swati, Dhanishtha and Shatabhisha are kept. Compared with the general rule for new beginnings, Ashwini, Punarvasu and Shravana are left out: a house needs firmness rather than speed and change.

Tithis and weekdays

The rikta tithis — the 4th, 9th and 14th of both halves of the month — are not used for a foundation: "rikta" means "empty", and a house begun on such a day is traditionally hard to fill. Amavasya, the new Moon, is not used either. Shukla pratipada, the first tithi of the waxing Moon, is weak: the Moon is still under the rays of the Sun. More on lunar days in the article on tithi.

The favourable days are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the days of the Moon, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday are not forbidden, but such a day will not receive the top rating "excellent".

Yoga, karana and 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.

The daylight part of the day is divided into eight parts; work is not started in three of them — Rahu kalam, Yamaganda and Gulika kalam. The best time is Abhijit muhurta, the eighth of the fifteen muhurtas of the day, around local noon; it is not used on Wednesday. The calculator takes all indicators at sunrise.

The personal part: tara bala and chandra bala

The same day may suit one person and not another. Tara bala counts the nakshatra of the day from the natal nakshatra of the Moon: 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 sign of the day's Moon with the natal Moon sign: the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th give a strong Moon; the 2nd, 5th and 9th are acceptable only in the waxing Moon; the 4th, 8th and 12th are weak, the eighth, chandrashtama, being the worst. Weak chandra bala also means "avoid". If a family is building a house, the day is checked first of all against the chart of the owner.

How to use the "Muhurta" tab

Calculate your chart on the home page, open the "Muhurta" tab in the report and choose "Starting construction or renovation" from the list. The table shows 30 days ahead:

• "excellent" — all indicators agree;
• "good" — nothing bad, but not everything matches (for example, the weekday is not on the list);
• "acceptable" — one obstacle, but not a personal one: not the tara, not chandra bala and not Vishti;
• "avoid" — everything else.

The calculation runs in the "Surya Siddhanta" mode, like the whole natal chart on the site. The calculator chooses the day, not the minute: the exact moment within a favourable day — lagna shuddhi — is chosen by an astrologer. The hours of Rahu kalam and the other stretches are reckoned by the time zone and sunrise of the place of birth; if the plot is in another city, recalculate them for it. Nor does the calculator take in the finer Vastu rules — the solar month in which work begins and the side from which digging starts.

Practical advice

• The muhurta is needed for the first act — the first strike of the spade, the first brick, the start of demolition — not for the whole build.
• That act can be done symbolically, and the main work can start later on the crew's schedule.
• Moving into the finished house gets its own day — see moving house; for the deal on the plot or flat, see buying property.
• Do not wait for a perfect date: "good" outside Rahu kalam is a perfectly workable choice.