Vara is the weekday, and it is the simplest of the five angas: seven days, each ruled by one of the seven visible grahas. In the panchangam the vara does two jobs — it carries its own suitability for different kinds of work, and it fixes where Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam, Gulika Kalam and Durmuhurtham fall in the day.
The seven days and their lords
The vara runs from sunrise to the following sunrise, not from midnight. That is why a ritual performed at four in the morning on a Tuesday by the clock is still Monday's vara in the panchangam, and it is a frequent source of confusion when a timing is read off a calendar rather than an almanac.
- Bhanuvaram (Sunday) — Surya. Ravivaram in common Telugu usage.
- Somavaram (Monday) — Chandra.
- Mangalavaram (Tuesday) — Kuja.
- Budhavaram (Wednesday) — Budha.
- Guruvaram (Thursday) — Guru.
- Shukravaram (Friday) — Shukra.
- Shanivaram (Saturday) — Shani.
What follows from the weekday
The day's inauspicious periods are placed by weekday and by nothing else. Rahu Kalam, Yamagandam and Gulika Kalam each occupy one of the day's eight equal parts, and which part depends only on which day of the week it is. Durmuhurtham is placed the same way. Because the eight parts are computed between sunrise and sunset, the clock times shift through the year even though the ordering does not.
Beyond the timings, each weekday carries customary associations — the vratams kept on Mondays for Shiva, Tuesdays for Hanuman and Subrahmanya, Thursdays for Guru, Saturdays for Shani — and those associations are what make a particular weekday preferred for a particular observance.
Where the general rule stops
Weekday suitability is a general convention and is the weakest of the muhurtham factors on its own. A consequential timing is settled from tithi, nakshatra and lagna together; the vara narrows the choice rather than making it.
Every timing on this page is computed for Hyderabad and Indian Standard Time. For a consequential date, confirm the window with the Purohit conducting the ceremony rather than acting on a published table.
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