‘Bhoomi Puja’ (Laying of Foundation Stone Prayers) for the Rama Temple, all set to be conducted on 5 Aug 2020 at 12:15 hours at Ayodhya, India.   Many astrologers are arguing whether it’s a good Muhurta (auspicious time) to carry on such an activity on the said date and time or not.

Here is the Astrology Chart

The construction of Rama Temple at Ayodhya, India, is a very sensitive and emotional matter for many Hindus around the world.  In fact, this is the matter of pride for many. For the present Government led by Mr. Narinder Damodardas Modi (and BJP), it is indeed achieving of the significant milestone after abolishing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Possibly this should setup the good stage for next General Elections in India in 2024. Interestingly, abolishment of Article 370 was also done on 5 August, but last year 2019. Hopefully the Rama Temple shall be ready by mid 2024 and its glory would speak volumes for the achievements of the current Government in power.

Question arises, is this the right Muhurta?  As most astrologers argue against this Muhurta and especially for such a significant event for Hindus and India as a whole.

What is Muhurta?   Muhurta  is the most benefice time chosen to  start an event so that the task is carried out without any hurdles, obstacles and problems.  A   Shubha (good) Muhurta helps in concentrating the positive energy of the planets and other astrological factors in an auspicious way so as to nullify the any evil influences (if any) and make the result of the work performed in a most fruitful manner. Astrological speaking, there are hundreds of rules, combination and permutation of planets need to checked to find out the Muhurta for any event.  

Generally, Panchanga (Almanac)  prepared for each year gives readymade dates for such occasions.  

What is Panchangam?  A Panchangam (Sanskrit: पञ्चाङ्गम्) is nothing but a calculated Hindu calendar and almanac, which follows traditional units of Hindu timekeeping, and presents important dates and their calculations in a tabulated form. Its calculated based upon certain effects that caused on a particular day due to five factors. The name Panchangam is derived from two root words namely Pancha (five) and Angam (aspects) meaning it works with five different kinds of inputs namely 

  1. Vaara (Day of the week)
  2. Tithi (Lunar day, Moon phase with respect to Sun;s position) 
  3. Nakshatra (Constellation in which Moon is transiting)
  4. Yoga (a special calculation for the separating distance of the Sun and Moon)
  5. Karana (half a lunar day)

Based on the combination and permutation of these five aspects, the Muhurta (auspicious time for the particular work) is derived at.  Some astrologers take a few more factors in consideration too.  

My opinion: At times, one may not find an auspicious time for the desired event;  sometimes people have to wait for months and years to find the good Muhurta for the desired task.  But what happens when someone’s circumstances demand to take an action within the desired time frame?    What is the solution?  For an example, if someone is very sick and he has to go for  an urgent surgery  but as per Astrology texts the good Muhurta  for conducting a surgery is not available for next few months, then what course of action should be taken?  Will that be right to suggest the patient to wait for the good Muhurta for that long and subsequently let the patient suffer further or help him out with some alternative dates/methods, possibly with some remedies (if any).    I would say, astrologer dare not delay such an event for the want of only good Muhurta.   In fact, the competent Astrologer should try to find out the way to help his client with minimum negative influences acting on the day chosen for surgery,  or if no Muhurta is available, yet the client should not be demotivated but given  positiveness  with possible certain Astrological remedies (if any).  I would say the state of positive Mind plays very important role here.

Purely based upon traditional Panchangam, 5 August  2020, may not be the best of the Muhurta for laying the foundation stone but it seems  the authorities have decided to go ahead with it, possibly  due to some urgency (political, personal or any other).  In my opinion, Astrology must be used as a Guideline for living better quality of life but not to get very rigid to follow Astrology rules in all conditions and circumstances.  Practical approach with understanding of Astrology is the Key for better living.

Another analogy, do we look  for Muhurta to get angry so that our anger get justified and conclude in fruitful manner? For that matter, do we plan a child in the auspicious Muhurta? Or  does the lady conceive  a child in the correct Muhurta?   NO, in my many decades of career in Astrology, I have hardly come across any women who has conceived the child in the good Muhurta.  All I am trying to drive my point at is that a many  times one may not find the 100% auspicious Muhurta  to start the desired activity. If no such Muhurta is available then one must  take the help of the competent Astrologer to find the best possible time with in the time frame to go ahead with the desired plans, and possibly the astrologer may come up with some plan to find the solution.  I always believe, there has to be refined way of doing Astrology and all Astrologers must  aspire to test scientifically all the rules given in books before taking  on their face value.

Now coming back to the Muhurta of laying the Foundation Stone for Rama Temple at Ayodhya on 5 August 2020 at 12:15 hours.  Please note, from here on the word Muhurta is as used as synonym for the auspicious day and time for the said activity, that is, Laying of the Foundation Stone for Davalaya (Place of worship).

Firstly, let us look at the Panchanga (this list contains more than five aspects) for the day for the location:

  1. Sunrise: 05:32 hours
  2. Sunset: 18:42 hours
  3. Moonrise: 20:10 hours
  4. Moonset: 06:44 hours 
  5. Shaka Samvat: 942 Sharvari
  6. Vikram Samvat: 2077 Pramathi
  7. Gujarati Samvat: 2076 Virodhakrit
  8. Amanta Month: Shravan
  9. Purnimanta Month: Bhadrapada
  10. Weekday: Budhvaar – Wednesday 
  11. Paksha: Krishna Paksha
  12. Tithi: Dwitiya up to 22:50 hours
  13. Nakshatra: Dhanishta up to 9:31 hours then Shatabhisha 
  14. Yoga:        Shobhana up to 05:08 hours, 6 Aug 2020
  15. Karana: Taitila upto 10:18 hours Garaja up to 22:50  
  16. Sun Sign: Karaka-Cancer 
  17. Sun Nakshatra: Ashlesha
  18. Moon Sign: Kumbha-Aquarius 
  19. Rahu Kalam:       12:07 to 13:46 hours
  20. Gulika Kalam: 10:28 to 12:07 hours
  21. Yamaganda: 7:11 to 8:49 hours
  22. Abhijit: None
  23. Dur Muhurtam: 11:41 to 12:33 hours
  24. Amrit Kalam: 3:34  to 5:17 hours  6 Sep 2020 
  25. Varjyam: 17:15 to 18:58 hours
  26. Chogadia: Roga-Evil 12:07 hours to 13:46 hours (Vaar Vela)
  27. Hora: Venus -Beneficial 12:07 hours- 13:13 hours
  28. Lagna rising: Tula-Libra  

Let me discuss the positive and challenging combination of planets for the said date and time. 

Positive Points

  1. Tithi: All odd Tithis except 9th are Good for. Of the even Tithis 2nd, 6th and 10th are considered auspicious. In our case Tithi is 2nd in Krishna Paksha (Waning Moon).    Shukla Paksha (Waxing Moon) is considered better.  Hence the Tithi is of medium strength.
  • Day:  Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays are the best.  Even Monday should be rejected when Moon is in Krishna Paksha (Waning Moon).  In our case, the day is Wednesday.  Hence it is Ok
  • Yoga: Shobhana up to 05:08 hours (till 6 Aug 2020). This Yoga is usually described as “splendid”, “beautiful” or “virtuous”.  This is a  positive Yoga. 
  • Karana :   Gara or Garaja is a benefice Karana, suitable for sowing, ploughing, farming,  seeds, house, support related.  Hence it is  Ok
  • Gowrie Panchanga: There is another Pachanga used in South India, called Gowri Panchangam, which is used for checking auspicious time to start new work and avoid inauspicious timings. Due to its simplicity, Gowri Pachanga can be used for any Muhurta. As per this system, Muhurta called Sugam (Good) would be active from 8:49 hours to 10:28 hours.
  • Do Ghati Muhurat: This Muhurta is called ‘Vasu’, which would be active from 9:05:01 hours to 9:57:25 hours and is considered Auspicious Muhurta
  • Hora:  Hora of Jupiter would be active from 8:51:55 hours to 9:57:25 hours. Jupiter hora is considered auspicious and fruitful time for  Spiritual matters

Challenging Points as per Astrology Texts but can be got away as per my opinion

1. Nakshatra: Rohini, Mrigashira, Chitra, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Uttara, Uttarashada and Saravana are the best Nakshatra to lay the foundation stone.  In our case on the said date and time, Moon will be in Satabhisha Nakshatra controlled by Rahu. Traditionally or going by the textbooks, this may not be good.   This is considered inauspicious

My Opinion: But I like doing ‘Fine Tuning’. Yes, Moon will be in Satabhisha Nakshatra, controlled by Rahu. Further each Nakshatra is divided into 4 pada (parts).  Moon will be transiting in Part 1 and that is controlled by Jupiter.   Hence this Nakshatra will be controlled by Rahu and Jupiter together.  Further adding to my analysis. Rahu and Jupiter 

both are in House 9 (House of Dharma), and in Fixed sign in Scorpio in D9 Chart and in Trine from m D9 Lagna, after fine tuning, this is a good Nakshatra for building Devalaya (places of worship)

2. Abhijit Muhurta: Each day, Abhijit Muhurta starts approximately 24 minutes before the mid-day and ends 24 minutes after the mid-day. This time mainly depends on the duration of that day, means time between Sunrise and Sunset. This Muhurta is considered as an auspicious time which approximately lasts for 48 minutes. It’s said, this Muhurta is capable of destroying innumerable Dosha and it is also considered as one of the best Muhurtas to start all sort of auspicious works. This Muhurta is a powerful election and can be chosen for day-to-day life activities without going into intricacies of finding a suitable Muhurta for the day.  Some Astrology texts are of opinion this Muhurta is not suitable on Wednesdays as it forms a malefic Muhurta on Wednesdays (I do not know why?)  Traditionally speaking or going by the textbook, this is inauspicious.

My Opinion: I was just thinking, if I follow the formula of calculating Abhijit Muhurta regardless of day (ignoring the Wednesday rule), then this Muhurta shall fall between 11:42:14 hours to 12:34:38 hours.   In my opinion, this is Auspicious

Though Astrologically there may not be very auspicious Muhurta for laying the Foundation Stone on that day, but keeping in Mind,   Lord Rama is said to have taken birth at midday in Abhijeet Muhurta and this is the very good time for laying Foundation stone as Abhijit Muhurta would be in action (if I do not take Wednesday as bad omen for Abhijit Muhurat).   Wednesday is controlled by Mercury and Mercury stands for Lord Vishnu.  Lord Rama was the 7thincarnation of Lord Vishnu. In this way, we can get away from the inauspicious effects.  This is my personal opinion only.   I strongly believe Astrologers should carry on their own research scientifically to verify the established rules as in text books.

3. Rahu Kaal:  This will  be active from 12:07 hours to 13:46 hours.  This I do not understand, why take 12:15 hours for Muhurta as  this time falls in Rahu Kaal and this must be avoided.  In fact this time also falls in Dur Muhurta  (11:41 hours to 12:33 hours) which is also considered inauspicious.

Note: But I am just guessing, possibly the Puja would start just before 12:07 hours at the back ground to avoid  the commencement time during Rahu Kaal. 

4. Panchak Yoga:  whole day. Not Auspicious.   But I think, Panchak  has nothing to do with this type of work.  

5. Lunar Month: No house building should be commenced in the Lunar month of Jyeshtha, Ashaada, Bhadrapada, Ashvin, Mrigashira, Pushya and Phalguna as they connote respectively death, destruction, disease, quarrels and misunderstandings, loss of wealth, incendiarism and physical danger.  The lunar months of Chaitra, Vishakha, Saravana, Kartika ad Magha are the best. 

Here lies some confusion. There are two main systems for calendars used in India.  

  • Amavasyant: The new month begins after Amavasya (New Moon), taking  Amavasya as the last day of the previous month. This is mostly used in South India. 
  • Purnimant:  The new month begins after Poornima (Full Moon),  taking Poornima is the last day of the previous month. This is mostly used in North India

If we follow Amavasyant system, this Lunar month is Bhadrapada, hence inauspicious and if we follow Purnimant system then this Lunar month is Saravana, becomes auspicious. Bhadrapada is not favourable but Saravana is.  But I am not too sure what system are we following here?  But Sun in Cancer sign is indeed good.

Note: In my humble opinion, it seems that we are following Amavasyant system, may be for convenience or justify the Muhurta.

7. Lagna- Ascendant: 

12 Signs of the zodiac are divided inti three categories, Moveable, Fixed and Dual signs. Movable signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) represent activities, movements, changes and  some dissatisfaction (leading to some changes later on). Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio,  Aquarius) represent Steadiness and any work of long term and of Fixed nature. And Dual signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) represent dual nature.

Generally, Lagna rising in Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) is recommended for establishment of the Laying of Foundation stone.

Lagna (Ascendant) rising at 12:15 hours on 5 Aug 2020 at Ayodhya, India would be Libra 17-59 degrees. This is Moveable sign (Char Rasi) and must be avoided.  Yes, in case of emergency, Moveable signs may be selected as Muhurta, provided Navamsa Sign (D-9 chart) falls in Fixed signs and also subject to the satisfactory disposition of other astrological factors.  Here in D9 chart Lagna (Ascendant) is Pisces which is a Dual/Common Sign.  Dual/Common signs may also be considered provided they are occupied by strong benefices

My Opinion:  In my humble opinion, Dual signs, (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) are occupied   by Rahu conjunct Venus in Gemini, Ketu and Jupiter-R in Sagittarius and Mars in Pisces.  Sage Jaimini was of the opinion as given in Jaimini Astrology, these signs aspects each other, to justify I may say, this Muhurta Time someway special too

But  the Lagna rising at 12:15 hours represents some changes involving some movements and some sort of duality at later stage, possibly during/after the building of the temple. Only time would tell

My understanding which is not given in any texts: Lagna falls in Swati Nakshatra ruled by Rahu which is in 9thhouse with less than 1 degree away from his Guru-Venus, who is the Lord of the Lagna.  To me, this could be the positive point.  Venus being Guru of Rahu, may keep an eye on his disciple and may not allow Rahu to cause any disturbance. Sage Parashara in his method of astrology may not agree with this principle, but as per my little experience (I am sorry, I do not take the face value of all the astrology rules given in astrology texts without me testing them extensively)  this is the positive factor in choosing this time for Muhurta.  

To my experience Rahu also means ‘Out of Box, Foreign, Least expected, etc’ activity or any activity caused by people of different faith than Hinduism.  To my experience Rahu controls people from Muslim faith.  Hence some protest from Muslims may come.

If I see this situation from the lens of the Politicians of the opposite party (as we all know), some of them would always create a fuss regardless of what the Government does.  Sathya Sai Baba said, “Politics without principles, Education without character, Science without humanity, and Commerce without morality are not only useless, but also positively dangerous.”  Regarding “politics without principle“, Gandhi said having politics without truth(s) to justly dictate the action creates chaos, which ultimately leads to violence. Gandhi called these missteps “passive violence”, which fuels the active violence of crime, rebellion, and war.  This is the state of the opposition party in India  as at now.

If I look into Trines, that is, Libra sign Trine Aquarius  sign Trine Gemini sign then we have Lagna Trine Moon Trine  Rahu + Venus;  and all these are in Harmony or say supporting each other.   And not to forget Jupiter is in the nakshatra of Venus too, hence Venus would also have some energy of Gurudeva Jupiter. I think these combination would add some positive strength to the Muhurta. 

I dare to say, as to me it seems strongly, majority of the Muslims WILL Support the Bhumi Puja in good spirits, but some would create havoc under the influence of Politicians and/or opposite party  or someone popping in from “out of box, foreign or from least expected place”

As I said earlier, Lord Rama was born in Abhijit Muhurta, that is at midday. Sun is always right at top of the head around this time; in Astrology this is called Sun in Mid Heaven or at Zenith.  May be   this is why this  time is chosen for Laying the foundations stone.   This out of box thought and is not given in any astrology texts I am aware of.  This is just my opinion.

D1 and D9 charts have some great combinations.  D1 chart has  Sun + Merc in House 10   and  Dr chart has Sun  and Moon in house 10.  This combinations makes SUN extremely powerful.  In my opinion, though pure Muhurta is not there but these combinations would indeed add much more value in rectifying the short falls.

One thing is serious here.  D9 chart has Pisces rising and in D1 chart this falls in 6th house with Mars in it with getting 4th aspect from Ketu.  This combination promotes Fire element from enemies, in the form of Fire, Blasts, Violence.   In my humble opinion A competent Pandit/Astrologer  should conduct some ritualic prayers to Lord Ganesha and Lord Hanuman before starting anything else, this may ward off the evil influences

To my knowledge, Sun stands for Lord Rama, who was from the linage of Sun, (Suryavanshi),  Mercury stands for Vishnu,  and Rama was the seventh incarnation of Lod Vishnu. Moon stands for Krishna who was from the linage of Moon, (Chandravanshi). Here Sun plays the important role.

I think D9 chart is strong with other Astrological factors.  In  D9 chart, Rahu, Venus and Jupiter are in Scorpio which is the Fixed sign and that may also add some positive energy.  

Further, Jupiter is in Trine to D9 Lagna, aspecting the D9 Lagna Pisces at his own house of Spirituality.  Adding more, Jupiter is the Raja Yoga Karaka too, Lord of D9 Lagna  and Lord of D9 House 10, placed in 9th house, makes powerful Raja Yoga. Though Rahu is there too but I do not think this Rahu is causing as such big problem.

8. Moon:  Moon will be at 8-06 deg in Aquarius, in Satabhisha Nakshatra, pada-1.  Rasi lord is Saturn and Nakshatra Lord is Rahu.  Moon will be hemmed between Saturn and Mars, creating Papa Kartari Yoga.  The dispositor of Moon is Saturn and is Retrograde.  As per textbook, This reduces the auspiciousness of the Muhurta but as I mentioned earlier Moon would be transiting the first part of the Nakshatra controlled by Jupiter, and Rahu and Jupiter v both are in House 9, Fixed Sign and giving harmony to the Lagna.  I would say this is Good Yoga.

Conclusion:  If we base the Muhurta purely on textbooks then this does not fall into auspicious category, and that may cause some obstructions in time to come.  Some element of violence, fire tragedy, protest, blasts, foreign elements, some activities by Muslims and/or terrorists cannot be ruled out, but that can be overcome by conducting appropriate prayers/rituals for sure.

My opinion:  This Muhurta would indeed cause some movements or changes in time to come but we can get away from most malefic effects of planets due to the Astrology combinations that I have discussed above.

Overall, I would salute to the Astrologer who has shown his Astrology skills in selecting such a Muhurta in an extremely difficult Astrological time/combination, possibly to help the Governing body to achieve the milestone

I am sure, all would go well with the Grace of Sri Rama and the Grand Rama Temple would be built with its everlasting glory. Glory to Sri Rama

Ravinder Grover