Hora

We know, each day in a week represents one planet. Sunday represents Sun, Monday represents Moon, Tuesday Mars, Wednesday Mercury, Thursday Jupiter, Friday Venus and Saturday represents Saturn.

But, do you know why only 7 days a week and the days are in the order of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday ... to Saturday? Is it a random order or is there a reason behind this order?. Let us discuss about this.

Our great Sages of ancient time noticed that the seven planets Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn rule earth in a time slot of one hour through a day. For instances, Sun rules the earth for 1 hour, Moon for one hour and so on.

They also noticed that all the seven planets rule the earth in certain order based on their orbital period around the earth (assuming Earth centric).

The orbital period was categorized as 1) Planets that take less than or equal to one year 2) More than one year. Thus, the approximate orbital period of planets can be arranged in two groups as shown below.

The Sages noticed that the Planets rule the Earth, first in the descending order of orbital period that takes less than or equal to one year, followed by planets that take more than a year.

So, the order of planets by which it rules Earth is Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. This order i.e., from Sun to Mars repeats itself after every 7th hour.

The descending order concept is partially represented in the table below.

In the table above, every 25th hour from a planet will follow the order of days in a week.

For instance let us take Venus, 16. It represents Friday. Now, counting 25 from 16, it is 40 which represents Saturn i.e. Saturday, the next day to Friday.

On Friday morning, the first 1 hour from Sun rise (say, 6 to 7 AM) will be ruled by Venus (16). The 25th hour from there will be next day morning Saturn (40), which means the first 1 hour of Saturday will be ruled by Saturn. The 25th hour from Saturn (40) is Sun (64) which means the first 1 hour of Sunday will be ruled by Sun.

Thus, everyday is assigned by the name of the planets which rules for the first 1 hour from Sun rise. Therefore, the order of days in a week is not random, it is based on the name of the ruling planet for the first 1 hour (from sunrise) following the sequence of orbital periods.

What is Hora? Hora (होरा) in Sanskrit means Hour. Based on the ruling Planets, the Hora is called as Arka (Sun) Hora, Chanda (Moon) Hora, Mangal (Mars) Hora, Budha (Mercury) Hora, Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus) Hora and Manda (Saturn) Hora.

Now that we know what is the starting Hora of a day, and the order of occurrence of other Hora, we can easily find out the Hora of any particular hour of day.

Significance of Hora - It is said that "Well begun is half done". So, when we begin something, if it aligns with the significance of the ruling planet of the Hour, then it will be done hassle free.

The significance of the Hora will be the same as the significance of the ruling planet.

For instance, Sun represents Government, Authority etc., If we are planning to begin a project that needs Government Support, Aid etc., then it should be started in Sun Hora.

Given below are some of the activities to be taken up under appropriate Hora.

Sun : Work / Project related to Government work, Politics, Court related work, Commencement of Pujas, Rituals, Matters related with father (as Sun represents Father)

Moon : Activities related to Travel, Tour, Sea related activities such as Boating, Cruising, Fishing, Treatment of Mother, Social Gathering, Food, Gardening

Mars : Ideal for dealing with Real Estate, Land, Agriculture, Physical Exercise, Defense related activities, Adventurous activities, Sports, Activities related with Blood such as Surgery, Repayment of Debt, Matters related with Younger siblings

Mercury : This deals with Intelligence and communication. Hence, Mercury Hora is ideal for activities related Education, Agreement, Documentation, Launching Website or Media of communication, Advertisement

Jupiter : Jupiter signifies Religious activities, Law and Finance. Hence Jupiter Hora is ideal for Learning Vedas and Philosophy, Activities related to temples such as Visiting Temples, Chanting Mantras, Performing Pujas, Activities related to Banking, Investment, Financing, Activities related to Court cases

Venus : Ideal for Love, Romance, Honeymoon, Vacations, Buying luxury items, Activities related to Entertainment such as Movies, Drama, Fine arts & Music, Buying Vehicles, Properties, Marriage

Saturn : Saturn signifies Slowness. So, activities which need quick action should not be taken during Shani Hora. It is ideal for activities related with Machines such as buying, installing, maintaining, and activities related with labors such as hiring / firing, addressing their grievances, opening long term deposit account