Muhurta

Muhūrt (Sanskrit: मुहूर्त) is a Hindu unit of measurement for time in the Hindu calendar.

In the Brāhmaṇas, muhūrt denotes a division of time: one-thirtieth of a day, or a period of forty-eight minutes. The sense "moment" is also common in the Brāhmanạs. In the Rigveda we only find the sense "moment."

Etymology

The "Sandhi Vidchhed" for the term is thus: It breaks muhūrt into two parts, "muhu" (moment/immediate) and "ṛta" (order). The author of Ṛg Ved III.33.5 has accordingly created this descriptive term. Ṛta refers to the natural, yearly order of the seasons, so that the term muhūrt refers to the daily reflection of these. Also, cf., Śatpath Brāhmaṇa X.4.2.18, as below.

Usage in the Vedic Period

The term appears as early as the Ṛg Veda, where, according to Monier Williams, it means "a moment", but does not evidence any specification of an exact periodicity there as received in later works, such as the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa, "The One Hundred Path Riddle" or the Taittirīya-Brāhmaṇa, "The Partridge's Riddle".