Vyaghata Yoga

Vyaghata is the thirteenth yoga. The Sanskrit word means a striking down, a blow or an obstruction, and almanacs call it the striking-down day. Its deity is Vayu, the wind, and its nature is inauspicious. Unlike Atiganda, Shoola or Ganda, where the cautions are mostly confined to an opening window, this is one of the yogas for which the whole span is treated as weak.

Wind as the deity has a plausible interpretive link: wind is sudden, unpredictable and capable of toppling things. Almanac readers therefore connect the yoga with abrupt setbacks. The list of things to postpone is long and includes travel, marriage, business launches, surgery, court cases and major purchases. What is recommended in their place is quieter: self-reflection, mantra japa and indoor study. In other words, treat the day as one for turning inward.

It is important to keep this in proportion. A panchang yoga is a calculated interval and its reputation is a matter of tradition, not a measured effect on events. Households differ greatly in how seriously they take it, and necessary matters such as medical care or a pre-booked journey are not generally put off on this account. If something important does fall in such a span, a simple prayer to Vayu or Hanuman, who is regarded as the son of the wind, is a common custom, though that is a popular practice and not something the almanacs themselves prescribe. Vyaghata comes after Dhruva and before Harshana.