History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.251

v6.c82.251

Here the word *muhūrta* means 15th part of the day (i. e in a general way about two nāḍikās or ghaṭikās) Ṛg. X. 189. 3 appears⁷⁸³ to contain a somewhat recondite allusion to thirty parts of the day and night 'by the rays of the sun thirty locations of the day (and night) shine forth; a laud is offered to the bird (the sun).' The fifteen names (viz citra, ketu &c.) of the muhūrtas of the day and 15 muhūrtas of the night occur in Tai Br. III.⁷⁸⁴ 10 1. 1-3. The Vedāṅga-Jyotiṣa states that two nāḍikās are equal to a muhūrta (verse 7 of Vedāṅga-Jyotiṣa of Ṛg.) and that there is a difference of six muhūrtas (i. e 12 ghaṭikās) between the longest and shortest day⁷⁸⁵ Manu I. 64, Kauṭilya (quoted in note 681) and several purāṇas (quoted in note 682) state that day and night are together equal to thirty muhūrtas Therefore, the second meaning of muhūrta from early Brāhmaṇa times at least was 'a period of two ghaṭikās'. The Kauṣītaki-upaniṣad speaks of muhūrtas called Yeṣṭihas⁷⁸⁶