WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ASTAPRAHARA IN HINDUISM ?

09 FACTS;--

1-In Hindu Belief times is a cyclical rather than in linear concept. The cycle of birth death and rebirth is evident everywhere in nature and the sun itself is the most obvious heavenly body that not only sustains life on earth but in so doing makes a daily journey according to the dictates of time.

2-In observing the constraints of time and in its apparent motion the sun also defines times on earth giving each sector of the 24 hours cycle a unique character of its own.Starting from sunrise and going all the way to the deepest darkness before the rising sun once again baths everything in its light and beauty each time sector has very definites characteristics. It is linked not only to the wider cosmic scheme of things but also to the more mundane day to day human existence in terms of the tasks that have to be performed with in the 24-hour cycle.

3-The day is divided into eight sections of three hours each known as Paher in modern Urdu/Hindi or Prahar in Sanskrit. The rang system of North Indian Classical music is also inextricably linked to these time observances.

4-The concept of prahar originated where the lengths of the day and night were based on actual, observable sunrise and sunset. The four praharas of the day start at sunrise, and the four praharas of the night at sunset. If the location is near the equator, where day and night are the same length year round, the praharas of the day and the praharas of the night will be of equal length (three hours each).

5-In other regions, where the relative length of day and night varies according to the season, the praharas of the day will be longer or shorter than the praharas of the night.

6-The first prahara is commonly placed at sunrise, although some sources place it at the brahma-muhurta, a period of time before sunrise(around 4.30 AM when Venus can be sited).

7-Contemporary discussions of prahara often use 6:00 am (the time of sunrise at the equator and at the equinoxes) as a theoretical fixed point of reference for mapping out the praharas at three-hour intervals (6-9, 9-12, etc.).

8-This scheme is a useful pedagogical tool and an efficient way of applying the concept of prahara in a technological "clock" culture. when the days are longer than the nights, the praharas of the day will be longer than the praharas of the night, and vice versa during the winter.

9-NAME OF PRAHARA------ Day--Purvahana,,,,,Madhana,,,.Aprahana.,,Saiyakal

(6-9,,,,,.9-12,,,,12-3,,,,3--6) Night--Pradosh,,,,.Nishith.,,,,Triyama,,,,.Ushakal

(6-9,,,,,,9-12,,,,12--3,,,,3-6) NOTE-Saiakal,&Ushakal &Nishithkal---are considered Sadhnakal.--- SHIVOHAM.........