Kalaprakasika (1917, p. 150) prints a plate that gives one of the three gunas, Sathwa, Rajas or Thamas, to each hour-and-a-half period of the day and of the night, for every weekday: 112 cells. All 112 follow one rule. Start at Sunday's first daytime period with Thamas, and step Thamas, Sathwa, Rajas, Thamas without ever starting over, through the night and into the next day.
☕ Three steps, never reset
The three gunas are the three natures of the tradition: Sathwa, clear and calm; Rajas, active; and Thamas, heavy and still. Kalaprakasika gives each stretch of time one of them. Its plate cuts the day into eight periods and the night into eight, each an hour and a half, and names the guna of every period for all seven weekdays.
The plate looks like a table to be memorised, but it is one cycle. Begin on Sunday's first daytime period with Thamas. The next period is Sathwa, then Rajas, then Thamas again, and so on, straight through the night and on into Monday. A weekday has 16 periods, and 16 leaves 1 when divided by 3, so each weekday begins one step further round than the day before: Sunday Thamas; Monday Sathwa; Tuesday Rajas; Wednesday Thamas; Thursday Sathwa; Friday Rajas; Saturday Thamas.
On the page before the plate (p. 149) the book adds which rising signs go badly with each guna's periods. Jataka Parijata states the same cycle in its own words. This page explains the rule and builds on the eighths of the day explained in this series.
Nava Panchangam does not use this rule in its day score. This page explains it as the books give it.
The rule, and the signs the book pairs with it
- Sunday, first daytime period: Thamas
- Then Thamas, Sathwa, Rajas in turn, one per period of an hour and a half
- No fresh start: night follows day, and the next weekday follows the night
- Each weekday therefore starts one step later than the one before
- Sathwa periods: Pisces, Virgo, Cancer, Sagittarius
- Rajas periods: Taurus, Scorpio, Libra, Aries
- Thamas periods: Gemini, Leo, Aquarius, Capricorn
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three gunas?
Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, the three natures of the tradition: roughly clarity, activity and stillness. Kalaprakasika's plate gives one of them to every hour and a half of the week.
Do I need to memorise the plate?
No. Start from Thamas at Sunday's first daytime period and count forward in threes, period by period. Every cell of the plate falls out of that count.
Why does each weekday start on a different guna?
Because a weekday has 16 periods, 8 by day and 8 by night, and 16 is one more than a multiple of 3. So the count arrives at each new weekday one step further round.
How long is a period?
The plate's note says an hour and thirty minutes: eight by day and eight by night on the book's 12-hour day and night.
Does the app use the gunas?
No. The app does not use the guna cycle in the day score or anywhere else.
The plate, rebuilt from the rule
Both halves of the plate, generated by the one rule; every cell matches the book's printed plate (p. 150).
☀️ Daytime periods 1–8
T = Thamas, S = Sathwa, R = Rajas. Each row is a weekday from sunrise; each column a period of an hour and a half. These are the cells of Kalaprakasika's plate (p. 150).
| Weekday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | T | S | R | T | S | R | T | S |
| Monday | S | R | T | S | R | T | S | R |
| Tuesday | R | T | S | R | T | S | R | T |
| Wednesday | T | S | R | T | S | R | T | S |
| Thursday | S | R | T | S | R | T | S | R |
| Friday | R | T | S | R | T | S | R | T |
| Saturday | T | S | R | T | S | R | T | S |
🌙 Night periods 1–8
T = Thamas, S = Sathwa, R = Rajas. The night of each weekday, from sunset. Each row picks up where that day's eighth daytime period left off.
| Weekday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | R | T | S | R | T | S | R | T |
| Monday | T | S | R | T | S | R | T | S |
| Tuesday | S | R | T | S | R | T | S | R |
| Wednesday | R | T | S | R | T | S | R | T |
| Thursday | T | S | R | T | S | R | T | S |
| Friday | S | R | T | S | R | T | S | R |
| Saturday | R | T | S | R | T | S | R | T |
📖 Where the rule is written
Kalaprakasika gives the plate (p. 150) and, on the page before it (p. 149), the signs adverse to each guna. Jataka Parijata (ch. IX, p. 646) states the cycle and gives each weekday's first and last period, which agree with it. Both books are of one tradition, so this is one rule written twice, not two proofs of it.
See also the eighths of the day.