Brahma Muhurta : The Hour of Divinity & Our Health What is that one thing you hated the most as a kid? Undoubtedly (or maybe), it was your mother waking you up early in the morning to study. Little did you know that she was doing right by bringing out the best in you and carving a wonderful future ahead. Our ancestors were keen on waking up in the morning and knew the benefits of being active early. Ayurveda has always given importance to a healthy lifestyle and mentions ‘Brahma muhurta’ as the best time to wake up. If you still hate your Mondays or like to snooze the alarm, read on to know what miraculous effect early mornings can bring into your life and what Ayurveda says about Brahma muhurta. What Is Brahma Muhurta? The word ‘Brahma’ literally means knowledge and ‘Muhurta’ stands for time. Thus, Brahma muhurta is a specific time that is considered best for gaining knowledge. It is the last phase of night, before the dawn when one should give up his/her sleep and gear up for a new day. As a mode of healthy lifestyle, Ashtanga Hridayam describes the importance of Brahma muhurta, the first thing in the chapter Dinacharya: ब्राह्मे मुहूर्त उत्तिष्ठेत्स्वस्थो रक्षार्थमायुषः II                                           (Ashtanga Hridayam Sutrasthana 2/1) Acharya Vaghbata in the above verse says, a person should wake up at Brahma muhurta in the best interest to protect his life and for longevity. Now the question comes as to which time is considered as Brahma muhurta. There is a difference of opinion regarding the time of Brahma muhurta, but the most accepted time period is roughly one and a half hours before sunrise or more precisely 1 hour 36 minutes before sunrise. A quick look at this calculation is going to be interesting: According to commentators like Arunadatta, Indu and Hemadri, one Ahorathram (one day and one night) consists of 30 muhurtas in total, which means a day and night consists of 15 muhurtas each. Brahma muhurta is the 14th Muhurtakala of night. 1 muhurta = 48minutes Therefore, 1 night = 15 muhurta = 15*48 = 720 minutes. Since Brahma muhurta is the 14th muhurtakala of night, it comes after the completion of 13 muhurtas. Also, 13*48 = 624 minutes. Thus, Brahma muhurta is 720-624 = 96 minutes or 1 hour 36 minutes before sunrise. As the sunrise varies according to seasons and weather changes in different parts of the world, Brahma muhurta also varies