Chandra Grahan 2028 (lunar eclipses)
Every lunar eclipse of 2028 is below, for your city: whether it is seen there, its times, and the vedha, popularly sūtak, with what the texts say.
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:25
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:43
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
11:41
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:13
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:24
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:20
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:44
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:39
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:31
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 22:38 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00.
12:11
01:00
Partial lunar eclipse
Wednesday, 12 January 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Wed 12 Jan, 03:45 to 04:41.
14:10
04:41
Partial lunar eclipse
Tuesday, 11 January 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Tue 11 Jan, 22:45 to 23:41.
12:03
23:41
Partial lunar eclipse
Tuesday, 11 January 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Tue 11 Jan, 22:45 to 23:41.
12:25
23:41
Partial lunar eclipse
Friday, 7 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Fri 7 Jul, 03:08 to 05:30.
14:29
05:30
Partial lunar eclipse
Thursday, 6 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Thu 6 Jul, 21:08 to 23:30.
08:59
23:30
Partial lunar eclipse
Friday, 7 July 2028
Seen as a partial eclipse, from Fri 7 Jul, 01:08 to 03:30.
13:09
03:30
What counts as an eclipse here
Only an eclipse fit to be seen with the eye has a holy time. Where the body sets eclipsed there is none after the setting, and where it rises eclipsed none before the rising. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 103–106
Clouds do not cancel it: the contact and release times are taken from the computation, and the bath and gifts go ahead. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 106
A penumbral lunar eclipse has no shadow bite, so by our reading of the Dharmasindhu’s “fit to be seen” it is not reckoned as a grahaṇa. For a lunar eclipse, the contacts that count are the umbral ones. Dharmasindhu p. 26
Lunar eclipse, Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Tuesday 11 January 2028Tuesday 11 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028Wednesday 12 January 2028
Partial · each city’s own time Not seen from Delhi: an eclipse below the horizon carries no holy time, no vedha and no rites there. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu pp. 103–106
Astronomy only: greatest eclipse at Wed 12 Jan, 09:43, Delhi time.
Lunar eclipse, Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Friday 7 July 2028Thursday 6 July 2028Friday 7 July 2028
Partial · each city’s own time Seen from Delhi as a partial.
Penumbral contacts: Thu 6 Jul, 21:14 and Fri 7 Jul, 02:25.
Vedha (popularly sutak)
From Thu 6 Jul, 12:25 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00, Delhi time.
By the texts, for a lunar eclipse no food is taken in the three praharas before the prahara holding the first contact seen here, a prahara being a quarter of the place’s own day or night. Dharmasindhu p. 28; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 89
It ends with the bath after the last contact seen here. Dharmasindhu p. 26
Popularly, sūtak is counted 9 hours before the eclipse begins: from Thu 6 Jul, 13:38. That is practice, not in the texts read.
Children, the old and the sick: the Dharmasindhu gives a vedha of one and a half praharas or three muhūrtas, and the Nirṇaya-sindhu one prahara before the eclipse’s prahara. Dharmasindhu p. 28; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 90
The Dharmasindhu has householders with sons keep no optional fast at an eclipse. Dharmasindhu p. 26
What the texts prescribe
The texts give the order: bathe at the first contact; homa, worship and śrāddha in the middle; gifts while it releases; and the bath after the release. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 92
During the eclipse the Dharmasindhu sets aside sleep, eating, oil massage, intercourse, urination and defecation. Dharmasindhu p. 28
After it, the Dharmasindhu has auspicious acts wait: a total lunar eclipse bars seven days, from Dvādaśī to Tṛtīyā; a total solar eclipse, from Ekādaśī to Caturthī; and a partial one, three days from Caturdaśī. Dharmasindhu p. 29
For marriage, this site’s list follows the Dharmasindhu’s own note on eclipses instead. DS p. 181, note
The marriage dates: Vivah muhurat 2028.
By birth sign
The Dharmasindhu counts the sign the eclipse stands in from one’s birth Moon sign: the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th are good; the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 9th middling; and the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th bad, worst in the birth sign or star. Dharmasindhu p. 28
This one stands in Dhanu, in Pūrvāṣāḍhā: the Moon’s sidereal sign and star at greatest eclipse, by our reading, since the texts name no instant.
| Birth Moon sign | The eclipse’s place from it | The text’s word |
|---|---|---|
| Mesha (Aries) | 9th | middling |
| Vrishabha (Taurus) | 8th | bad |
| Mithuna (Gemini) | 7th | middling |
| Karka (Cancer) | 6th | good |
| Simha (Leo) | 5th | middling |
| Kanya (Virgo) | 4th | bad |
| Tula (Libra) | 3rd | good |
| Vrishchika (Scorpio) | 2nd | middling |
| Dhanu (Sagittarius) | 1st | bad, worst in the birth sign |
| Makara (Capricorn) | 12th | bad |
| Kumbha (Aquarius) | 11th | good |
| Meena (Pisces) | 10th | good |
Worst of all, by the Dharmasindhu, for one whose birth sign is Dhanu or whose birth star is Pūrvāṣāḍhā. The Nirṇaya-sindhu widens the birth star to three: the star and the stars either side of it. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 98
For a bad place the Dharmasindhu gives Garga’s śānti or a bimba-dāna: a gold serpent with a gold Sun or a silver Moon, in a bronze vessel filled with ghee, with sesame, cloth and a fee. Dharmasindhu pp. 28–29
It adds that one in whose birth sign the eclipse falls should not look at it at all. Dharmasindhu p. 29
Lunar eclipse, Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Sunday 31 December 2028Monday 1 January 2029Sunday 31 December 2028Monday 1 January 2029
Total · each city’s own time Seen from Delhi as a total.
Penumbral contacts: Sun 31 Dec, 19:33 and Mon 1 Jan 2029, 01:10.
Vedha (popularly sutak)
From Sun 31 Dec, 09:49 to Mon 1 Jan 2029, 00:06, Delhi time.
By the texts, for a lunar eclipse no food is taken in the three praharas before the prahara holding the first contact seen here, a prahara being a quarter of the place’s own day or night. Dharmasindhu p. 28; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 89
It ends with the bath after the last contact seen here. Dharmasindhu p. 26
Popularly, sūtak is counted 9 hours before the eclipse begins: from Sun 31 Dec, 11:37. That is practice, not in the texts read.
Some, in the Dharmasindhu, give four praharas for a total lunar eclipse: from Sun 31 Dec, 07:14. Dharmasindhu p. 28
Children, the old and the sick: the Dharmasindhu gives a vedha of one and a half praharas or three muhūrtas, and the Nirṇaya-sindhu one prahara before the eclipse’s prahara. Dharmasindhu p. 28; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 90
The Dharmasindhu has householders with sons keep no optional fast at an eclipse. Dharmasindhu p. 26
What the texts prescribe
The texts give the order: bathe at the first contact; homa, worship and śrāddha in the middle; gifts while it releases; and the bath after the release. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 92
During the eclipse the Dharmasindhu sets aside sleep, eating, oil massage, intercourse, urination and defecation. Dharmasindhu p. 28
After it, the Dharmasindhu has auspicious acts wait: a total lunar eclipse bars seven days, from Dvādaśī to Tṛtīyā; a total solar eclipse, from Ekādaśī to Caturthī; and a partial one, three days from Caturdaśī. Dharmasindhu p. 29
For marriage, this site’s list follows the Dharmasindhu’s own note on eclipses instead. DS p. 181, note
The marriage dates: Vivah muhurat 2028.
By birth sign
The Dharmasindhu counts the sign the eclipse stands in from one’s birth Moon sign: the 3rd, 6th, 10th and 11th are good; the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 9th middling; and the 1st, 4th, 8th and 12th bad, worst in the birth sign or star. Dharmasindhu p. 28
This one stands in Mithuna, in Ārdrā: the Moon’s sidereal sign and star at greatest eclipse, by our reading, since the texts name no instant.
| Birth Moon sign | The eclipse’s place from it | The text’s word |
|---|---|---|
| Mesha (Aries) | 3rd | good |
| Vrishabha (Taurus) | 2nd | middling |
| Mithuna (Gemini) | 1st | bad, worst in the birth sign |
| Karka (Cancer) | 12th | bad |
| Simha (Leo) | 11th | good |
| Kanya (Virgo) | 10th | good |
| Tula (Libra) | 9th | middling |
| Vrishchika (Scorpio) | 8th | bad |
| Dhanu (Sagittarius) | 7th | middling |
| Makara (Capricorn) | 6th | good |
| Kumbha (Aquarius) | 5th | middling |
| Meena (Pisces) | 4th | bad |
Worst of all, by the Dharmasindhu, for one whose birth sign is Mithuna or whose birth star is Ārdrā. The Nirṇaya-sindhu widens the birth star to three: the star and the stars either side of it. Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 98
For a bad place the Dharmasindhu gives Garga’s śānti or a bimba-dāna: a gold serpent with a gold Sun or a silver Moon, in a bronze vessel filled with ghee, with sesame, cloth and a fee. Dharmasindhu pp. 28–29
It adds that one in whose birth sign the eclipse falls should not look at it at all. Dharmasindhu p. 29
Questions
From the Dharmasindhu and the Nirṇaya-sindhu, with the page for each.
When are the lunar eclipses in 2028?
Wednesday, 12 January 2028 (partial); Thursday, 6 July 2028 (partial); Sunday, 31 December 2028 (total). Seen from Delhi: 6 July and 31 December.
Will the 6 July eclipse be seen in India?
Yes, from all ten Indian cities listed here. In Delhi it is seen as a partial eclipse.
When does the sutak start?
For a lunar eclipse, by the texts, no food is taken in the three praharas before the prahara holding the first contact seen in Delhi: for the 6 July eclipse, the vedha runs from Thu 6 Jul, 12:25 to Fri 7 Jul, 01:00. (Dharmasindhu p. 28; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 89) Popularly, sūtak is counted 9 hours before the eclipse begins: from Thu 6 Jul, 13:38. That is practice, not in the texts read.
Is a penumbral eclipse a grahan?
By our reading, no. A penumbral eclipse has no shadow bite, so it is not “fit to be seen” as the Dharmasindhu asks, and it carries no vedha and no rites. Dharmasindhu p. 26
What do the texts say to do during an eclipse?
They give the order: bathe at the first contact; homa, worship and śrāddha in the middle; gifts while it releases; and the bath after the release. Dharmasindhu p. 26; Nirṇaya-sindhu p. 92
How the eclipses are found
Read the methodology- The eclipses
- Every solar and lunar eclipse whose greatest phase falls in the year, with each city’s own contacts.
- What counts
- Only an eclipse fit to be seen at the city. One below the horizon throughout, or a penumbral one, is astronomy only there.
- The vedha
- Whole praharas, quarters of the city’s own day and night, before the prahara of the first contact seen there.
- By birth sign
- The eclipsed body’s sidereal sign and star at greatest eclipse, by the Lahiri ayanamsa, which is our reading.
Lahiri ayanamsa for the sign and star · each city’s own time · Swiss Ephemeris · Method