Choose a town or city above, and a date if you want a day other than today, and this free tool gives the disha shool of that day, the direction tradition keeps a new journey out of, with the sunrise to sunrise span of the day at your place, the directions for the next seven days and the rule for every weekday. When it is after midnight but before sunrise, it tells you that the day before still holds.
How it works
Disha shool goes by the weekday, as Drik Panchang gives it on its daily pages:
| Weekday | Disha shool |
|---|---|
| Sunday | West |
| Monday | East |
| Tuesday | North |
| Wednesday | North |
| Thursday | South |
| Friday | West |
| Saturday | East |
The direction is the way of travel, from where the journey begins. The weekday is the Hindu one, which runs from sunrise to the next sunrise, so the tool works out the sunrise at your town or city, with the upper edge of the Sun on the horizon and the usual allowance for refraction. A journey begun after midnight but before sunrise falls on the day before, and so takes that day’s direction.
Reading the result
The answer gives the direction for the day you chose, with the time of sunrise that starts it and the next sunrise that ends it. Below it are the directions for the next seven days, to help plan a trip, and the full weekday rule with your day marked. If your journey goes the other way, or in a direction not named for that day, the disha shool does not touch it.
How we checked it
The weekday table is the one on Drik Panchang’s daily pages; we read it on 49 of those pages, 43 days in New Delhi and 6 in New York between October 2026 and August 2027, which cover every weekday, and the tool gave the same direction on all 49. The sunrise that starts each Hindu day agreed with the Swiss Ephemeris (pyswisseph) within 15 seconds at 17 places and dates, and on average within 3 seconds.
Where traditions differ
Almanacs print other travel items next to this one; Drik Panchang, for one, gives the Chandra vasa and Rahu vasa directions beside the disha shool, and families keep such rules in different ways. We give only the weekday direction we have checked; for anything more, please follow your family’s custom or ask your family priest.
What it does not do
It does not give a full travel muhurat, which also weighs the tithi, the nakshatra and the hour; for good days, see the muhurat finder. It does not work out the direction of your destination for you. For a time after midnight, the Vedic day checker shows which Hindu day it belongs to.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is disha shool?
It is the direction, set by the weekday, in which tradition keeps a new journey from starting. Disha means direction.
↳ Which direction should I avoid today?
East on Monday and Saturday, north on Tuesday and Wednesday, south on Thursday, and west on Friday and Sunday. The tool gives the one for your date and place.
↳ I leave at 4 in the morning. Which day counts?
The Hindu day runs from sunrise to sunrise, so a start before sunrise counts on the day before. Leaving at 4 am on a Thursday before sunrise takes Wednesday's direction, north.
↳ Does disha shool apply to the journey home?
The tool gives the direction for the start of a journey. Families apply it to a return in different ways, so follow your own family's custom.
↳ Is disha shool the same in every city?
The weekday rule is the same everywhere. What changes with the place is the sunrise, which is when one Hindu day ends and the next begins.