Budh (Mercury) Enters Tula on 26 September 2026: Exact Time, Retrograde Dates and Why It Is Trending
“Budh” (बुध) was among the top searches on Google Trends India on the night of 26 September 2026. The reason is a calendar event: Budh (Mercury) moved from Kanya (Virgo) into Tula (Libra) on Saturday 26 September 2026, at around 12:30 PM IST. It will stay in Tula until 2 December, and it turns retrograde inside Tula on 24 October. Here are the exact dates and what they mean astronomically.
Prepared on Saturday, 26 September 2026, 9:59 PM IST. The date is read from our publishing system’s clock. Facts are as reported by the sources listed below at that time and may have changed since.
Budh in Tula at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Sign change | Kanya (Virgo) to Tula (Libra) |
| Date | Saturday, 26 September 2026 |
| Time (IST) | About 12:30 PM. Prokerala (Ujjain) lists 12:36 PM; some Hindi calendars list 12:31 PM; our own calculation gives 12:29 PM |
| Stays in Tula until | Wednesday 2 December 2026, when Budh moves to Vrishchika (Scorpio) (Prokerala; our calculation: about 5:18 PM) |
| Retrograde (vakri) in Tula | From Saturday 24 October 2026 (Prokerala lists the date; our calculation: about 1:54 PM) |
| Direct (margi) again | Friday 13 November 2026, about 10:18 PM (our calculation) |
| Previous sign change | Budh entered Kanya on Monday 7 September 2026 at 1:30 PM (Prokerala) |
Why do the times differ by a few minutes?
Indian panchang calendars use the sidereal zodiac with an ayanamsa (the offset from the tropical zodiac), and different calendars use slightly different ayanamsa values and rounding. Mercury moves fast, so a small difference in the offset shifts the sign-change time by a few minutes. That is why sources show 12:29, 12:31 and 12:36 PM for the same event. We use the Lahiri ayanamsa, the same as the Indian national panchang.
Key dates in one table (IST)
| Event | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Budh enters Tula | Saturday 26 September 2026, about 12:30 PM |
| Budh turns retrograde (vakri) | Saturday 24 October 2026, about 1:54 PM |
| Budh turns direct (margi) | Friday 13 November 2026, about 10:18 PM |
| Budh leaves Tula for Vrishchika | Wednesday 2 December 2026, about 5:18 PM |
Between 24 October and 13 November, about three weeks, Budh appears to move backwards in the sky, and Prokerala notes that this retrograde motion takes place in Tula.
What is “Budh gochar”?
Gochar means transit. It is the movement of a planet from one zodiac sign (rashi) to the next. Budh, Mercury, is the planet closest to the Sun and the fastest-moving of the traditional planets, so it changes sign more often than most. According to Prokerala, in 2026 Budh changes rashi 14 times and turns retrograde 3 times. In Indian tradition Budh is associated with communication, learning, intellect and business, and the day of the week Wednesday, Budhvar, is named after it.
What does “retrograde” mean?
Retrograde (vakri) is an optical effect. When a planet seen from the Earth appears to slow down, stop and move backwards against the stars for a few weeks, it is called retrograde. The planet is not really reversing; the Earth and the planet are moving at different speeds on their orbits. Mercury does this about three times a year. When it stops moving backwards and resumes forward motion it is called margi (direct).
Indian (sidereal) and Western (tropical) signs are different
The Indian panchang and the Western zodiac are offset by about 24 degrees (the ayanamsa), so the same planet can be in different signs in the two systems and the dates of sign changes are different. All dates on this page use the Indian sidereal system.
Also on 26 September
26 September 2026 was also Bhadrapada Purnima and the start of Pitru Paksha with Purnima Shraddha. See our Pitru Paksha guide and the panchang for Sunday 27 September.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Budh trending?
Because Budh (Mercury) changed sign from Kanya to Tula on Saturday 26 September 2026 at around 12:30 PM IST, which is widely covered in Hindi news and astrology calendars.
How long will Budh stay in Tula?
Until 2 December 2026, when it moves to Vrishchika.
When is Mercury retrograde this time?
From 24 October to 13 November 2026, in Tula.
Does this page say what will happen to each rashi?
No. Many newspapers and astrologers publish rashi-wise predictions. InfoTab India does not publish predictions; this page only gives dates and astronomy.
Sources
- Prokerala: Budh Gochar 2026 dates (timings in IST for Ujjain)
- Prokerala: panchang for 27 September 2026 (used for our panchang cross-checks)
Our own calculation: Mercury’s sidereal longitude computed for Lahiri ayanamsa with an astronomical library, the same method we use for our daily panchang.
