Shukra Ast (Shukra Maudhya) is the period when Venus comes so close to the Sun that it disappears from the naked-eye sky for a while. The astronomical cause is the Venus-Sun angular separation falling within a certain limit — in practice, this happens because of Venus's conjunction around the Sun. This happens an irregular number of times a year — the exact dates differ every year; within one ~584-day cycle, there's one short combustion (~10-12 days) and one long combustion (~40-50 days). In 2026: 16 October to 27 October. By traditional belief, auspicious ceremonies such as marriage are avoided during this period — just like Guru Ast.