Learn Vedic Astrology
The Vedic Astrology Glossary
Every term behind your Kundali and matchmaking report — grouped by topic, searchable, and available as flashcards. Start with the basics and work outward.
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Start here — the basics
The core building blocks of a Vedic birth chart.
- KundaliA Kundali, or Janma Kundali, is a Vedic birth chart that maps the positions of the planets, the Moon's nakshatra and the rising sign (Lagna) at your exact moment and place of birth.
- LagnaThe Lagna, or Ascendant, is the zodiac sign rising on the eastern horizon at your exact moment and place of birth. It anchors the first house of the Kundali.
- RashiA rashi is a 30° zodiac sign. In Vedic astrology the Moon rashi — the sign the Moon occupied at birth — is especially important and is what most people mean by their Vedic 'sign'.
- NakshatraA nakshatra is one of the 27 lunar mansions — equal 13°20′ segments of the zodiac — that the Moon travels through. Your birth (Janma) nakshatra is the one the Moon occupied at birth.
- NavagrahaThe Navagraha are the nine celestial bodies of Vedic astrology: Sun (Surya), Moon (Chandra), Mars (Mangal), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Guru), Venus (Shukra), Saturn (Shani), and the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu.
- BhavaThe twelve bhavas are the houses of the birth chart, counted from the Lagna. Each governs specific areas of life — the 1st is the self, the 7th marriage, the 10th career, and so on.
- AyanamsaAyanamsa is the angular difference between the tropical and sidereal zodiacs, caused by the precession of the equinoxes. Vedic astrology applies it to convert tropical positions to sidereal.
- Kendra and TrikonaKendras are the angular houses (1, 4, 7, 10) and Trikonas the trine houses (1, 5, 9). Together they are the strongest, most auspicious houses of the chart.
Charts & divisions
Divisional charts that zoom into specific areas of life.
- NavamsaThe Navamsa, or D9, is the most important divisional (varga) chart — each sign is divided into nine parts. It is used especially for marriage, spouse and the deeper strength of planets.
- VargaVarga charts are divisional charts derived by splitting each sign into equal parts — the D9 (Navamsa), D10 (Dashamsha) and others — each zooming into a specific area of life.
- DashamshaThe Dashamsha, or D10, is the divisional chart for career, profession and public status — each sign divided into ten parts.
Planets & points
How planets gain or lose strength, and the special points.
- RahuRahu is the Moon's north node — a shadow planet, not a physical body. It signifies desire, ambition, foreign and unconventional matters, and sudden gains or obsessions.
- KetuKetu is the Moon's south node — the shadow planet opposite Rahu. It signifies detachment, spirituality, past-life karma, moksha and sudden losses or liberation.
- Uccha and NeechaUccha (exaltation) is the sign where a planet is strongest and gives its best results; Neecha (debilitation) is the opposite sign, where it is weakest. Each planet has one of each.
- AstaA planet is combust (asta) when it sits too close to the Sun and is 'burnt' by its rays, weakening its ability to give results. Each planet has its own combustion distance.
- VakriA vakri or retrograde planet appears to move backward from Earth's viewpoint. In Vedic astrology retrograde planets are considered especially strong and give intensified, internalised results.
- Graha DrishtiDrishti is the 'gaze' or aspect a planet casts on other houses and planets. Every planet aspects the 7th house from itself; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have additional special aspects.
- AtmakarakaIn Jaimini astrology the Atmakaraka is the planet at the highest degree in any sign — the 'soul significator' representing the self's deepest desires and karmic path.
- KarakaA karaka is a planet that signifies a particular person, thing or area of life — for example Jupiter is the karaka for children and Venus for the spouse.
- ShadbalaShadbala measures a planet's total strength from six sources — positional, directional, temporal, motional, natural and aspectual — expressed in units called Rupas.
- AshtakavargaAshtakavarga is a points-based system that scores each sign and house from the perspective of all planets, producing a bindu (point) map used to judge strength and time transits.
Timing — dashas & transits
The systems that time events across your life.
- Vimshottari DashaVimshottari Dasha is the most widely used Vedic system of planetary time-periods. It divides life into major periods (Mahadasha) ruled by each of nine planets, based on the birth nakshatra.
- GocharGochar is the ongoing movement of planets through the signs, read against your birth chart — especially your Moon sign — to time current and upcoming influences.
- Shani Sade SatiSade Sati is the roughly seven-and-a-half-year period when Saturn (Shani) transits the sign before, the same sign as, and the sign after your Moon rashi.
- MuhurtaMuhurta is the Vedic practice of choosing an auspicious date and time to begin an important activity — marriage, travel, a new venture — based on the Panchang and planetary positions.
Panchang
The five limbs of the Vedic almanac.
- PanchangThe Panchang is the Vedic almanac defined by five limbs (panch-anga): Tithi, Vara (weekday), Nakshatra, Yoga and Karana. It describes the quality of a given day and time.
- TithiA tithi is a lunar day — the time it takes the Moon to gain 12° over the Sun. There are 30 tithis in a lunar month, split across the waxing (Shukla) and waning (Krishna) fortnights.
- Yoga (Panchang)In the Panchang, a Yoga is one of 27 combinations based on the sum of the Sun's and Moon's longitudes. It is distinct from the planetary yogas (combinations) read in a birth chart.
- KaranaA karana is half of a tithi — there are 11 karanas that repeat to fill the lunar month, and they are the fifth limb of the Panchang.
Compatibility — Gun Milan
The eight kootas behind Ashtakoot marriage matching.
- Ashtakoot Gun MilanAshtakoot Gun Milan is the traditional Vedic method of checking marriage compatibility by comparing two people's Moon nakshatras across eight kootas (factors) for a combined score out of 36 gunas.
- Varna KootaVarna is the first of the eight Ashtakoot factors, worth 1 guna. It compares the class (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra) of the partners' Moon signs to assess ego and temperament.
- Vashya KootaVashya is the second Ashtakoot factor, worth 2 gunas. It measures mutual attraction and influence between the partners' Moon signs, grouped into categories like Chatushpada, Manava and Jalachara.
- Tara KootaTara is the third Ashtakoot factor, worth 3 gunas. It counts each partner's birth star from the other's along the nine-fold Navatara cycle to judge health and fortune.
- Yoni KootaYoni is the fourth Ashtakoot factor, worth 4 gunas. Each nakshatra maps to an animal (Yoni), and the pairing measures physical and instinctive compatibility.
- Graha Maitri KootaGraha Maitri is the fifth Ashtakoot factor, worth 5 gunas. It compares the lords of the partners' Moon signs to judge mental and intellectual friendship.
- Gana KootaGana is the sixth Ashtakoot factor, worth 6 gunas. It sorts nakshatras into three temperaments — Deva (divine), Manushya (human) and Rakshasa (demonic) — to assess nature and outlook.
- Bhakoot DoshaBhakoot dosha occurs in Gun Milan when the partners' Moon signs fall in a 2–12, 5–9 or 6–8 axis, scoring 0 of the 7 points for the Bhakoot koota.
- Nadi DoshaNadi dosha arises in Gun Milan when both partners share the same Nadi (Aadi, Madhya or Antya), scoring 0 of the 8 points for the Nadi koota — the highest-weighted factor.
Doshas
Afflictions weighed in a reading.
- Manglik DoshaManglik dosha occurs when Mars sits in certain houses of a birth chart (commonly the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th or 12th from the Lagna, Moon or Venus) and is considered in marriage matching.
- Kaal Sarpa DoshaKaal Sarpa dosha forms when all seven main planets are hemmed between Rahu and Ketu on one side of the chart. It is said to bring struggles and delays that ease over time.
- Pitra DoshaPitra dosha is an affliction linked to ancestors (pitru), often read from the Sun, the 9th house or Rahu–Sun combinations, and associated with unresolved ancestral karma.
Yogas
Powerful planetary combinations.
- Raja YogaA Raja Yoga is a combination that confers success, status and power — most classically formed when the lords of a Kendra (angular) and a Trikona (trine) house connect.
- Gaja Kesari YogaGaja Kesari Yoga forms when Jupiter is in a Kendra (1st, 4th, 7th or 10th) from the Moon. It is a well-known yoga associated with intelligence, respect and prosperity.
- Pancha Mahapurusha YogaThe five Mahapurusha ('great person') yogas form when Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus or Saturn sits in its own or exaltation sign in a Kendra — Ruchaka, Bhadra, Hamsa, Malavya and Sasa respectively.
- Neecha Bhanga Raja YogaNeecha Bhanga is the cancellation of a planet's debilitation under specific conditions; when it also produces success it is called Neecha Bhanga Raja Yoga — a debilitated planet turning into a source of great results.