Vedic astrology glossary
Start here — the basics
The core building blocks of a Vedic birth chart.
KundaliJanma Kundali, birth chartA 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.LagnaAscendant, rising signThe 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.RashiMoon sign, zodiac signA 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'.Nakshatralunar mansionA 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 nine planets, grahasThe 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 housesThe 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 Trikonaangular and trine housesKendras 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.